▼ In Saudi Arabia, the majority of students with severe disabilities are still educated in special schools that do not meet their unique needs for interaction with their typically developing peers in public schools settings where they could improve social, communication, and academic skills. One of the most significant obstacles to inclusion of students with severe disabilities is teachers' perspectives regarding inclusive education for this category of students. As a result, this study examined teachers' perspectives regarding the inclusion of students with severe disabilities using a quantitative approach. This study also examined the relationship between teachers' perspectives regarding the inclusion of students with severe disabilities and current teaching position, training, teacher's levels of education, previous teaching experience with any kind of disabilities in inclusive settings, grade level taught, teachers' gender, and whether they have a family member with a disability. Three hundred and three teachers responded to the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI: Arabic version) survey, including 161 males and 139 females, and three non-specified gender. A two-way ANCOVA, a one-way ANOVA, and an independent t-test were used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study indicate that teachers have slightly negative perspectives toward inclusive education of students with severe disabilities. Significant factors regarding teachers' perspectives toward the inclusion of students with severe disabilities included current teaching position, previous teaching experience with any kind of disabilities in inclusive settings, and teachers‘ gender. Finally, this study includes implications for practice regarding educating students with severe disabilities in Saudi Arabia in terms of special education services, components of successful inclusive education, Saudi legislation improvement and implementation, and future research. Advisors/Committee Members: Gűt, Dianne.

▼ The federal mandate, No Child Left Behind, demands that students with disabilities be exposed to the same curriculum as their peers, participate in the state’s graduation test, and have their scores incorporated in the district report card. Co-teaching is one method used by school districts as a means to expose students with disabilities to the curriculum. The premise is that students with disabilities will fare better academically in this environment, which should allow for improved academic performance. This is difficult to establish due to the number of models, differing needs of students, and expected outcomes posed by students, teachers, and administrators. There appeared to be little evidence as to who measures the progress of co-taught programs and how progress is measured. This qualitative study analyzes perspectives of rural high school students with disabilities, their teachers, parents, and administrators regarding the impact of inclusion on co-taught mathematics classes for grades 9 and 10. This research determined that these 32 stakeholders measured student progress in co-taught classes. This phenomenological case study set in grounded theory focused on document review, interviews, and observations. The findings of this study indicate that progress in co-teaching classes was measured by performance outcomes according to stakeholders’ roles. Administrators and supervisors measured progress by class placement for maximum exposure to grade-level indicators. Teachers rated progress by scores earned through day-to-day classroom activities which were aligned to grade-level indicators. Parents and students rated progress by scores earned through class assignments represented by grades. Stakeholders felt the pressure of improved performance on high-stakes testing, and, based on roles, engineered appropriate settings to ensure student and district success. Advisors/Committee Members: Safran, Stephen P.

▼ The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether a student teaching placement in an integrated classroom would promote a positive change in pre-service teachers attitude toward children with disabilities. Sixty-nine senior level pre-service teachers in early childhood education completing preschool student teaching participated in this study. Using a true-experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to two groups using a matched pair technique. The control group was placed into a preschool classroom with no children having disabilities and the experimental group was placed in a classroom with at least one child with and Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Participants completed the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI) scale at the end of their student teaching experience (Antonak and Larivee, 1995). The analysis compared the mean scores of a post-test attitude survey of two groups of pre-school student teachers using a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). MANOVA results did not reveal a significant result among student teaching placement sites on attitude factors, Wilks Λ =.906, F = 1.67, p <. 05, multivariate η2= .094 but offered insight to the literature. Demographic information and open-ended question responses added support to the notion that increased experiences with children with disabilities could positively influence the attitudes of pre-service student teachers. This study, accompanied by other research, indicates that direct experiences with children with disabilities influence the development of attitudes toward integration. This study lays the groundwork for future preparatory program development in that it suggests the importance of placing pre-service teacher with role models that hold higher degrees. It also supports the infusion of special education throughout course work and direct contact experiences. Advisors/Committee Members: Roth, Marta A.