topic (Heflinß& Bullock, 1999).
This review of the literature presents the topic of teacher attitudes toward inclusion of special needs students in regular classrooms. Issues discussed include the following: teacher attitudes, prior experience, training needs, support needs, and teacher/student characteristics.
Scruggs and Mastropieni (1996) presented findings from 28 elementary and secondary school investigations that took place from 1958 to 1995 and were related to general education teacher perceptions of inclusion of disabled students in regular classrooms. Two thirds of the schools supported mainstreaming or inclusion and less than two thirds were willing to include these students in their classrooms. Half of the teachers had positive attitudes toward inclusion but only one third believed that they had enough time, skills, training, or resources for successful inclusion.
Other authors found mixed results when investigating teacher attitudes toward inclusion. Avramidis, Bayliss, and Burden (2000) reviewed previous studies and found that teacher-attitudes toward inclusion were negative and these negative attitudes were from teachers who lacked experienced. Teachers with inclusion experience were in favor of inclusion and negative and neutral attitudes changed over time as a function of experience with inclusion. Avramidis, et al. (2000) surveyed 81 primary and secondary mainstream teachers from primary and secondary schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas. These authors found that teachers had positive attitudes towards inclusion and experience and professional development were related to the degree of the positive attitude.
Villa, Thousand, Meyers, and Nevin (1996) studied 680 general and special education teachers and administrators from schools in New York, Michigan, Vermont, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada. These authors found that the study participants were in favor of inclusion with collaborative ...