The effects of inclusion on general education students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects that inclusion of special education students have on regular education students. This was done through a comprehensive review and critical analysis of research and literature concerning both positive and negative effects of the inclusion of special education students. As an overview one could say that there are many changes that the inclusion of special needs students set into motion when being mainstreamed with regular education students. Both positive and negative effects have been documented. This researcher found that teachers are able to spend enough time with regular education students if the instructor values the inclusion process and if cooperative planning takes place between the regular education and special needs instructors, many problems will exist if attitudes are negative and cooperative planning doesn’t take place. Another question that the researcher studied was to learn if special needs students caused disturbances that would slow the learning process for the entire class, this researcher found there to be few problems. The last question studied was to learn if there are positive outcomes for the regular education student in an inclusion classroom, research shows many examples of positive and very few negatives. Whether the mainstreaming and its effects are viewed as good or bad, seems to have a lot to do with two factors. The attitude that the regular education instructor has toward the inclusion process and if proper planing exists between the regular and special needs instructors.