Preliminary Needs Assessments for Regular Classroom Placement for Students with Handicaps

Abstract

Teachers (n = 127) from two school districts in Ohio, USA, were surveyed for their attitudes toward the integration of handicapped children. A principal components factor analysis revealed seven clusters of items accounting for 65 per cent of the variance. A discriminant function analysis was used to determine which items could be used to predict teachers who were willing or unwilling to teach students with handicaps. Two factors, Appropriate Placement and Classroom Management, were predictive with 79 per cent accuracy when combined with items regarding teacher perceptions of the benefit of full-time regular classroom placement, teaching experience with the handicapped, and resource awareness. This information is discussed in terms of the formation of a needs assessment to be used in integration.

Regular and Special Educators

“…The pilot questionnaire, a preliminary needs assessment addressing the concerns of educators engaged in the handicap integration process (Gans, 1981;Gans & Flexer, in press), was answered by 127 regular education teachers and 17 special education teachers from a rural and a city school district (63% return rate). The pilot questionnaire, a preliminary needs assessment addressing the concerns of educators engaged in the handicap integration process (Gans, 1981;Gans & Flexer, in press), was answered by 127 regular education teachers and 17 special education teachers from a rural and a city school district (63% return rate).…”