Will They Be Welcomed In? The Impact of K-12 Teachers’ and Principals’ Perceptions of Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions K-12 principals and teachers have of inclusive education in a school district in western Pennsylvania school district. The dependent variables are the teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of inclusion and the independent variables are years of educational experience, extent of special education background, and level of support by district administrators. Instrumentation for this study is the Multidimensional Attitudes toward Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) survey. Data were analyzed for correlational relationships using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings suggest an average to high level of support by administration in supporting inclusive practices. A statistically significant, small negative relationship between the years teaching and responses on the affective and behavioral factors surfaced. No significant relationship was demonstrated between teachers’ perceptions of inclusion and the level of reported support they receive from administrators