The issue of children living with disabilities

The issue of children living with disabilities has been a significant debate for decades. Historically, children with disabilities were being regarded as unequal to their abled peers and were taken to specialized schools. However, the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 1997 ensured that all students should be treated equally regardless of the differences (Lane, Barton-Arwood, Rogers, & Robertson, 2017). Typically, students with disabilities are stigmatized when barred from participating in some activities like non-disabled peers. Also, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that was effected in the year 2002 focused mainly on giving every child a chance to acquire education regardless of the differences (Darling-Hammond, 2018). Also, the NCLB Act was implemented to ensure that the American education system is changed and children are given equal opportunities. NCLB act has also been significant since it authorizes several education programs to be administered to all students by the states. The inclusive classroom model that was introduced has been of great significance since many students living with disabilities have joined the schools and acquired vital knowledge. However, there have been issues, whereby some teachers had different views about inclusion, with some stating that children living with disabilities should be educated in their specialized schools. Additionally, inclusion has led to controversies between policymakers and teachers. In this case, the policymakers state that there is a need for teachers to focus on the Students with Disabilities (SWD) and ensure that all children can access and acquire educational programs (Anderson, Boyle, & Deppeler, 2014).

On the other hand, teachers have stated that inclusion has some challenges since some of the children living with disabilities cannot engage in some of the activities like their abled peers. Many education professionals have also researched about the efficiency of the inclusive classroom model and what can be implemented to ensure that academic achievement of SWD is achieved. According to Koh and Shin, 2017; Gibson (2015), the issue of inclusion has led to mixed findings since various people have reported different views about the inclusive classroom model. However, the introduction of Career and Technical Education(CTE) programs have ensured that essential skills and training can be offered to all students, including SWD to help them succeed in their future careers (Lomdardi, Dougherty, & Monahan, 2018). Also, the CTE has been of considerable significance to teachers since it has enabled them to prepare students for high demand careers since it entails educating the learners about real-world skills. Moreover, research shows that the disabled children who were enrolled in the CTE courses had gained excellent skills that enable them to have higher chances of acquiring the top demanding jobs (Theobald, Goldnaber, Gratz, & Holdern, 2018). Therefore, it is the significance for researchers to investigate the connection of CTE programs and the inclusive classroom model for addressing this discrepancy. Typically, students living with disabilities require more attention compared to non-disabled children. (Florian, Rouse, & Black-Hawkins, 2016). Consequently, CTE general education teachers may experience some challenges when trying to meet the needs of SWD and ensure they are on par with other abled students.  Also, teachers have received training in their teaching programs to ensure that they gain more confidence and develop a positive attitude about the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education programs (Koh, & Shin, 2017). However, cases of teachers who feel undertrained or not adequately trained to deal with SWD as well as not receiving adequate support from school administration have been experienced (Lautenbach, & Antoniewicz 2018).

Problem Statement

The problem to be addressed by this study is the issue of teacher’s attitudes towards the inclusive classroom model and the challenges that are encountered by both the teachers and students. There has been moderate positive outcomes derived from the adoption of the inclusion classroom model, that yield limited success in closing the gap between SWD and their non-disabled peers (Gilmore, 2018). As a possible explanation for the continuation of the difference, researchers have suggested that implicit and explicit teacher attitudes towards inclusion exist (Lautenbach & Antoniewicz, 2018). Both teachers and students have encountered challenges, whereby some teachers lack adequate skills that are needed to interact well with the disabled students (Ewing, Monsen, & Kielblock, 2018). On the extreme, students with disabilities may experience stigma from their non-disabled friends (Gilmore, 2018). Therefore, it would be essential for the education sector to ensure that all teachers are skilled and can interact with both disabled and non-disabled children with ease (Lane, Barton-Arwood, Rogers, & Robertson, 2017). Also, students should be educated to respect each other irrespective of their differences (Lane, Barton-Arwood, Rogers, & Robertson, 2017). Moreover, under the inclusive classroom model, a correlation has been reported between teachers’ attitudes and the successful integration of SWD (Cate et al., 2018; Protic-Gava, Boskovic, Samjic, Simic-Panic & Naumovic, 2018). Furthermore, findings suggested that teachers may substitute negative implicit and explicit attitudes towards the inclusion of SWD (Krischler & Cate, 2019). Teachers’ implicit attitudes can be influenced by factors (intellectual disability and ethnicity), which can impact SWD inclusion (Ewing, Monsen & Kielblock, 2017). Explicit attitudes among teachers have been demonstrated to govern the participation and engagement of SWD and predict the success of inclusionary practices (Lautenbach & Antoniewiez, 2018). Dougherty et al., (2018) claimed that if general education teachers (CTE) persist in displaying biased attitudes towards inclusion, SWD will continue to face challenges and lack the skills required to compete with their non-disabled peers.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative study is to find out the perceptions and attitudes of the general education teachers about the inclusive classroom model. Semi-structured follow-up interviews and questionnaires will be used as the data collection methods that will be conducted to ten CTE teachers in northeast Ohio. The interviews will mainly entail obtaining vital information about the teacher’s attitudes towards the inclusive classroom models. Furthermore, interviews will ensure that raw data is collected and analyzed to draw a better conclusion about the findings of the study, also, questionnaires will be used during the research to ensure that detailed information is acquired. Confidentiality is one of the ethical considerations that will be focused on the study. Furthermore, privacy helps researchers to obtain complete information since the participants feel free to express themselves. Therefore, questionnaires will be of great significance since they will help the researcher to receive detailed information about the participants’ perceptions of the inclusive classroom model. The study had controlled variables of age, gender, socioeconomic status, and race. Also, data will be analyzed compressively  using the content analysis method.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework will be essential during this study since it entails the collection of interrelated concepts. Moreover, theoretical frameworks help researchers to present the research problem with ease in the summary of the literature. In this case, Bandura’s self-efficacy theory will form the theoretical framework of this study. Typically, the approach focuses on the socio-cognitive aspect of motivation, which in turn affects the ability to organize and implement action (Dullas, 2018). In this case, the self-efficacy theory will be of great significance since it entails the ability of an individual to modulate his or her behavior. In this case, the approach will enable the researcher to focus on the attitudes of the participants towards the inclusion of SWD in general education programs. Moreover, the theory is relative to their study, the reason being that the positive attitudes of the teachers can facilitate the attainment of the students with disabilities that are included in general education programs. Also, self-efficacy has been used by people to focus on their beliefs and capabilities to produce a chosen level of presentation that uses inspiration over the events of the things that affect them in their lives (Dullas, 2018). Typically, a strong sense of efficacy enhances individuals to reach various goals and improve their well-being (Dullas, 2018). Therefore, teachers can ensure that they encourage inclusion as a way of helping disabled students to accomplish their goals. Furthermore, inclusion is essential since it portrays the need to fight against discriminatory attitudes toward people living with disabilities (Polat 2011). In this case, Bandura’s theory will be applied to understand the implicit and explicit attitudes of CTE teachers in the inclusion of SWD in the CTE programs. Moreover, the researcher will focus on transparency to ensure that the CTE teachers can address the challenges they face when trying to meet the demands of SWD effectively. Furthermore, Bandura’s self-efficacy theory is critical in understanding the instructor’s beliefs and their capabilities and abilities to engage in actions that benefit the SWD (Dullas, 2018). Moreover, Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy states that the perception of self-efficacy influences human functioning in any area (Dullas, 2018). Therefore, the theoretical framework guided the research decisions since it relates to the issues about the teacher’s attitudes towards the inclusive classroom model. For instance, the interviews will primarily focus on the individual perceptions of the SWD included in the general education programs. Typically, attitudes involve the basis of how individuals choose to interact with other people (Krischler & Pit-ten Cate, 2018). Therefore, the teacher’s opinions may vary depending on one’s character. On the other hand, the self-efficacy theory has focused on the negative attitudes of the teachers as one of the main reasons that can lead to the poor performance of the SWD. In many cases, motivating students to work hard, and having positive attitudes towards them helps them to reach their goals. Therefore, negative attitudes have negative interactions that subsequently affect the social and academic well-being of the learners (Krishchler & Pit-ten Cate, 2018). The theoretical framework can also be used to draw the intrusions that focus on the attitudes of teachers to ensure that all children are treated equally.

Nature of the Study

This study is designed to use a qualitative methodology to try and understand the general education teachers’ opinions and attitudes about the inclusion of SWD in general education programs. Also, the qualitative method uses small sample sizes to study people’s beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions about a specific topic (Yin, 2014). In this case, the issue will be the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Furthermore, the semi-structured interviews and the use of questionnaires will be used for data collection to acquire critical information about the implicit and explicit attitudes of the CTE teachers and how they may impact the achievement of students living with disabilities. Typically, utilizing the case study method will be of great significance since it helps in determining the themes suitable for data collection (Yin, 2014). Therefore, a qualitative methodology will be essential for this study since it will enable the researcher to obtain detailed and quality information from the participants. Also, the sample will include ten CTE teachers from a high school in Ohio that will be used to acquire in-depth details on teacher’s attitudes about the attitudes of the CTE teachers and how they impact the performance of SWD in general education programs. Moreover, the qualitative design is vital in this study since it reduces the bias of the researcher in a way that data that will be analyzed will be descriptive of the population studied and not individuals (Yin, 2014). Furthermore, the qualitative methodology uses small sample sizes to examine people’s beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions about a specific topic (Yin, 2014). In this case, the issue will be the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms.

Research Questions

The current investigation focuses on the implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers regarding the inclusion of SWD in a CTE classroom setting within a CTE program in a high school in northeast Ohio. The results of data analysis will be used to answer the following research questions:

RQ1a. To what extent do CTE teachers perceive and describe their experience of inclusion with SWD in their general classrooms?

RQ1b.Why do they describe it this way?

RQ2. To what extent do general education teachers feel qualified or unqualified to teach students with disabilities in the general education classroom?

Significance of the Study

The study is essential since it focuses on ways that can be implemented to ensure that teachers in CTE programs can understand the importance of the inclusion of SWD in the general education setting. Also, the study can help education professionals to design an excellent strategic plan that will help teachers to educate SWD in general education programs with ease. For instance, teachers can enroll for thorough training to ensure that they have adequate skills to teach and interact with the disabled students (Efthymiou, & Kington, 2017). In this case, exercise will also entail showing teachers the importance of having positive attitudes towards the inclusion of the SWD in the general settings classrooms. The study can also contribute to the education sector since raw data will be acquired from the teachers about the challenges they face, and this can be used to implement changes to ensure that teachers do not encounter some difficulties when teaching SWD. Moreover, the results can be used by other teachers to gain a better understanding of the importance of inclusion of SWD in the general education program. Also, the results of the study will enrich the existing knowledge about general education programs by providing new findings that can be used in designing new strategies that focus on making the inclusion of SWD in general education setting more productive. It is also essential to address the issue of the need to ensure that teachers are qualified and adept at interacting with students with disabilities. Also, it would be necessary to gain information about the challenges faced by the SWD in the general education programs to ensure that solutions can be designed. In essence, completing the study will be of great significance since crucial information that can be used to improve inclusive classrooms model will be acquired.

Definitions of the Key Terms

Attitudes. A positive or negative feeling concerning an individual or a particular thing (Beyene, & Tizazu, 2010).

CTE. Career and technical education are mainly professional programs that focus on teaching and training students about various skills that they can apply in their future careers (Gottfried & Plasman, 2017).

General Education Settings. The general education setting is a model that has been designed to provide education to students living without disabilities (Schmitt, Hale, McCallum,  & Mauck, 2011).

Impact. Having a direct negative or positive effect on something or someone. (Dullas, 2018)

Inclusion. In education, inclusion refers to the act of providing education to students living with disabilities, together with non-special needs students (Polat, 2011).

Research. The procedural investigation of a study regarding a particular concern using scientific methods (Hutchinson, 2010).

Self-efficacy. The extent to which an individual believes in his or her capacity to successfully execute behaviors that are essential to produce specific performance (Dullas, 2018).

Students with Disabilities (SWD). Students with disabilities are individuals with a mental or physical impairment that can limit them from one or different life activities (Dullas, 2018).

Summary

The issue of inclusion of SWD in general education settings should be analyzed to ensure that equal opportunities are offered to all students regardless of their disparities. Although the government has implemented various policies such as the NCLB and IDEA to ensure that equal access to the learning opportunities is offered to both SWD and non-disabled students, some of the disabled students encounter challenges when trying to access the learning institutions. In many cases, SWD lack opportunities due to discrimination. Therefore, the inclusion of the SWD in general education classrooms will be essential since it will portray the significance of treating and valuing individuals equally. Furthermore, inclusion does not necessarily mean that a student with disabilities will progress at the same rate as non-disabled students; however, that outcome is a possibility, and SWD should always be given a chance to join the general education programs.

The study will also help in the acquisition of information about the teacher’s perceptions about the inclusion of SWD in general education programs. On the extreme, the research will focus on the teachers’ attitudes and how they impact the performance of the SWD. In this case, the semi-structured interviews will be used to acquire vital information that can be used in the future to advance inclusive classroom models. A comprehensive data analysis will also be conducted to ensure that good results are obtained. Moreover, the participants will be encouraged to provide detailed information that can be used to improve general education settings.

The study will also be essential since various ideas will be acquired that can be used to curb the challenges that are faced by both SWD and teachers in inclusive classroom models. Furthermore, the findings of the study can be used by education practitioners to design new ways that enable smooth learning in general education settings. On the other hand, the study will provide information about teachers’ attitudes about inclusion and how they affect the achievement of the SWD.

 

 

References

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