Anne Jordan

Preparing general educators to teach in inclusive classrooms: Some food for thought

Abstract Teacher education programs designed to prepare general education classroom teachers to teach in classrooms that include students with disabilities should be developed based on current research into the variables that are key to the successful inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classroom settings. The authors attempt to build a bridge from research to practice by describing one such research project, presenting some of its findings, and offering some food for thought on designing teacher preparation programs.

Relative Differences in Academic Self-Concept and Peer Acceptance Among Students in Inclusive Classrooms

This study provides data on the social and affective functioning of 2,011 students in second to eighth grade who were receiving instruction in inclusive general education classrooms. Students were identified as being at risk for school failure, having a disability, using English as a second language, or non-categorized. The academic self-concept and social integration of the students were assessed using two instruments: The Perception of Ability Scale for Students (PASS) and the Perception of Social Closeness Scale (PSCS). On the PASS, the noncategorized group scored significantly higher than each of the three identified groups, but the means of the three categorized groups did not differ significantly. Peer acceptance was again significantly higher for the noncategorized children than it was for each of the three identified groups. However, the group of students with disabilities differed significantly from the group who were at risk, with those children scoring lowest on this measure. Relative differences between academic self-concept and social integration were explored in a series of convergent analyses. Children with disabilities and children who were at risk displayed particularly large (but opposite) discrepancies: Those who were at risk were relatively accepted by their peers but had low perceptions of their own academic abilities. The children with disabilities, however, rated relatively higher in academic self-concept than in social closeness. These relative discrepancies have implications for practice.

Identifying Effective Teaching Practices in Inclusive Classrooms

Abstract Over nearly two decades the Supporting Effective Teaching project examined the characteristics of teachers that result in successful inclusion of students with disabilities in Canadian regular education classrooms. These studies revealed that teachers who rate high in adapting and calibrating instruction for students who have special needs are the most successful overall with all their students. In this chapter, we present an adaptation of the observation scale that we used to rate effective inclusive instructional practices. The adapted scale can be used both as a self-rating and as a third-party measurement scale of effective teaching practices. We link each element of the scale to the Universal Design for Learning framework. We discuss how challenges to effective practices are affected by teacher beliefs about ability and disability, collegial differences in beliefs and practices, and the focus set by the leadership in the school.