General Education Teachers' Goals and Expectations for their Included Students with Mild and Severe Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine general education teachers' goals and expectations for their included students with mild and severe disabilities. Participants were seven inclusive classroom teachers who were interviewed about their goals and expectations regarding one of their included students with a mild disability and one of their included students with a severe disability. Teachers described their primary goals for students with severe disabilities to be in the area of social development and reported that academic performance for these children was of little relevance. For children with mild disabilities, goals and expectations focused on classroom and behavior skills, academic performance, and improved self-confidence. Findings are considered in relation to a model of differential expectations (Cook, 2001; Cook & Semmel, 2000), which suggests that teachers' attitudes towards students conform to their perceptions of the obviousness of the child's disability.