classes must occur according to the law.
Regardless of the law, and regardless of whether an educational environment is appropriate or less appropriate, the success of any mainstreaming effort will depend largely on the effectiveness of the classroom teacher involved in a mainstreaming situation. The effectiveness of the classroom teacher in a mainstreaming situation may be expected to be affected by her or his attitudes and perceptions toward the mainstreaming of at risk students in regular classrooms.
The principal objective of the proposed study is to measure and identify the attitudes of elementary educators--teachers, education specialists, and administrators--toward the mainstreaming of at risk students in regular classrooms. Subsidiary objectives of the proposed study involve the identification of relevant demographic, professional, and personal characteristics that influence the attitudes of elementary educators toward the mainstreaming of at risk students in regular classrooms.
Two hypotheses will be tested in the proposed research study. These hypotheses are as follows:
1. The attitudes and perceptions of regular elementary classroom teachers toward the mainstreaming of at risk students in regular classrooms will be less positive than the attitudes and perceptions of elementary special education teachers toward the mainstreaming of at risk students.
2. The attitudes and perceptions of regular elementary classroom teachers toward the mainstreaming of at risk students in regular classrooms will be less positive than the attitudes and perceptions of elementary school administrators toward the mainstreaming of at risk students.
Legal requirements in the United States dictate an increasing level of the mainstreaming of at risk students in the nation's classrooms. It is, therefore, essential to develop strategies that will assure that this action will not jeopardize the quality of education for either regu...