Date
12-16-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Laura Mansfield
Keywords
special education, general education teachers, general education teacher attitudes, students with disabilities
Disciplines
Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Segrest, Melodie, "Measuring General Education Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusion: A Quantitative Causal-Comparative Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7806.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7806
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study is to determine if there is a difference in general education teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and their level of experience. Research has shown that general education teachers’ attitudes are of the utmost importance in the success or failure of inclusion practices. The number of participants sampled was 241 teachers, which exceeds the required minimum of 126 for a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with five relatively evenly distributed groups. An online setting was determined to be the most appropriate environment for the completion of the survey for this study. The Attitudes Towards Teaching All Students instrument was used to collect data for analysis. The data collection procedures included utilizing an online platform that allowed anonymity, with completed surveys sorted according to the level of experience of the general education teachers. ANOVA was utilized to address the research question in this quantitative causal-comparative study. Results show that general education teacher attitudes and general education teacher level of experience toward inclusion have no significant difference. Thus, showing that general education teachers’ years of experience did not have a statistically significant impact on their attitudes toward inclusion. Teachers are the primary driving force behind what they do in the classroom and are influenced by their preservice preparation and knowledge of inclusion practices. The implications show the need to address teacher preparation programs, professional development, and inclusion pedagogy. Further research should delve deeper into the theory of planned behavior, education level, other variables, longitudinal, and extend research into different school settings.
