INCLUSION AND THE CHALLENGE OF ASSIMILATION FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES

The perceptions of fourteen teachers from fourteen different public sc hools about their changing roles and responsibilities as they moved in to inclusive settings with students with severe disabilities were expl ored in this qualitative study. It discusses their experiences of cult ural dissonance as they left the segregated culture of special educati on and attempted to assimilate themselves into general education class rooms, grades K-8. Their dilemmas, doubts, and hopes for the future ap e discussed as well as the challenges that attempted cultural assimila tion presents for special educators.