Faculty Attitudes Toward Students With Intellectual Disabilities In Postsecondary Educational Settings

<p>Research has indicated that participation in some aspect of postsecondary education, either for credit or audit, could improve a disabled individual's changes for success in adult life. Research also has shown that faculty attitudes toward, and perceptions of students with disabilities play an important role in student success. The purpose of this study was to examine faculty attitudes toward the inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in college classes and willingness by faculty to accommodate the course content to meet individual student needs. An internet survey instrument was developed to gather information concerning students with intellectual disabilities and faculty attitude and perception toward these students in the college environment. The survey was also designed by the researcher to determine if attitudinal differences or trends existed among faculty from three different colleges within the university. The survey was completed by 107 faculty. Overall, statistical significance was observed when analyzing the research questions as they pertained to faculty attitude and perception concerning this unique population. The findings indicated that faculty generally were open to consider the possibility of having students with intellectual disabilities included in their classes. The significance of the study was that it contributed information to a small, but growing, body of research pertaining to the importance of faculty attitudes as a predictor of student success. Future research is needed to expand the study to other post-secondary institutions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Fekete, Diane F.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Marshall F. Zumberg

• Attitudes
• Inclusion
• Intellectual Disabilities
• Knowledge
• Postsecondary Faculty
• Special Education Law
• Higher Education and Teaching
• Special Education and Teaching

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/724

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.wayne.edu:oa_dissertations-1723