| The trend of placing students with disabilities in the general education classrooms with their peers has brought effective instruction and appropriate accommodations to the forefront of discussion in the field of education. The purpose of the study was to investigate how elementary school teachers perceive inclusion and how teachers implement accommodations designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The study was also to determine the differences in teachers' perceptions and in their implementation of accommodations based on teaching experience and training.;A survey instrument was developed and then distributed to a convenience sample of 283 public elementary school teachers in a Midwestern city. A multiple-choice format was used to gather demographic information necessary for the study. A five-point Likert Scale was used to measure teachers' perceptions and attitudes toward inclusion, the impact of accommodations on learning, common practices in accommodations, and factors that hinder implementation of accommodations.;The findings of the study indicated that most of the teachers support inclusion, are willing to include students with disabilities in their classrooms, and are making accommodations to meet their learning needs. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between teachers who had participated in training in inclusive settings and teachers who had not participated in such training. The teachers who had training on inclusive practices used instructional accommodations significantly more often than those without training. The study also identified four major factors that hindered teachers from implementing accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. These factors are: (1) lack of time, (2) lack of resources, (3) lack of support personnel, and (4) heavy workload and large class size. |
