USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL-TIME IN CLASSROOMS SERVING STUDENTS WITH AND WITHOUT SEVERE DISABILITIES

This investigation explored the use of teacher and student time in an inclusive elementary school where students with mild to profound disab ilities were enrolled in general education classrooms. Participants in cluded 6 students with severe disabilities and 12 students without dis abilities. Observers recorded time used for instruction, as well as le vels and types of student engagement and types of interruptions. Stude nts in each group evidenced comparable levels of engaged time, and stu dents with severe disabilities had no effect on losses of instructiona l time. Results were discussed in light of this school's contextual ch aracteristics and the inclusive schools movement.