Regular Education Teachers’ Attitudes and Knowledge Concerning The Mainstreaming of Handicapped Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether regular education teachers, when given an intensive training program in all aspects of special education, will be more at ease when teaching handicapped students and in turn have im proved attitudes when working with these students. The data for the study were collected in 1984 and 1985 using a researcher-designed instrument entitled Special Education Attitude Survey (SEAS). A total of 93 teachers in the Spring Branch Independent School District (Houston, Texas) was in cluded in the study. A treatment group was administered training in a two-day workshop setting. The control group received no training in these areas. Findings in the study indicated no statistically sig nificant differences in attitudes of teachers when age of the teacher, experience of the teachers, and educational level of the teacher are studied as variables. The data analyzed also showed no· statistically significant difference in knowledge of mainstreaming in a group of teachers receiving training and a group _of teachers receiving no training. On the basis of the findings from the analysis of data, the researcher made the following recommendations: 1. It is recommended that the system of training of teachers be continued as a positive source of reinforcement for regular education teachers. The training may be shifted to the summer months due to constraints of current school legislation mandating more time in contact with students/teachers and less interruptions of the academic day. 2. It is recommended that the present system of one week between Skills Development Center workshops be increased to more time to determine if a greater attitude gain would result from more than a one-week interval between pretest and posttest. 3. It is recommended that the data presented to teachers in the two-day workshop be produced on instructional television for future use by large and small groups. This would allow for self-pacing and multiple viewings when needed. 4. It is recommended that teacher training institutions study the amount of time spent in undergraduate courses of handicapped students, as this knowledge would be beneficial to teachers early in their careers