ATTITUDES TOWARD MAINSTREAMING: IMPLICATIONS FOR INSERVICE TRAINING AND TEACHING THE HANDICAPPED.

TEACHERS of children with disabilities; IN-service training of teachers; MAINSTREAMING in special education; ATTITUDE (Psychology)

The present emphasis on mainstreaming has exposed regular classroom teachers' opposition to working with the handicapped. Although much of their concern is attributed to lack of experience in the area of special education, teachers' attitudes toward the handicapped have been shown to contribute to their resistance. Research on improving attitudes has concluded that information about mainstreaming and experience with the handicapped can make teachers less anxious in working with these students. Inservice programs generally have been identified as a mechanism for providing required training. This article, in addition to a review of research on attitudes toward the handicapped, provides strategies designed to help teachers become receptive to mainstreaming and to work effectively with handicapped students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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