Address problems with the Inclusion model of teaching in an elemetary school

Addressing Problems with the Inclusion Model of an Elementary School

By

James Kelley

Summer 1 , 2008

A Research Project Presented to

the National Graduate Teacher Program

in the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Master of Science in Education

Nova Southeastern University

2008

Chapter I : Introduction

of the Community

The community presented in this research is located in a large county along the east coast of North Florida . Based on the 2006 U .S . Census Bureau , the population of this county is 178

,000 and the mean family income is 53 ,000 . Within the population of this county , 24 are school-age students and 23 ,000 have some type of disability

Writer 's Work Setting

The writer 's work setting is located at an elementary school . The school is located in a district that has been consistently rated among the best public schools in the state of Florida . The school is also one of the few inclusion model schools that opened in the county in 2007 Enrolled are 629 full-time students ages 5 through 13 . Of these students , 98 have a specific learning disability . Several programs exist in this school to meet the academic and social needs of these students

In addition , the school is part of one of the largest school districts in Florida with a The administrators in this school are extremely supportive and share information often to ensure that state standards are consistently met The writer works closely with these administrators to identify problems and implement strategies in the classroom that address these problems The school receives various grants throughout the year that provide the school with materials that they may not have had access to previously State standards are provided to the writer 's school as well as the educator to address and obtain academic goals

Writer 's Role

The writer is a third grade teacher and grade chair of a staff of five certified instructors . As grade chair , it is the writer 's responsibility to provide information to the teachers on her grade level . The writer is also the safety patrol advisor of fifth and sixth grade students

It is also the writer 's responsibility to conduct team meetings and planning sessions to ensure that the teachers are working together and teaching together . These meetings include writing lesson plans and having sharing sessions . In addition , she has taught regular education at the elementary level and has established relationships with parents educators , and administrators in the county . She serves as mentor to a third grade student and provides tutoring before and after school as needed . The writer also serves as a regular education teacher in an inclusion class of 17 students . Of these students , 8 of them have a specific learning disability

Chapter II : Study of the Problem

Problem Statement

The problem to be solved in this project is that regular education teachers are reluctant to teach exceptional education students in an inclusion class . Their realization of the benefits of the process...