| This study investigated the degree to which students with disabilities have access to the general curriculum and the degree to which such access is influenced by instructional factors such as level of student inclusion in the general education classroom, accommodations, curriculum modifications, and classroom ecological variables. The instructional experiences of 19 students with intellectual and developmental disabilities were observed across different instructional environments in core content areas (i.e., science or social studies) and data were analyzed to examine student access to the general curriculum.;All data were collected using a computer-based observation system (ACCESS CISSAR, a revised version of "The MainStream Version of the Code for Instructional Structure and Student Academic Response" or MS-CISSAR) that used a time sampling observation method allowing observers to record indicators of student access to the general curriculum (e.g., grade level curriculum standards, off grade level curriculum standards), and classroom ecological variables. The results of the study indicated that students with intellectual and developmental disabilities were provided accommodations and curriculum modifications, depending on the amount of time they were educated with their non-disabled peers. Furthermore, this study showed that ecological variables, such as one on one or independent instructional groupings were better predictors of access to the general curriculum than whole group instruction. Similarly, entire or divided group physical arrangements and general education classroom settings were also predictors of access to the general curriculum for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. |
