Inclusion in General Education Classes

The growing trend of inclusion affects students with §emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) who often §have great difficulty and fail in general §education. This study examines the perceptions and §opinions of secondary EBD students on their §inclusive experiences. Students completed a survey §on ideal practices they would like from general and §special educators followed by a survey on §actual experiences. They described the advantages §and challenges of inclusion, ending with §recommendations for teachers. Major findings §indicate that EBD students fell into two groups: §high-achieving or low-functioning. High-achieving §students wanted accommodations to help them succeed §academically, while low-functioning students wanted §no accommodations to maximize their similarity to §general education peers. Both groups wanted support §from teachers, albeit in different ways. High §achieving students wanted help to really function §like their general education peers; low functioning §students wanted to just look like their general §education peers. Both groups wanted to avoid §embarrassment while learning and socializing with §peers without disabilities.