LESSONS LEARNED FROM IDEA: ARE TEACHERS UTILIZING SPECIAL EDUCATION PRACTICES AND TECHNIQUES AS A WAY TO IMPROVE DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN ALL CLASSROOMS?

This paper explores the extent which general education teachers are utilizing special education techniques as a part of their classroom instructional practices. It also aims to ascertain if there is a difference in use of such practices among teachers in Title I and non-Title I schools. Utilizing qualitative interviews, our findings suggest teachers are currently not employing many special education practices, but, they believe they would be beneficial in their classrooms due to the differing abilities found in the general education populations. Training and perceived time to implement practices were listed as potential inhibitors of incorporation