General Education Teachers' Efficacy Toward the Inclusion of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

• In Event: Research on the Education of Deaf Persons SIG Paper Session

Abstract

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students are being fully included into general education classrooms. This study examined the relationship between teacher efficacy and attitudes towards inclusion of DHH students, effects of inclusion on DHH students, and how teacher beliefs about DHH students affected their expectations in the classroom. A purposeful sample of general education teachers were administered the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and the Attitudes Toward Teaching All Students (ATTAS-dhh). Classroom observations and semi-structured follow-up interviews of a purposeful sample of general education teachers working and DHH students were conducted. Findings indicated a negative correlation between efficacy and attitudes toward the inclusion of DHH students. DHH students reported a preference to being included into general education classrooms.

Authors

• Edith Milovanovic, Clear Creek ISD

• Amy Orange, University of Houston - Clear Lake