As a result of U.S. federal policy directives mandating inclusion, general education teachers in a rural elementary school in southern Maine were expected to be effective in working in inclusive classrooms with learners with diverse needs; however, teachers were meeting the mandates for inclusion but their students were not meeting the state's annual progress targets. The purpose of this project study was to explore teachers' perceptions of their readiness and needs for professional learning to work with diverse learners in the inclusive classroom. The research questions centered on teachers' beliefs, specific to their preparation and their needs and preferred mode for professional learning. The theoretical framework for this project research consisted of sociocultural and transformative learning theories. A qualitative case study approach was used in which teachers at the school completed online surveys and follow-up e-mail interviews. Twenty-seven of the school's 44 teachers participated in the study. Survey and interview responses were reviewed on a continuous basis during data collection and coded for emergent themes; open-ended data were analyzed using qualitative data analysis software. The key findings were that none of the participants believed they were unprepared for teaching in the inclusive classroom; however, the teachers provided key insights for professional learning related to the challenge of teaching diverse learners. The results of the study might offer guidance to school and district administrators on how to build the capacity of teachers to create classrooms where all learners can succeed and to reduce reliance on separate special instruction. Doing so could help promote social change in the culture of the school by encouraging respect and empathy among students to work together and celebrate their collective successes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges that are met by the teachers in selected secondary level special schools, catering for physically impaired learners in South Africa, when they teach Environmental Education. The study was qualitative in nature. In order to meet the qualities of a qualitative research, a multiple case study design was employed in this research study. The data was collected from four special schools, two from Gauteng Province and the other two from the Eastern Cape Province. The sample consisted of 5 Grade 10 teachers, teaching Life Sciences from these 4 schools. Data was collected through interviews, document analysis and learners’ books. The interviews were analysed through the phenomenological approach by Giorgi (1975). The study revealed that most of the teachers in the study did not have the relevant educational qualification to teach environmental education nor do they have adequate training in the subject, for the workshops were conducted for only three days. The study also revealed that even though the teachers welcomed the integration of environmental education into the school curricula, they experienced challenges in teaching the subject, which included curriculum related, learner related, teacher related, policy related, administration related and office based related. The study also revealed that teachers’ knowledge of EE was superficial and that they only taught in and about environmental education, they did not teach for environmental education which is the main goal of environmental education. The results also showed that the teachers were unable to translate the policies of inclusive education and by implication, they could not adapt the mainstream curriculum for special needs learners, as expected from teachers in special schools. It was also found out that the teachers lack knowledge of the philosophy that underpins the CAPS curriculum, which is social constructivism. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)