Reports from the Conditions of Education show that there have been dramatic increases in the number of students with disabilities who spend majority of their day in an inclusive classroom. In 1989, 31% of students with disabilities spend the majority of their day in the regular classroom. Twenty years later in 2009, the percentage of students in the general classroom had risen to 59% (2013). The goal for educators of those with special needs is to create the least restrictive environment for them at all times. For many students with Learning Disabilities, the least restrictive place for their growth most of the day is in the general classroom, often times with some sort of aide or assistant. But as it is with many students who require special care, there may be one or two specific subjects where being in the general classroom would not be beneficial because the student is already significantly behind the class and needs individualized lessons to work at the level they are currently at. The idea of having students with disabilities in the general class during the entire day is one with good intentions, but worries many because it does not allow for the attention that students may need in order to improve.
Literature Review.
Social Interactions Between LD and Peers.
In classrooms with students who have a learning disability, there often times is injustice and bullying coming from other peers. For a learning disabled student, it can already be difficult to keep up with your work, but adding a social factor to education, one that is negative in many instances, can make their education that much harder on them. If this time of communication is one that is constantly negative for the child, it will be hard for them to feel like they fit in with their general education classroom peers. The study was proposed to see whether students without a learning disability noticed the way the LD students were being treated be others, and if they in fact saw wrongdoings, what could be done to change.
