Searching for Validated Inclusive Practices: A Review of the Literature.

Abstract

Addressing the educational needs of students with mild disabilities appropriately in general education classrooms is a challenge (e.g. , Baker & Zigmond, 1990; Deshler & Schumaker, 1988; McIntosh, Vaughn, Schumm, Haager, & Lee, 1993). This is understandable given the institutional demands that today's public school teachers face. Teachers at all grade levels are being assigned to teach larger classes of students, are being required to teach more content while increasing student performance on competency exams, and are not being provided additional planning or instructional time to do so (Joint Committee on Teachers Planning for Students with Disabilities, 1995). The challenge of providing appropriate support to students with disabilities is exacerbated by the reality that many teachers have not been trained to use validated instructional practices with exceptional populations (Deshler & Schumaker, 1993). Clearly, placement in mainstream classrooms alone will not guarantee successful outcomes for students with mild disabilities (e.g., Greenwood, Maheady, & Carta, 1991; Zigmond, Jenkins, Fuchs, Deno, Fuchs, Baker, Jenkins, & Couthino, 1995). If students with disabilities are to be successful, teachers need information about educational practices that will allow them to meet these students' needs within the context of the institutional demands present in schools today (Kauffman, 1994). More specifically, teachers need information about inclusive practices that are validated, that benefit most, if not all, students in a class, that allow the integrity of the curriculum to be maintained, and that are practical in terms of time and implementation. The purpose of this review is to help meet this need by describing and critically examining the research on_existing inclusive practices.