Willingness of Regular and Special Educators to Teach Students with Handicaps

Abstract

A mailed questionnaire containing 99 demographic and attitudinal variables regarding handicap integration drew responses from 128 regular educators and 133 special educators in 21 school districts. Separate discriminant function analyses using “I would be willing to teach a student with (a handicap)” as the criterion variable were conducted for the two groups of educators. A comparison of the group profiles revealed few similarities. Regular educator willingness depended more heavily upon demographic variables; special educator willingness, upon attitudinal variables. Teacher group membership could be predicted from the profiles with 96% accuracy in each case. The results are discussed in terms of implications for consultants and inservice and preservice programs.

'I wasn't trained to work with them': mainstream teachers' attitudes to children with speech and language difficulties

“…One student said:`This questionnaire has made me realise just how very little I know about children with language and speech di culties and I would like to learn more about such children's needs.' This is supported by previous research ®ndings over the last 25 years (Baker and Gottlieb 1980, Gans 1985, Semmel et al 1991, Whinnery et al 1991, Houck and Rogers 1994. Gallagher (1985), Gans (1985) and Leyser (1988) thought that training could increase awareness and that`students' attitudes become more positive after extended training' (Gallagher 1985: 694).…”

“…Lack of training has already been discussed. Lack of resources, which included both materials and personnel, were also mentioned by Gans (1985), Coates (1989) and Myles and Simpson (1992). Lack of time was also a factor in studies by Semmel et al (1991), Diebold and von Eschenbach (1991) and Gans (1985).…”

“…Lack of resources, which included both materials and personnel, were also mentioned by Gans (1985), Coates (1989) and Myles and Simpson (1992). Lack of time was also a factor in studies by Semmel et al (1991), Diebold and von Eschenbach (1991) and Gans (1985). Scruggs and Mastropieri (1996: 71) stated`a majority of teachers agreed with the general concept of mainstreaming/inclusion, and a slight majority were willing to implement mainstreaming/inclusion practices in their own classes'.…”

Challenging Teacher Beliefs via Counseling Methods: A Descriptive Study

“…However, the evaluative research on these programs offers relatively discouraging results. Gans (1987) sees these as insufficient responses to teachers' difficulties, as such difficulties are rooted in beliefs, which are engulfed by emotions. In other words, we must correctly understand the sources of tension before we can effectively address the issue.…”

Using Curriculum-Based Measurement to Identify Potential Candidates for Reintegration into General Education

“…General education teachers' willingness to assume instructional responsibility for special education students is a critical component for implementation (Kauffman, Gerber, & Semmel, 1988;McKinney 8c Hocutt, 1988), and frequently general education teachers are cited as reluctant to assume this responsibility (Gans, 1985(Gans, , 1987Hoover 8c Cessna, 1984;Knoff, 1985;Moore 8c Fine, 1978;Pedhazur-Schmelkin, 1981;Stephens 8c Braun, 1980). Rodden-Nord, Shinn, and Good (1992) demonstrated that general education teachers' willingness to reintegrate special education students into their classrooms for reading instruction was influenced by the kind of testing data they received.…”