| Inclusion continues to be a topic of debate at every level of government: local, state, and federal. Arguments are made in court, in the legislature, in state departments of education, and in the local school, for and against inclusion. The present research was designed to describe the lived experiences of teachers implementing inclusion. The desire was to understand the teachers' experience in order to better facilitate inclusion in elementary schools.; The present research is based primarily on semi-structured interviews of eight teachers, both general and special educators. The interviews were audio taped and later transcribed in order to conduct a narrative analysis.; Results indicate that teachers who support and are willing to practice inclusion have a “deciding moment” either in their early lives or as teachers that convinces them of the “rightness” of inclusion. Because this study is limited to eight teachers in one elementary school, it is recommended that further research be conducted to examine the lived experiences of teachers in other inclusive settings. |
