Does Inclusion Help Students: Perspectives from Regular Education and Students with Disabilities

Authors

Bonnie Dupuis, MA, Joyce W. Barclay, Ed.S., Sherwin D. Holmes, MS, Morgan Platt, Steven H. Shaha, PhD, DBA, Valerie K. Lewis, MPA
  • Bonnie Dupuis, MA (Author) Facilitator for Inclusive Practices Polk County Public Schools image/svg+xml
    Bonnie DuPuis. Bonnie DuPuis has over 14 years of experience in educating students from kindergarten to 8th grade. Her greatest passion has been teaching students in inclusive settings. She holds a Masters degree in Varying Disabilities and an Undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Elementary Education. Bonnie has piloted various educational initiatives to assist school districts in providing best practices for all students, including students with significant disabilities.
  • Joyce W. Barclay, Ed.S. (Author) Florida Inclusion Network Facilitator Polk County Public Schools image/svg+xml
    Joyce Barclay. Joyce Barclay works with the Florida Inclusion Network in Polk County Schools in central Florida. She has an Educational Specialists Degree in Educational Leadership. She has worked in the field of special education for 28 years in the roles of staffing specialist, program coordinator, senior manager, and inclusion facilitator. She also teaches courses in Exceptional Student Education at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL.
  • Sherwin D. Holmes, MS (Author) Director, Exceptional Student Education Polk County Public Schools image/svg+xml
    Sherwin Holmes. Sherwin Holmes holds a Masters of Science in Audiology, a Florida Teaching Certificate for Hearing Impaired K-12 and Certification in Educational Leadership. He has 19 years of experience in education with over 15 years in the administration of Special Education. Sherwin s current position is the Director of Exceptional Student Education managing an $18,000,000.00 budget in a school district of approximately 90,000 total students.
  • Morgan Platt (Author) Assessment, Accountability & Evaluation Polk County Public Schools
    Morgan Platt. Morgan Platt holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in Education and Business Administration. He is an advanced Ph.D. student in Research and Measurement. He has 11+ years experience teaching course in education, as well as research methods and statistics. He has led numerous evaluation projects at the local school district level and oversees a local data management and evaluation company.
  • Steven H. Shaha, PhD, DBA (Author) Director of Research & Evaluation Performance & Growth through Impacts (PGI)
    Steven H. Shaha. Dr. Steven Shaha holds 2 masters degrees in Education and doctorates in Research Methods and Applied Statistics and in Business Administration. He has presented 150+ papers, has 200+ publications, many chapters and two books, assisted in creating the Baldrige Awards for Education and Healthcare, and has consulted throughout the U.S. and in 13 countries internationally.
  • Valerie K. Lewis, MPA (Author) President and CEO Performance & Growth through Impacts (PGI)
    Valerie K. Lewis. Valerie Lewis has over 15 years of experience in Education from high school teacher to college administrator. Her Masters is in Public Administration. Valerie has worked with multi-million dollar grants on measurement, assessment and continuous improvement to aid Educational organizations. She is currently President and CEO of Performance and Growth through Impacts.
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.9
This research focused on verifying the impacts of Inclusion on both students with disabilities (SWDs) and their Regular Ed classmates. High school students (n = 364) within inclusive classes completed surveys reflecting their perceptions of the effectiveness of the learning environment and the attitudinal impacts of Inclusion. Results documented significant positive attitudinal and self-reported learning impacts of Inclusion for both SWDs and Regular Ed peers. SWDs reported higher self-concept, liking of school and teachers, and greater motivation to work and learn. Unexpectedly, Regular Ed student responses followed the same patterns, reflecting significantly higher attitudes across the board and perceived academic achievement, as well as higher tolerance for SWDs. The importance of anonymity for SWDs is discussed in light of significantly higher attitudinal ratings among Regular Ed students most aware of the presence of SWDs. Implications for the future of Inclusion are discussed.

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There are 21 references in total.
Dupuis, B., Barclay, J. W., Holmes, S. D., Platt, M., Shaha, S. H., & Lewis, V. K. (2006). Does Inclusion Help Students: Perspectives from Regular Education and Students with Disabilities. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 1(2), 74-91. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.9

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted May 9, 2006
  • Published June 15, 2006
  • Issue Summer 2006
  • Section Articles
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