What Instructional Leaders Need to Know About the Effects of Inclusion

Seyithan Demirdag

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.6.2.175

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">Effective school administrators and teachers are those who provide the least restrictive learning environments for all students. The main goal of this study was to analyze the effects of inclusive science education on the general education population of middle school students’ scientific conceptual understandings. The study was designed as a quasi-experimental model and conducted in a middle school in a large urban school district in Midwestern US. Approximately 4% of students in the school were receiving special education services. The participants in the study were selected through non-random selection. The participants of this study included 20 students without disabilities in each classroom with a total number of 120 students from a total of six different middle school classrooms. The study included two classrooms (one inclusive and one non-inclusive) for each grade level (6, 7, and 8). The conceptual change of students without disabilities was measured using the Density Assessment, which included 20 multiple choice questions. SPSS program was used for data analyses. Paired samples t-test and a multivariate group analysis test were conducted to investigate significant differences on students’ conceptual understandings. The findings showed that the effect of inclusive education was significant and positive on the conceptual understanding of students without disabilities in inclusive science classrooms.</p>

Highlights

The numbers of students with disabilities have been increasing over the last two decades both in general population and schools
The findings showed that the effect of inclusive education was significant and positive on the conceptual understanding of students without disabilities in inclusive science classrooms
One of the reasons why such students fall behind their peers may be because of ineffective instructional leadership provided in public schools (Hehir & Katzman, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

The numbers of students with disabilities have been increasing over the last two decades both in general population and schools. The voice of human rights advocates, parents, community leaders, and positive outcomes of inclusive education encouraged policymakers to include more and more students with learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms to receive educational services with their non-disabled peers. Students with no disabilities refer to students receiving education in general education classrooms. Students with disabilities refer to students receiving education either in special education classrooms or inclusive classrooms. In the US, legislation such as No Child Left Behind was passed to hold all schools accountable for the success of all students including the ones with disabilities. Most students with disabilities continue to lag behind peers with no disabilities in science, reading, writing, and math. One of the reasons why such students fall behind their peers may be because of ineffective instructional leadership provided in public schools (Hehir & Katzman, 2012)

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