Utilizing a program planning and evaluation framework to educate general education eighth grade students about various disabilities: Promoting acceptance and tolerance from a cultural diversity perspective

A school-based program was designed to facilitate the inclusion of eighth grade students with various disabilities into the mainstream. The program was based upon a needs assessment survey of 17 directors of special education and building principals from two New Jersey counties with diverse populations. Sixty-five percent of survey participants indicated that disabled students were included within the general education setting a majority of the time. Despite this, 82% of directors and building principals indicated that their respective school districts did not have a program to teach general education, eighth grade students about various disabilities of their peers. However, results revealed that 94% of survey participants were interested in a program that would teach typically developing students about various disabilities. They recognized the need to promote tolerance toward disabled individuals via the recognition that students with disabilities have been segregated from their peers. The rationale of the program was based upon the needs assessment results regarding program development from directors of special services and building principals, mandated requirements for all public schools to provide a free and appropriate education for all students within the least restrictive environment (Osgood, 2005; Stainback & Stainback, 1985) and a review of the literature on inclusion of special education students in the mainstream. Interventions to assist general education students understand, accept, and empathize with their disabled peers in the general education setting have been overlooked because research has primarily focused on providing programming for disabled students meant to facilitate inclusion (Gresham, 1982; Ochoa & Olivarez, 1995; Roeyers, 1996; Swanson & Malone, 1992). The designed program was aligned with NJ state curriculum standards (State of New Jersey Department of Education, 2006) to reflect the mandated goals and objectives addressed within New Jersey public education curriculum. An evaluation model based upon Maher's (2000) program design standards and the AVICTORY (Davis & Salasin, 1975) model of program evaluation was provided within the program design to provide future assessment and direction of the program to its users. The individual lessons emphasized both conveying knowledge and simulation activities. Limitations of the investigation and implications for school psychologists and future research were discussed.