The Effects Mainstreaming has on Special Education Students

Cynthia A. Locke

University of Houston Clear Lake

EDUC 6033

Dr. Gary Holmes

The Effects Mainstreaming has on Special Education Students

Introduction

Litigation and the passage of federal legislation has guaranteed each handicapped child, regardless of the severity of their disability, the right to be educated in accordance with the LRE, Least Restricted Environment, requirements to the maximum extent possible with their non-handicapped peers (Rudd, 2002). School reform efforts such as the inclusive schools movement and REI, Regular Education Initiative, paved the way for the integration of students with disabilities into general education classes. The inclusive schools movement goal was to eliminate the special education programs and fully include all handicap students in general classes. Although REI had a similar focus of creating a more cohesive educational system, its policies were more open to interpretation on whether it was for partial or full inclusion (Kavale, 2002).

Regardless, these reform efforts increased the chances that students with HID (high-incidence disabilities), such as learning disabilities and emotional disturbance, or students labeled as LD (learning disabled) will be in general education classes. Most of these students have academic skills well below their current grade level. It seems unreasonable to expect these students to experience academic success in a general education setting where they are expected to be on grade level performance. Teachers must individualize and adapt instruction to compensate for their needs. Inclusion within the classroom causes the teacher to have a complicated task trying to meet the needs of all the various learners in the class. The academic skills of handicapped children vary greatly from general education students. Students with learning disabilities need far more adaptation then regular students. This vast range of individual needs increases the challenge the teacher faces to provide each student with an equal education. Special education students must have instruction modified to meet their needs. Now teachers have to find a way to modify the instruction for the handicapped children in the class while trying to give enough knowledge to the regular students so they can reach their potential (D'Alonzo, B., Giordano, G., & VanLeeuwen, D. 1997).

It seems like an impossible task. If special education students were in self-contained classes they could easily be given the individualized instruction and attention they need to be successful without lowering the curriculum for general students. Mainstreaming tries to force handicapped children into situations that some are not prepared to handle. Self-contained classes are to provide special education students the opportunities they need to reach their fullest potential. When these students are emerged in the general classroom it is impossible to meet every need they have (Boudah, D.J., Schumacher, J.B., & Deshler, D.D. 1997).

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study is to determine if there are any statistically significant differences between severely learning disabled children that are enrolled in mainstream classes and self-contained special education classes.

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that teach disabled students who are included into general education classrooms will academically perform on a lower level than learning disabled students who ...