01/21/2020
My dissertation began as a study on the viability of the Universal Design for Learning model in secondary inclusive settings as it relates to student welfare, but as most studies go, it began to take on new elements that addressed how UDL can assist teachers in a supportive and compassionate manner in managing cognitively diverse learning communities in middle and high schools. It is most important to consider the ever widening academic, functional, and behavioral gaps that present themselves as students with special needs continue through the educational system with their typical peers, thus it is imperative for the system to find ways to support their teachers in inclusive classrooms through meaningful instructional strategies and curriculum that can be leveled with minimal difficulty.
This study concluded that most secondary teachers are willing to work in inclusive programs and find inclusion valuable and relevant for both typical and non-typical students, but without the needed pre-planning (structure/teacher pairing/preparation), resources (staff/curriculum/instructional tools), and supports (training and administrative involvement) readily available prior to the first day of class, teachers range from being wary to unwilling to work in inclusion programs.
This purpose of this case study was to explore the potential reasons why secondary teachers are resistant to working in inclusive programs, as well as to discover barriers to inclusion so that those obstacles can be addressed and rectified by those who make meaningful, relevant, and holistic educati...