Since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, a
number of common problems have emerged. Primarily they involve the difficulties
both experienced and created by public schools attempting to fulfill the federal
mandate to provide students with disabilities an appropriate public education. The
purpose of this study is to examine the process of inclusion as implemented by
teachers of students with learning disabilities. This study is a qualitative research
project. A grounded theory approach, used to derive constructs and laws directly
from the immediate data collected, rather than from prior research and theory was
utilized. Three regular classroom teachers were selected for detailed investigation.
The investigation focused on the usability of the Individualized Education Plans
(IEP) and how well the regular education teacher implemented the interventions
and accommodations specified in the IEP for students with learning disabilities in
their class. To enhance the validity and generalizability of the findings, several
methods of data collection were used: researching student files, interviews and
observations. Upon analysis of the data, various themes emerged. The themes
were grouped into three areas of focus: general classroom teachers, the IEP, and
administrative focus. The data obtained in this study are characteristic of previous
research findings; teachers typically provide whole-class, undifferentiated
instruction and offer minimal adaptations for students with learning disabilities, the
IEPs consistently lack usability and the language used in the IEP is confusing. This
study indicates that focusing on the IEP itself can make a significant impact. By
specifically defining terms used in the IEP and by soliciting the input from previous
teachers to document specific teaching strategies for a student with a learning
disability the IEP will evolve into a tool to be used by subsequent teachers. It is not
a sufficient strategy simply to return students with disabilities to unchanged
mainstream programs. Teacher education programs need to focus on the increasing
diversity of the student population and emphasize techniques in modifying and
differentiating curriculum. The regular school programs need to be re-created so
that they can meet more effectively the diverse and individual needs of all students. / Graduation date: 2002
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/32453 |
| Date | 24 January 2002 |
| Creators | O'Dell, Marti |
| Contributors | Engel, Joanne B. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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