Supporting Research

According to Clark County School District officials, schools that embrace inclusive practices see improvement in student achievement, especially among English language learners and students with disabilities.   Data collection (including status of Adequate Yearly Progress, and other subject-specific outcomes) will be reported at the end of the 2007-08 school year from schools that have received funding. The CCSD research department also has begun a staffed research project to: investigate the impact of a differentiated professional development model on implementation and teacher efficacy related to student-centered instructional practices; to collect data regarding the relationship between student-centered practices and student outcomes, such as achievement, engagement, behavior, and social development; and to measure the effect of these practices on parent, teacher, and student attitudes.  Preliminary results are expected at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.

National Research Findings Overview

• The most frequently recommended type of support for general educators who are including students with disabilities in their classroom is some form of collaboration or Co-Teaching arrangement with special educators (Friend and Cooke, 1996).

• Resources, time, and training emerge as intervening variables in understanding the varying reactions and success of general educators with inclusion (McGregor and Vogelsberg, 2000). 

• Teachers who feel adequately supported in their efforts to include students are more likely to report being successful in their efforts (Bennett et al., 1997; Gemmel-Grosby & Hanzlik, 1994; Wolery, Werts, Caldwell, Snyder & Liskowski, 1995).  Several studies evaluating the effects of specific training interventions with teachers designed to broaden their instructional repertoire have documented positive results for both teachers and students (Brady, Swank, Taylor & Freiberg, 1992; Wolery, Anthony, Snyder, Werts & Katzenmeyer, 1997).

• Walter-Thomas (1997) evaluated the impact of Co-Teaching models in 23 schools across eight school districts.  She reported positive outcomes relative to the academic and social skills of low-achieving students, improved attitudes and self-concepts reported by students with disabilities, and the development of positive peer relationships.

• In a direct comparison of a pull-out support model with one in which special educators teach within the general education classroom, Meyers, Glezheiser and Yelich (1991) found classroom teachers to prefer the in-class support model.  They reported more frequent collaborative meetings, a greater focus on instructional issues, and acquisition of more instructional techniques to support students with diverse learning needs.

• Time for teaming and reflection is critical to enable collaborative approaches to instruction to occur and continue to develop (Adelman & Walking-Eagle, 1997; NEA, 1994; Raywid, 1993).

• More recent approaches bring special and general educators together at the initial planning stages of a lesson.  When this occurs, it is far more likely that adaptive teaching methods will be "frontloaded" (Heron & Jorgensen, 1994), rather than added after-the-fact by a special educator who may or may not have time to communicate alternative performance plans to the general education teacher before the lesson is delivered.

• Students with learning disabilities served in inclusive classrooms achieved higher course grades in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies than students with learning disabilities in pullout programs.  In addition, they achieved higher scores on language and mathematics on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills than did students in pullout programs (Rea, McLaughlin, and Walther-Thomas, 2002

• In a sample of 1,152 teachers who reported to have at least one student with a disability in their class, large discrepancies were noted between the availability and the necessity of training and resources to support these students (Werts, Wolery, Snyder, Caldwell & Salisbury, 1996).  In each area queried, needs perceived by teachers greatly exceeded the supports they had reportedly received.  In contrast, studies involving teachers who reportedly received adequate support and training about inclusion or studies involving teachers who are in Co-Teaching situations (Minke, Bear, Deemer & Griffin, 1996) describe them as feeling successful and positive about inclusion (e.g., Gemmell-Crosby & Hanzlik, 1994; Wolery, Werts, Caldwell, Snyder & Liskowski, 1995).

• The changes required of schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities are congruent with the changes necessary for classrooms to be responsive to the needs of all learners (Jorgensen & Fried, 1994; Lipsky & Gartner, 1997).

• The needs of students with disabilities should be considered within the context of general education reform rather than as a separate system (Consortium for Inclusive Schooling Practices, 1996).

• A characteristic common to all successful teacher collaborations is the high level of support needed by teachers for planning time and staff development.  The likelihood of a teacher collaboration model succeeding (as measured by increased student outcomes) in the absence of these two conditions is very small (Villa & Nevin, 1994). Ongoing training and technical assistance is critical to support faculty in adopting new roles & utilizing new skills (Cheney & Harvey, 1994; Schaffner & Buswell, 1996).

• A substantial body of research supports the use of cooperative learning to effectively increase the quality and quantity of academic success for students with disabilities (Good & Schwenn, 1993; Udvari-Solner & Thousand, 1996).

• Change is a dynamic process. Working to establish a "culture of inquiry" in a school is a valuable part of the change process (Brubacher, Case & Reagan, 1994).

• Small group structuring associated with cooperative learning has been repeatedly demonstrated as academically (e.g. Lew, Mesch, Johnson & Johnson, 1986; Madden & Slavin, 1983) and socially beneficial for heterogeneous groups of students (Johnson, Johnson, & Anderson, 1983; Johnson & Johnson, 1981; Johnson, Johnson, Tiffany & Zaidman, 1983).

• Findings of studies consistently demonstrated that the development of typically developing children did not decelerate (e.g. Bricker et al., 1982; Odom et al., 1984; Sharpe, York & Knight, 1994) as a function of the diversity of children in the classroom.  

• Manset and Semmel (1997) conclude that gains for students without disabilities are the most consistent outcome of this body of research, suggesting the potential benefits of blending the instructional expertise of general and special educators for the benefit of all students.