Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusive Practices for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: A Meta-Synthesis

Abstract

The term inclusion has been tossed around the educational world for several decades now. In 1975 when the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, mandated that all children with special needs should be educated in their least restrictive environment (LRE) with their general educated peers, schools began to create special schools and self-contained classrooms for students with disabilities. In the 1980’s there was a movement to create a more inclusive and unified model of special education. Separate education was no longer equal and with the Regular Education Initiative’s (REI) attempt to correct the limitations of IDEA by creating one system of general education in which students with disabilities were to be supported within general education classrooms, the push for inclusion began. One major argument against full inclusion came from those who worked with students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders