Abstract
To examine possible trends in teachers' attitudes, Felt competence, and need for support for inclusion in special education, a questionnaire was given to 108 teachers from three school districts. While respondents expressed positive attitudes, each district differed by the amount of involvement in inclusion programs. Teachers' competence ratings were highest on items related to working with colleagues and parents, knowledge of students' characteristics, and strategies in evaluation. The teachers' most important needs involved class size, administrative support, extra personnel, and preparation time. Items related to education, on the job training (inservice), and college coursework were rated lowest. There was a significant difference in attitude between those teachers who had previous experience with disabilities and those who did not. In addition, a strong positive relationship was found between attitudes and felt competence. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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