Example Of Self-Contained Classes Versus Inclusive Classes Research Paper

The research approach applied in this paper is the quantitative approach. The approach involves the use of questionnaires in the data collection process. The research question, which guided the study, included;
The relationship that exists between the self-contained placement of students with learning disabilities, as well as the student’s performances on MAP?

The relationship between the inclusive placement of students with learning disabilities and their performance on MAP?

Based on the opinion held by the special education directors, what are the best practices or modes of instructions that are effective for learners who display the learning disabilities?
The study employed a survey method to gather essential data for the study. The study’s sample constituted all middle school learners with learning disabilities who sat for MAP test in 2008 and 2009. This mainly focused on two areas—Mathematics and Communication Arts, and included students with disabilities in grades 6 to 8. Furthermore, special education directors were interviewed to capture professional perspectives (Lohman 2011, pg 66). The learners had a learning disability and were required to share their experiences with the different strategies employed in order to improve their learning process. Therefore, the population sample was randomly selected from the affected participant group. Including both the students and special education educators offered the researcher a chance of gathering diverse data (Creswell, 2003).
The researcher was sensitive about the idea of ethical consideration when conducting a research. In this respect, the study obtained approval from the Institutional Review Board. Furthermore, the participant’s personal details such as names were omitted as the secondary data obtained from an online database was used, which eliminated the need of involving the students directly. Moreover, anonymity was maintained in respect to the special education directors interviewed as the name of the participant was not published (Lohman 2011, pg 67).
The bias in the study involves the selection method of the participants. The participants selected in the study were from few institutions, which represented the generalization to the entire learning system. In this perspective, the defect could be the application of these approaches could be the cause of the learning inconsistency. Therefore, the problem could be that the selected institutions have not applied inclusion and self-contained classes effectively. Additionally, the learners selected for the study represent a group of teenage learners. The same study cannot be used for the generalization of results for the learners who are below 12 years and above 19 years (Lohman, 2011). These learners also have learning disabilities, which have not been addressed in the study. Finally, the researchers generalized the different learning disabilities. In this perspective, the study used the assumption that the learning disabilities are common for all the learners. However, it is evident that different learners express different learning disabilities. The biases mean that the results obtained in the study cannot be generalized to the entire population of learners with disabilities.
The limitations of the study included the idea that the difference in levels of collaboration between the teachers taking special education, and regular education is unknown. Moreover, the understanding and individual interpretations of the term special education differ among many directors of special education. The questionnaire feedback by the special education directors indicated that they have different understanding of the key terminologies (Lohman, 2011). The researchers experienced some confounding variables, which were difficult to control. The variables in this case include the teacher quality as well as the second language issues. The social-economic influences were also issues in the confounding variables.

References

Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Lohman, A. (2011). Special Education Learning Environments: Inclusion versus Self-Contained. A Dissertation Submitted to the Education Faculty of Lindenwood University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education School of Education, 1(1).