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Access Type

WSU Access

Date of Award

January 2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Special Education

First Advisor

Thomas Edwards

Abstract

ABSTRACT

TEACHER PERCEPTION OF AN ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS IN AN INCLUSIVE K-8 GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM SETTING

by

CRISTINA MARIE CORBELLI

December 2018

Advisor: Dr. Thomas Edwards

Major: Special Education

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this study is to examine general education teachers’ perceptions of students with an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity (ADHD) diagnosis in a K-8 inclusive classroom setting. Twenty teachers from a K-8 public charter school participated in this study. All participants completed an online survey containing questions presented in a Likert Scale format, followed by a focus group interview with 6 participants selected through purposeful sampling. All survey questions surrounded the topic of teacher perception of students with an ADHD diagnosis, as well as the level of preparedness teachers felt to attend to the needs of students with the diagnosis. Results of the survey and focus group interview indicated that negative perceptions of students with ADHD do exist within an inclusive general education classroom setting. Teachers often perceive students who exhibit the characteristics of ADHD as more difficult to manage and as having an overall negative effect on the classroom environment. Further, results also indicated that teachers feel the need for further training on the topic of ADHD so that they may be better prepared to meet the academic and social needs of this population of students. Based on the results of this study, school administration must consider the benefits of additional teacher training in order to improve teacher perceptions and develop successful classroom based interventions.

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