Teachers Attitudes Toward Increased Mainstreaming

To investigate the types of instructional strategies offered in mainstream classes, we asked 127 mainstream teachers in Grades 1 through 8 to complete a self-evaluation concerning instructional strategies used in their general education classes. Also, each teacher completed questionnaires concerning their attitudes toward their own efficacy and toward mainstreaming. ANOVAs comparing teachers with positive attitudes toward mainstreaming and teachers with less positive attitudes indicated that the teachers with less positive attitudes used effective mainstream instructional strategies less frequently. Implications of these results in terms of recent educational initiatives resulting in increased inclusion programs are discussed.