Impact of inclusion education on academic achievement, student behavior and self-esteem, and parental attitudes

The effects of students' placement versus non-placement in an inclusion classroom were determined in four sets of dependent variables: (a) parent concerns about their children's school programs; (b) teacher- and parent-reported instances of students' problem behaviors; (c) students' academic performance; and (d) students' self-reported self-esteem. A second, related, purpose was to determine whether student placement in different types of inclusion programs would result in differences in the dependent variables. Discriminant analysis results indicated that (a) parents of students in the inclusion classes expressed a higher degree of concern with their children's school programs; (b) teachers and parents of the students in the inclusion classes reported more instances of behavior problems; (c) students in inclusion classes were more likely to experience gains in reading scores with no noteworthy differences for mathematics, language, and spelling; and (d) students in inclusion classes reported lower levels of self-esteem.