<p> The perceptions of general education teachers,' special education teachers,' and site administrators' regarding the benefits of <i>inclusion </i>, or <i>mainstreaming</i>, for students with mild to moderate disabilities at the secondary level were examined using the lenses of psychological benefit, academic benefit, behavioral benefit, and overall benefit. This quantitative study utilized a survey methodology using a random sampling from among seven school districts in Southern California.</p><p> The statistically significant results indicated that none of the groups perceived an overall benefit of inclusion, with specific differences by lens and group. The three groups did not perceive a benefit of inclusion in the areas of psychological, behavioral, or academic specifically, but had less significant perceptions of an overall benefit. Although none of the areas were perceived to be beneficial, comparatively the psychological benefit was perceived to be higher than behavioral benefit, and all groups perceived the academic to be the least significant.</p><p> There were significant differences among groups on benefits perceived, as well. Administrators perceived a significantly higher psychological benefit to inclusion than did general education teachers. There were no significant differences among groups in relation to a behavioral benefit to inclusion. General education teachers perceived a significantly higher academic benefit than did special education teachers. The only area that showed positive results was in a perceived overall benefit, with administrators scoring overall benefit the highest, followed by special education teachers. General education teachers perceived overall benefits of inclusion to be significantly lower than did either other group.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3577925 |
| Date | 25 January 2014 |
| Creators | Bouer, Sarah E. |
| Publisher | California State University, Fullerton |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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