Variables considered by teachers of students with moderate and severe disabilities when making placement decisions

For teachers to make appropriate inclusive placement decisions, it is neces sary to identify variables within the school environment that will foster s uccessful learning experiences for students with moderate and severe intell ectual disabilities. Numerous variables ave identified in the literature as being important for successful placement in general education settings. Th e purpose of this study was to investigate which variables teachers current ly consider when making placement decisions and to learn if discrepancies e xist between what teachers actually consider and what they indicated they s hould consider. A survey was developed to gather this information from teac hers currently implementing inclusive practices in Georgia. Results indicat ed in general, that the variables teachers currently consider are the same as those they indicate should be considered when making inclusive placement decisions. Results also showed that teachers are concerned with more than physical inclusion of students, indicating that they consider, for example, opportunities for social skills learning, community-based instruction, han ds-on learning, and the ability to address functional content within the ge neral education setting.