Running head: QUALITATIVE ARTICLE REVIEW 1

Qualitative Article Review:

“The Lived Experiences of General and Special Education Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms:

A Phenomenological Study.”

Dona Thanushi N S Hettipathirana

Liberty University

EDUC 518 – Understanding Educational Research and Assessment

Dr. Robert. L. Ritz

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Qualitative Article Review:

“The Lived Experiences of General and Special Education Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms:

A Phenomenological Study.”

This paper reviews “The Lived Experiences of General and Special Education Teachers

in Inclusive Classrooms: A Phenomenological Study,” an article which was published in The

Canyon Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1 of 2012, by Rinyka Allison PhD,

an instructional specialist for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools and adjunct faculty member

at the Grand Canyon University,.

Summary

The purpose of the study was to explore the daily lived experiences of special and

general education teachers who have taught or who are currently teaching in inclusive settings

and how those lived experiences influenced their attitudes and beliefs about inclusion (Allison,

2012). The definition of inclusion as asserted in this study was “the integration of students with

disabilities into the general education setting with special education supports that aid in the

student’s access to the general education curriculum” (Allison, 2012). The research questions

explored in the study were: 1) “What is the essence of the lived experiences of special and

education teachers in relation to inclusion in classrooms?; 2) How do these lived experiences

impact their attitudes and beliefs about inclusion?; 3) What are general and special education

teachers’ beliefs about participating in the education of students with disabilities in inclusive

settings?” (Allison, 2012).

A literature review of previous studies indicated that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Act of 2004 emphasis on the integration of students with disabilities into general education

classrooms and requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004
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that “all students regardless of their disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive

environment” (IDEA, 2004) increased the pressure on state policy makers and school

administrators resulting in “varying attitudes among special and general educators regarding the

implementation of inclusion” (Allison, 2012). Further, research have indicated that there is also a

lack of clarity with regard to the roles and responsibilities of both general and special educators

related to providing instruction in inclusive settings (Allison, 2012). Literature also revealed the

evolution of the phenomena of inclusion since its inception in form of goals in the IDEA of 1994

and helped discover negative and positive attitudes and beliefs about inclusion.

The target population of this phenomenological study was general and special education

teachers who had taught or currently teaching in an inclusive setting. The sample size of the

study was eight and participants consisted of four special education and four general education

elementary school teachers with inclusive teaching experience at one of the 28 elementary

schools in a large urban school district in the eastern part of the USA referred by the pseudonym

the Blessed School District (Allison, 2012). The appropriate sample size for a phenomenological

study ranges from 6 to10, and therefore, a sample size of eight is sufficient enough to capture the

significant experiences of the participants. The District included 28 elementary schools, 10

middle schools and 7 high schools. Total student population was 39901, 18.1% of the students

received special education services. The district employed 2156 full time employees, 779 worked

at the elementary level, 62.9% European Americans, 29.8% African Americans, 2.9% Asian

Americans, 4.4% Latino Americans, and 0.40% Native Americans. The teaching staff consisted

of 80.2% females and 19.2% males.

Sample selection was based on the following criteria: 1) a general education or special

education teacher who had taught or was currently teaching in an inclusive setting; 2)a general
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education or special education teacher who had taught or was currently teaching at one of the

elementary schools in the Blessed School District; 3) a general or special education teacher who

had one or more years of experience teaching in an inclusive setting; and 4) a general or special

education teacher who was licensed as a teacher in the Blessed School District in his/her

respective content area.

The research was designed as a phenomenological study – the study of meaning, structure

and essence of the lived experience of a particular phenomenon for a particular person or a group

of people (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2010). The conceptual framework was based on Glasser’s Choice

Theory (Glasser, 1998), which examined the following three conceptual constructs in relation to

an individual’s world: A) the people with whom individuals want to be; B) the things that

individuals want to own or experience; and C) the ideas and beliefs that govern an individual’s

behavior (Allison, 2012). Glasser concluded that “positive interpersonal and personal

relationships foster the quality world of an individual” (Allison, 2012) and proposed that

“individuals choose to develop attitude and beliefs about situations based upon lived

experiences” (Allison, 2012). Therefore, Glasser’s concept of a quality world is an appropriate

conceptual framework for this phenomenological study because the objective of the study is “to

understand the lived world of human experience in relation to the inclusion setting” (Allison,

2012)

The researcher was the sole person responsible for data collection and design of the data

collection instrument. The data collection instruments were interview protocol and reflective

journals, which were designed based on research questions, related to the conceptual framework

and literature reviewed in the study. Interviews were conducted in two rounds in forms of initial

and follow up questions (Allison, 2012) and consisted of open ended questions. The interview
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questions and the journal format were associated with the participants teaching experience, lived

experiences in the inclusion setting, how lived experiences shaped their attitudes and believes

about inclusion, understanding of the phenomenon of inclusion, discussion of changes regarding

their perception of about inclusion and expression of feelings, ideas and insights regarding the

phenomenon of inclusion. The data analysis was carried out by means of examining the data

collected through initial interviews, follow up interviews and journal entries of the eight

participants in relation to research questions. The data analysis themes and sub themes were

identified as they emerged from data: eight themes and three subthemes addressing the three

research questions (Allison, 2012).

According to the findings of this phenomenological study, the participant encountered

both positive and negative experiences in the inclusive setting, clearly impacting their attitudes

and believes about inclusion. The major findings from the study revealed that successful

implementation of inclusion depend on professional development opportunities & proper training

(more knowledge on inclusion for general educators), administrative support, mutual respect

between regular and special education teachers and knowledge of students with disabilities. It

also indicated the following: the participants believed that inclusion provided equal education

opportunities for all students; lived experiences regarding inclusion of the majority were

positive; the experiences influenced further understanding inclusion such as its challenges,

respect among teachers etc.; a majority believed the need for creating positive work

environments affects effectiveness in inclusive settings. It concluded that success and failure of

inclusion depended upon the attitudes and beliefs of the educators ensuring that “all students,

regardless of their disability, receive a fair and appropriate education in their least restrictive

environment” (Allison, 2012)

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Analysis

Further research, I believe, should include: determining the roles of special and general

education teachers in inclusive settings; investigation of opportunities for training and

professional development of teachers in inclusive settings; examination of ways and means of

creating support groups for teachers who work in inclusive environments; exploring of the lived

experiences of educators in different contexts such as suburban, rural, middle school, high-school

etc.; exploring the possibilities of generating data bases for resources and teaching material on

co-teaching in inclusive settings.

There are a number factors which ensure the validity and reliability of this

phenomenological study. Factor contributing to validity: the sample size very appropriate for this

phenomenological study and is drawn equally from both general and special education teacher

populations; the researcher brackets herself through fully refraining from reflecting on her

believes at all times during data collection as it was done through the use of open ended

interview questions and reflective journals; and the themes and subthemes of data analysis were

identified as they emerged from data. Factors contributing to reliability: the researcher clearly

outlined and described the steps involved in the study allowing replication of the study; fidelity

of implementation is high as the researcher is the sole responsible party for data collection and

data collection instrument design. A threat to validity of this phenomenological study is the lack

of mentioning of measure taken against data collector bias, especially with regard to unconscious

distortion of data collection process.

I strongly believe, that phenomenological studies on the same topic with same purpose

could be carried out in different school districts, different states with new target populations and

samples in order: to have a much broader understanding of the phenomenon of inclusion; to

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further our knowledge on attitudes and beliefs related to inclusion; to further the validity and

reliability of the study; and to synthesize such qualitative studies in order to arrive at

generalizations of the findings. I also believe, that replication of the study in different contexts

such as in middle school and high-school settings and suburban and rural settings could enhance

the reliability and validity of the study through further investigation.

The practical implications of the findings include: it was vital for both general and special

educator voices to be heard and listened to in order to better understand the phenomenon of

inclusion; professional development promotes confidence and preparedness to teach in inclusive

settings; the creation of support groups might promote positive social change as teachers become

more comfortable in sharing challenges and rewards of teaching in inclusive settings; creation

and implementation of effective co-teaching models; create positions within school districts for

teachers to become inclusion coaches; general education teachers can be more receptive to

integrating students with disabilities in general education; special education teachers may view

themselves as co-facilitators in inclusive setting (Allison, 2012).

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References

Gall, M.D., Gall, J.P. & Borg, W.R. (2010). Applying Educational Research. Boston: Pearson.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice Theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper

Collins.

Allison, R. (2012). The lived experiences of general and special education teachers in inclusive

classrooms: A phenomenological study. The Canyon Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.

1(1).