Relationships between school-wide reform and inclusive education

In this study the implementation procedures used to initiate inclusion programs were examined to determine if the presence of a school-wide reform effort increased the effectiveness of these programs. Principals across the state of Tennessee completed surveys which evaluated their inclusion programs and determined their implementation procedures. A t-test was used to compare the mean effectiveness scores of schools which implemented inclusion programs as part of a school-wide reform effort with schools who implemented inclusion programs without undergoing such a process. Although no significant difference could be seen between these two groups, several factors may have contributed to influence the data. More research is necessary before an answer can be provided to this question. (contains 22 references)