<p> This case study produced evidence regarding the relationship between parents’ and educators’ partnership in the creation and implementation of a child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and regular elementary educators’ perceptions of the mainstreaming process. The quantitative research portion included the collection of Likert scale surveys (<i> N</i> = 62) from kindergarten through fifth grade regular elementary teachers and parents of students mainstreamed into the regular education classroom. The qualitative portion of the research involved interviews (<i>n</i> = 6) with kindergarten through fifth grade educators teaching in a regular education classroom. Data from the quantitative data were analyzed prior to the qualitative data, but the data were analyzed to monitor for ways data were related after separate analysis was completed. The results indicated that the opinions of parents and educators did not differ significantly when asked about the IEP process. Participants in the qualitative portion of the research supported what was found in the literature review. Teachers have had both positive and negative experiences with mainstreaming. Negative experiences generally related to having little or no training related to handling students with special needs outlined in an IEP, misbehaviors interfering with the classroom environment, unclear expectations of student accommodations and paraprofessionals (paras), and unsuccessful attempts at mainstreaming due to lack of support or communication with stakeholders. Positive experiences reported during interviews included some paras working well inside the classroom, success with support received from administration, and students with IEPs working alongside their grade level peers.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10251350 |
| Date | 04 February 2017 |
| Creators | Maier, Andrea C. |
| Publisher | Keiser University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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