Effects of an Inclusion Professional Development Model on Inclusion Knowledge and Perceptions of Regular Middle School Educators

By Dr. Otelia A. Royster

Effective changes do not come without a cost. Consistent monitoring and support requires open communication, and responsive action. It is critical to clearly define the responsibilities of regular and special educators, and to commit time and resources for continued professional development. In a time of increasing accountability and ever-changing priorities, educators must continue to be an advocate for positive change. Finally, the inclusion of students with disabilities is a matter of law

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479762798

Dr. Otelia A. Royster

Dr. Otelia Royster is an educator, scholar, and leader. Over the past twenty-eight years she has served as a role-model for students and colleagues. She prides herself on being a successful African American, a daughter, a sister, a mother, and a professional Inclusion Curriculum Language Arts Instructor. She focused on the individual, precisely on the importance of making a difference in oneself. Otelia was born in North Carolina, and grew up in Airlie, a rural area of Littleton. She spent summers working to help her parents. She graduated from high school then became married. In 1978, she was employed with Halifax County Board of Education. She attended Shaw University and earned her BA in 1990. After graduating, she attended North Carolina Central University and Nova Southeastern University, achieving honors for her MEd, MA, and EdD in 2011.

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Copyright © 2012 by Dr. Otelia A. Royster.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

Statement of the Problem

Purpose

Theoretical Framework and Literature Review

Research Questions

Methodology

Participants

Instruments

Procedures

Results

Findings for Research Question 1

Findings for Research Question 2

Discussion

Implications

Recommendation for Practice

References

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book could not have been written without the invaluable support from many people. The author wishes to express gratitude to all those who provided words of encouragement and assistance as she gathered information. I would like to especially thank District Superintendent, Dr. Elease Frederick for approval to conduct my research study in the Halifax County School System. Special Acknowledgement goes to Math experts; Sonya Jarrell and Tammy Hedgepeth during the 2007-2010 school year from Halifax County. Sonya provided countless hours during the afternoon listening to text and calculating data; Tammy provided consistent encouragement and statistical resources, along with Dr. Joseph L. Richardson I would like to acknowledge teachers and school administrators for their untiring support. They offered an opportunity for me to expand research by providing ideas and discussion of research-based strategies to better meet the needs of students with disabilities in the inclusive classrooms. Their honest and candid feedback led to significant changes in how I framed the book’s content. I wish to express sincere gratitude to significant persons that have given me considerable inspiration and strength throughout this project; these important people are my mother (Adella Burgess), Milton, daughters (Amiee), (Amelia) son (Gregory), my sister (Hazel Loretta Burgess), brothers (Carlton) and (Ray).

PREFACE

Regular education teachers lacked the training to work with special education students in inclusive classrooms. The intervention was the Inclusion Professional Development Model (IPDM). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and inferential-statistical model was the t test. Findings for Research Question 1 showed teachers’ knowledge of best practices in inclusive classrooms increased from pretest to posttest. Findings for Research Question 2 showed teachers’ perception scores on inclusive classrooms increased from pretest to posttest. Both increases