Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Denise Weems

Abstract

Inclusion has been introduced throughout the educational community as a method to increase math and reading scores of underachieving schools on standardized tests. The problem was that teachers were not effectively implementing inclusion. Guided by Bandura's (1994) self-efficacy theory, which hypothesizes that a person's sense of efficacy provides information of their capability and the ability to assess their performance, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine if there was a significant difference in attitudes on inclusion between regular and special education teachers using the 4 subsections of the Scale of Teachers: Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms through an online survey program. A t test was used to examine the attitudes of 50 regular and 50 special education teachers on inclusion in an elementary charter school after the special education subgroup failed to show progress on standardized tests over a 5 year period. Overall, the data indicated significant differences between regular and special education teachers' attitudes on inclusion. Both regular and special education teachers did not agree on Factor 1: advantages and disadvantages of inclusion and Factor 2: teacher feelings on inclusion. However, the teachers did agree on Factor 3: philosophical beliefs on inclusion and Factor 4: administrative issues on inclusion. This study's implications for social change included evidence to incorporate a unified vision for best practices for professional development as well as the importance of collaborative teaching at the undergraduate level, and a working knowledge of various learning disabilities, which may be used by school principals, teachers, parents, and policy makers to create an effective inclusion program.

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