Secondary Inclusion Programs for Students with Mild Disabilities.

Abstract

The movement toward more inclusive school programs has resulted in increasing numbers of students with mild disabilities (learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and behavior disorders) who are educated in general education classroom settings (Es pin & Foegen, 1996; Guterman, 1995; Scanlon, Deshler, & Schumaker, 1996; Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 1995). Although the effectiveness of inclusive school programs has remained controversial (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1994; McLeskey & Waldron, 1995; Zigmond et al., 1995), the movement toward these programs seems to be continuing unabated. Until recently, much of the emphasis in the professional literature regarding inclusion focused on programs in elementary schools. Many of the efficacy studies that have been used to support inclusion have been conducted in elementary schools, and the model programs that have been described have primarily been elementary programs (Affleck, Madge, Adams, & Lowenbraun, 1988; Banerji & Dailey, 1995; Bear & Proctor, 1990; Zigmond, et al., 1995). Indeed, it seems likely that many more inclusion programs have been developed in elementary schools, and secondary schools have been much slower in moving toward developing and implementing these programs.