Teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming and inclusion of special education students into vocational and regular education programs

With the advent of Public Law 94-142, and the trend to include as many special education students as is appropriate in the realm of regular education, many teachers are forming attitudes and opinions as to the reality of servicing a highly diversified population in the "Least Restrictive Environment". The success or failure of many programs may well depend on how well they are received by the personnel responsible for their implementation.;This study was designed to analyze the relationship between vocational, special and regular teachers and three types of special students: Learning Disabled, Emotionally Impaired, and Educable Mentally Impaired. A survey instrument was sent out in a random method to the three types of teachers in a centrally located county. An analysis of variance was used to examine the statistical results. Averages were determined for the various responses and displayed in a number of tables. Responses to the survey were used to determine the attitude of the three teacher types.;Special education students need some type of structuring to insure they are successful in school. Teachers view special students in significantly different ways, depending on a variety of circumstances. Most teachers feel there are too many special students with individual needs to manage properly without strong support from the community, such as: paraprofessionals, parental cooperation and administrative accountability. Attitudes of teachers are directly affected by the number of students they have and the type of support system in effect. The efficacy of mainstreaming or inclusion of special students will depend largely upon the attitudes of the facilitators and the viability of the support system.