Abstract
This study utilized a survey design to evaluate the willingness of general education teachers on one school campus to include students requiring special education services in their classrooms before and after getting clear training on the tools available. Twelve teachers were sent the survey and seven responded both times. All teachers on the campus attended the trainings and were given the templates created to support the trainings. Data was collected through Qualtrics, then put into a table to evaluate for themes. After evaluating the data collected from the pre-training survey, the researcher found that there was a low willingness of general education teachers to include students with extensive support needs in their classrooms. Based on the other responses in the surveys, it appeared there was a lack of training which may have contributed to the lack of willingness. This theory was reinforced after the researcher completed three training sessions with the teachers and asked them to test out the tools given. Then, after distributing the post-training survey, the average willingness of all teachers increased from 1.8 to 4.4 on a scale of 0 to 5 with 5 being very willing. The trainings covered participation and support plans, Universal Design for Learning lesson plans and characteristics of student learning. It would be beneficial for teachers to use the “characteristics of my learning” tool at the beginning of each school year to best support all students, though that is research for another time. The researcher has proposed the same tools be distributed throughout the school district with trainings given at each site or pre-recorded and sent to all teachers to view and use. The researcher will also be taking the training materials to another work site and will be using these tools with the teachers to promote more inclusive practices.