The public education system is shaped through policy at the federal, state, and local levels with the expectation of implementation at the building level by educational leaders. Education is a right of all individuals and cannot be taken away due to a person's exceptionalities. This right is protected by federal law and enforced by district…

Although there are several well used self-efficacy instruments designed to measure PE teachers' self-efficacy to teach students with disabilities, limitations to these scales exits, such as a narrow focus on integrated instructional placements and an absence of theoretically relevant sources of self-efficacy information built within the scales.…

This mixed methods study was designed to investigate teachers' perceptions and attitudes regarding students with disabilities in the inclusive classroom. According to Hogan, Lohmann, and Champion (2013), inclusive classrooms are now the norm in many K-12 schools across the United States, which has made the job of general education teachers all the…

Framed by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this descriptive phenomenological study described the experiences of general education teachers in inclusive classrooms and teacher preparedness to teach students with learning disabilities. The SCT allowed studying the behavioral, cognitive, and social aspects that helped comprehend teachers'…

This quantitative study examined general and special education teachers' self-efficacy, attitudes, and teaching efficacy in implementing inclusive practices in Texas secondary schools. Grounded in Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, the research explored how teacher efficacy impacted the successful integration of students with disabilities into…

Language deprivation occurs because the majority of Deaf students are not born into homes where sign language is used and/or are not taught or not allowed to use sign language, the only language that is readily accessible to them. Instead, they are forced to use less effective communication techniques. When Deaf child who has experienced this…

The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is one of the six elements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The practice, definition, and intention have been debated throughout its history. This study focuses on the elementary school educators' understanding and perspectives on how LRE affects how they support students with…

As the number of English learners (ELs) in the U.S. continues to rise, and the push for inclusion models grows, so too does the need to prepare mainstream teachers to educate this diverse population of learners. However, most mainstream teachers lack the specific theoretical background and skillset necessary to provide optimal instruction for ELs.…

In this era of increased accountability education leaders must respond to the political calls for academic performance with the legal ramifications of IDEA policy implementation within a student's least restrictive environment. This action research study sought to answer how a school system identifies a student's least restrictive environment.…

Adolescents with behavioral disorders suffer academic and social struggles when compared to general education adolescents in the United States. As behavioral health strategies gain greater priority in schools, interest has increased in the use of yoga practices as one of the key approaches to addressing student well-being. The majority of previous…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how public-school IEP team members describe decision-making influences and thresholds in least restrictive environment (LRE) placement for K-5 students with significant support needs in the Midwest. Decision-Making Ecology served as a framework for two research questions which…

Alternative education is broadly defined in the United States and includes variability around reasons for enrolling, choice in attending, and experiences once enrolled. In order to better understand these factors within alternative schools, this qualitative interview study, based in critical theory, included 22 current and former students from 12…

In the 1970s, educational policies excluded children with disabilities from general education classrooms. Children with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, were educated in separate environments from their non-disabled peers with minimum attention to the curriculum. The number of students with autism spectrum disorder increased over…

The purpose of this research study was to explore secondary education teachers' perceptions of why they may be underprepared to support English language learners (ELLs) in the mainstream classroom. With the increasing number of ELLs in public schools across the United States, teachers with the background, training, and/or knowledge of how to…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the administrative law that governs special education services and how students with disabilities should be educated. When students are found eligible for special education and related services, the law states that the general education classroom should be the first placement considered where…