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…

When special education was first introduced into the general education environment, students were served in separate classrooms. Throughout the years, special education services have evolved and students with mild to moderate disabilities are now educated alongside their non-disabled peers. The foundation of the social interdependence theory is…

Co-teaching has emerged as a strategy for ensuring that SWDs are taught to the general education curriculum while receiving specially designed instruction within the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate to their needs. One of the most important components of co-teaching is the relationship between the two teachers (Kohler-Evans, 2006),…

This study investigates collaborative attitudes and practices in mainstream Italian schools. Research questions are the following: what kind of teachers' and students' collaboration occurs in inclusive settings? To what extent did significant differences exist among general education teachers and support education teachers? To what extent did…

A new special education strategy was launched in Finland by the Ministry of Education in 2007. The new Basic Act was enacted in 2010 and the new national core curriculum concerning three-tiered support for pupils in 2011. Since the 1990s, teachers across Finland have participated in developing Finnish basic education towards greater inclusion. The…

Inclusion classrooms were introduced in the United States in 1990 when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required that special education students be instructed in a general education setting. Ensuing changes in instructional formats have caused role confusion for special and general education teachers, resulted in mixed attitudes…

Co-teaching has gained considerable interest as a service delivery model for promoting the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms. This study examines whether co-teaching has an effect on the teaching experiences of 12 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 students with intellectual…

The potential benefits of co-teaching for students with disabilities are numerous, but more research is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of and preferences toward the current models. The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate student and teacher perceptions regarding the five co-teaching models (i.e., One Teach/One Assist, Station…

Collaboration in education is seen as a legal mandate, best practice in teacher practice, and necessary for the inclusion of children with special needs. Over the years, there have been a number of evolutionary incarnations of the collaborative model, each possessing various ingredients identified as important, if not essential, components of a…

New special education teachers often struggle to teach children the mathematics vocabulary necessary to understand and effectively solve math word problems. The authors designed and implemented a pilot program to prepare pre-service teachers majoring in special education to implement the Camelot Learning Math Intervention Program (CLMIP). We met…

Examining teacher perceptions of the co-teaching model is the purpose and the central research question of the proposed study. Co-teaching is characterized by two teachers instructing general and special education students within the same classroom. Literature indicates the need for professional development to support this diverse group of…

This dissertation provided an examination of the views and perspectives of special education teachers at the middle school level as they engaged in support and services for students with disabilities in the inclusion classroom. The intention of this study was to examine the concerns of these teachers as they give support to students with…

Co-teaching and various forms of team teaching are common in today's schools but have rarely been viewed in relationship to supporting novice special education teachers. Personal compatibility is consistently reported as a key factor in the success of co-teaching. Special educators who co-teach often take a backseat role in the general education…

The successful participation of students with disabilities in a general education classroom is generally presumed to be contingent on the creation of classroom communities that can nurture the qualities of equity and care and where different forms of diversity are valued. However, there has been less scholarship that documents the production of…

It is necessary to provide students both with and without special needs and the classroom teachers with special education support services in order to achieve successful inclusion applications. The determination of teachers' opinions about the applications they carry out is important in the planning and achievement of the future applications. The…