The Adaptation of Regular Elementary Classrooms for Children With Moderate and Severe Disabilities: Inclusion Practices from the Principal's Perspective

• Main Author: Herman, Jerry R.
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 1995
• Subjects: Education; Elementary education; Mainstreaming; School administration; Special education; Educational Administration and Supervision; Elementary Education and Teaching; Special Education and Teaching
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2698; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4089&context=etd

This study examined the perceptions of elementary school principals in Tennessee regarding the desirability and feasibility of adapting regular elementary classrooms and programs for the inclusion of children with moderate and severe disabilities. The purpose of the study was to add an administrative dimension to current research on inclusive educational programming for children typically educated in special (CDC) class settings. Data collection for the descriptive design of the study was accomplished by use of a 40 item survey instrument with a 7-point Likert-type scale for each construct (i.e., desirability and feasibility). Four ten item subscales addressed the areas of Staff Organization, Curriculum, Materials, and Instructional Methodology and the demographic factors of gender, age, teaching and administrative experience, training, and system size were examined for effect. Responding elementary principals in this study identified 95% of the presented adaptations as significantly more desirable than feasible with demographic factors having little or no effect. Moderate to high scores on the feasibility scale, however, indicated that principals do not view implementation of the adaptations as impractical. Conclusions of the study emphasize that the differing views of desirability and feasibility may be attributed to either a perceived lack of available resources or administrative autonomy or both, that adaptations may become less desirable and feasible as the time required for implementation increases, that adaptations of the curriculum were viewed as less desirable than other types of adaptations, and that the active participation of parents in curriculum design was viewed among the least desirable and feasible of all adaptations.