1 International Peer Reviewed Journal Teachers’ Acceptability and Use of Accommodations for Students with Special Needs in the General Education Classrooms MC KERWIN NIŇO M. ACDAL https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5693-6153 kerwinacdal1990@gmail.com University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines CM Recto Avenue, Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines Originality: 100% • Grammar Check: 100% • Plagiarism: 0% ABSTRACT Education for all and other related inclusive education memoranda and policies paved the way of teaching students with special needs in general education classrooms. In this context, one of the biggest tasks of general education teachers is to provide relevant and appropriate accommodations to students with special needs in their classes. Hence, accommodation is an indicator of successful execution of inclusion in several schools. This study aimed to examine the significant degree of relationship between the teachers’ acceptance and the use of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. Also, it employed a quantitative approach to research specifically the descriptive-correlational research design and adopted the Teacher Acceptability and Use Scale instrument (Boulton, 2003). The data were obtained from the 70 teachers of Preschool to Grade 6 in Corpus Christi School- an institution that implemented a school-based policy on inclusive education. The results indicated assenting acceptance and use of accommodations in the general education classrooms. Also, it revealed a significant, strong, positive correlation between Vol. 35 · January 2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v35i1.646 Print ISSN 2012-3981 Online ISSN 2244-0445 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5693-6153 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 2 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research teachers’ acceptability and the use of accommodations. Lastly, while the teachers’ demographic profile is statistically controlled, it showed a significantly higher association between teachers’ acceptability and the use of accommodations. Keywords — Special Education, accommodation, descriptive-correlational research design, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines INTRODUCTION Inclusive education has been widely advocated in many countries around the world with the common goal of promoting maximum participation of students with special needs in the general education classrooms (Kalaw, 2016). In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office (now Philippine Statistics Authority) gathers relevant information during the Census of Population and Housing (2010) and the report states that 1.57 percent of the 92.1 million households in the country have members with special needs. Region X (Northern Mindanao) it has 67 000 household population having members with a disability. Similarly, the Philippine Statistics Authority obtains essential data during the Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (2013) and the data reveals that one out of ten or 4 million children and youth are out of school. In the same way, 8.2 percent have illness/disability which is the primary reason for not attending schools. Moreover, the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (2016) of the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that having a disability is the 5th top reason for children and youth for not going to schools. Indeed, the Philippines is being challenged to address this concern of children with special needs on how they can access their basic right- the right to be educated and the right to learn with other peers in the general education classrooms employing appropriate accommodations to meet their learning needs. The foremost duty of teachers is to teach and to raise students with a mind to respond rationally and with a heart to react emphatically. Further, the rational mind and emphatic heart are also the powerful tools of teachers to cater to the needs of their students. It is for this reason that teachers are challenged at this present time to be more inclusive in their respective classrooms. The inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom is a current educational movement which highlights every student in the class to maximize his learning potentials and his ability to learn. Thus, the teachers’ perceptions in handling students with special needs vividly influence the teachers from accepting and executing accommodations for students with special needs in the classrooms. 3 International Peer Reviewed Journal Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (2010), boldly reports that children with special needs are still marginalized and largely excluded from access to quality education. Understanding the essential accommodations of students with special needs can be an overwhelming task for teachers (MacLean, 2008) knowing that teachers perform different responsibilities in the classrooms and looking into account that all students should grasp the necessary concepts and skills daily. Thus, it is vital to examine the teachers’ acceptance and use of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. FRAMEWORK Figure 1 shows the relationship between variables that were investigated in the study. It illustrates the teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs. Similarly, it explains that teachers’ acceptability of accommodations correlates teachers’ use of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. Meanwhile, it displays that teachers’ use of accommodations for students with special needs correlates teachers’ acceptability of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. In addition, teachers’ demographic profile is treated as an intervening variable in determining the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and the use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms. Figure 1. A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the variables 4 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study primarily aimed to determine the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. Specifically, it sought to answer the following objectives: (1) to describe the demographic profile of the teachers; (2) to describe the experiences of teachers; (3) to determine the level of teachers’ acceptability and the level of teachers’ use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms; (4) to determine the significant relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms; and (5) to determine the significant relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms when the teachers’ demographic profile is statistically controlled. METHODOLOGY Research Design The study employed a quantitative approach to research specifically the descriptive-correlational research design. According to Campbell and Stanley (1963), descriptive correlational research design is geared at establishing a positive or negative relation, association, or correlation between two or more significant variables and it is to describe the linear relations between these relevant variables (Collier, 2010). This study explored the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms. Research Site The study was conducted in Corpus Christi Grade School Macasandig and Pueblo Campuses in Cagayan de Oro City. Participants All seventy full-time faculty members were the participants of the study for the School Year 2018-2019. Instrumentation The primary tool to gather data was a survey questionnaire. The research instrument was divided into two parts and it contained 40 items. Specifically, Part 5 International Peer Reviewed Journal A contained twelve items to gather relevant information of the teacher’s personal profile while Part B was a survey questionnaire adaptation with permission entitled, “Teacher Acceptability and Use Scale- TAUS” formulated by Boulton in 2003, contained 28 items to gather the teacher’s acceptance and the teacher’s use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms. The instrument consisted of 28 accommodations. Participants were asked to rate each of the accommodations along two dimensions: acceptability of the accommodation and current or recent use of the accommodation (within the last two years) using a Likert-type scale. In relation to the term consistency, the researcher in this study changed the term “modifications” to “accommodations” in the instrument with the permission from the author. Thus, these terms are under the big word “Adaptations” however these terms are not synonymous and cannot be used interchangeably. Also, the TAUS survey instrument was examined by the university personnel who specialized in special education and educational research to establish the content validity of all the items indicated in the instrument. At the same time, the internal consistency of the instrument was calculated following the factor analysis procedure and the reliability score of the instrument was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha analysis. Boulton (2003) found that the reliability estimates indicated a reasonably reliable instrument for measuring the teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. Data Collection The researcher asked permission to conduct this study from the school principal. Upon approval, the researcher proceeded with data gathering. The researcher sent a letter to the participants requesting their permission to participate in the study and securely noted their anonymity. The researcher got the 100% retrieval rate of the questionnaires with the help of the grade level coordinators and a few non-teaching staff of the school. Data Analysis Framework The data gathered were tabulated, evaluated, analyzed, and computed statistically using SPSS. Frequency count and percentage distribution were used to determine the profile of the teachers. Weighted mean was utilized to determine the level of acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms. Moreover, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. Meanwhile, Partial Correlation was 6 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research used to determine the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and the use of accommodations while controlling the influence of teachers’ demographic profile. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section reports the results that address the research questions investigated in the study. Results are presented separately for each research question in order to have a logical sequence of data analysis in accordance with the statement of the problem. Table 1. The Demographic Profile of the Teachers Variable Frequency Percent (%) a. Age 20-24 11 15.7 25-29 17 24.3 30-34 4 5.7 35-39 8 11.4 40-44 8 11.4 45-49 8 11.4 50-54 8 11.4 55-59 5 7.1 60+ 1 1.4 Total 70 100 b. Educational Attainment – Highest Degree Bachelor’s Degree 57 81.4 Master’s Degree 13 18.6 Doctorate’s Degree 0 0 Total 70 100 c. Educational Attainment – Courses General Education 32 45.7 Special Education 14 20 Early Childhood Education 1 1.4 Non-Education 15 21.4 Non-Education with Professional Education 4 5.7 School Management 4 5.7 Total 70 100 7 International Peer Reviewed Journal d. Length of Service in Teaching (in years) 0-4 18 25.7 5-9 11 15.7 10-14 10 14.3 15-19 8 11.4 20+ 23 32.9 Total 70 100 e. Subjects Taught* Araling Panlipunan 16 22.9 Computer Education 4 5.7 English 19 27.1 EPP/TLE/HELE 4 5.7 Filipino/MTB-MLE 12 17.1 Mathematics 18 25.7 Music, Art, Physical Education, Health 18 25.7 Religion/Christian Living 5 7.1 Science 14 20 f. Grade Levels Taught** Preschool 8 11.4 Grade 1 16 22.9 Grade 2 21 30 Grade 3 22 31.4 Grade 4 27 38.6 Grade 5 26 37.1 Grade 6 25 35.7 Notes: *The sum of the percentages is greater than 100 since the teachers could teach more than one subject. **The sum of the percentages is greater than 100 since the teachers could teach more than one grade level. Table 1 presents the participants’ demographic profile. It reveals that among the participants of the study, the majority of the teachers are between 25 years old to 29 years old. In addition, it discloses that most of the teachers are graduates of Bachelor’s degree in General Education and 21.4 percent of the teachers are non-education graduates. Majority of the teachers are long-tenured and with permanent status with more than 20 years of teaching experience. Lastly, it shows that teachers handle different subjects and grade levels in the institution. The results indicate that teachers play a significant role in the academic journey of the students with and without special needs. Furthermore, it 8 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research implies that teachers’ demographic profile impacts positive views toward inclusion, favorable acceptance and use of accommodations which resulted in higher academic performance of students with special needs, increase students motivation to participate and learn meaningful experiences, and challenge students to complete and to succeed in the given tasks in the general education classrooms (Moberg & Savolainen, 2003; Stubbs, 2009; Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, Rockoff, & Wyckoff, 2008; Kini & Podolsky, 2016; Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2007; Heggart, 2016). As illustrated in Table 2, over half of the teachers (n=60, 85.7%) attended relevant trainings related to inclusive education. Also, most of the teachers gained their understanding of inclusive education through in-service training set by the school, and 25 teachers earned their understanding of inclusive education thru university/college courses. Table 2. The Teaching and Training Experiences of the Teachers Variable Frequency Percent (%) a. Trainings, Seminars, and Workshops on Inclusive Education* Workshops/Lectures/Seminars/Conferences 60 85.7 Coaching/Mentoring 8 11.4 Video Instruction/Online Readings/e-Learning 15 21.4 In-Service Training (INSET) 44 62.9 University/College Courses 25 35.7 Others 1 1.4 b. Trainings, Seminars, and Workshops Topics** Behavior Management 64 91.4 Inclusion Strategies 35 50.0 Differentiated Instruction 53 75.7 Accommodation Practices in Inclusive Education 22 31.4 Assessment/Evaluation Strategies for Children with Special Needs 22 31.4 9 International Peer Reviewed Journal c. Types of Disability Handled*** Autism Spectrum Disorder 51 72.9 Deafness 1 1.4 Deaf-Blindness 1 1.4 Developmental Delay 35 50 Emotional Disturbance 13 18.6 Hearing Impairment 2 2.9 Intellectual Disability 13 18.6 Multiple Disability 4 5.7 Orthopedic Impairment 1 1.4 Specific Learning Disability 38 54.3 Speech or Language Impairment 19 27.1 Traumatic Brain Injury 0 0 Other Health Impairment 16 22.9 Visual Impairment including Blindness 5 7.1 Others 2 2.9 Notes: *The sum of the percentages is greater than 100 since the teachers could attend more than one training/seminar/workshop. ** The sum of the percentages is greater than 100 since the teachers could attend more than one topic during a training/seminar/workshop. *** The sum of the percentages is greater than 100 since the teachers could handle more than one disabling conditions. Hill (2015) clearly states that teachers become great teachers by going beyond the four corners of the classrooms, and this is to keep the teachers updated with the latest movements in education by attending trainings. The continuing professional development of the teachers helps them earn the essential 21st century skills and contents in the field of education. Hence, these teachers need to apply the practical concepts in the classrooms and to help students face academic challenges and real-life problems. Solheim (2017) suggests that teachers need to find out more about their teaching craft by including professional development in their schedules to look for new ways to handle students and to learn more strategies in addressing students’ needs. In her study, she finds a positive link between the professional development of the teachers and the achievement of students. It is for this reason 10 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research that she suggests that every teacher needs to undergo cognitive and metacognitive learning processes to reflect on the teacher’s practices in the classrooms to become more learner-centered teachers. Trainings help teachers become confident, skillful, and equipped in handling students with special needs. In fact, schools are mandated to do in- service training. In-service trainings prepare and further equip teachers to handle various situations in the classrooms which include an appropriate demonstration of transfer of learning, proper ways to manage students’ behavior, differentiate instructions, and accommodate students’ academic needs. By doing these, the schools are ensuring that the quality of the teachers is the flagship of the institution. Importantly, it is vital for teachers to become lifelong learners to advance teachers’ profile competence and quality of work ethics in the classroom. Moreover, Table 2 shows that generally, all teachers have experienced teaching students with special needs in the classrooms notwithstanding the fact that only 20 percent of the teachers earned a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education. Teaching students with special needs is a challenging and overwhelming task. As teachers, you need to make certain that all students learn by teaching them differently and by accommodating them according to their needs for the reason that all children learn and acquire new concepts differently. In addition, the use of a variety of methods to students with special needs is the main point of teaching (Wang, 2013). The use of accommodations is an ultimate indicator that teachers are providing opportunities for students with special needs in the classrooms to thrive. Mauro (2017) recommends to have a positive student profile and to have a bank of successful strategies to successfully include and accommodate students in the classrooms. As a result, when we create a friendly, safe and conducive environment for all students, it will surely boost their academic achievements more. Teachers who have experience teaching students with special needs should lead to successful inclusion implementation by making use of their unique strengths and by being supportive of their challenging weaknesses. Students with special needs look forward to teachers’ encouragement and assurance that they can make well with the tasks in the classroom thru appropriate accommodation provisions (McDonald, 2010). In addition, Table 3 shows the level of teachers’ acceptability of accommodations for all students. It reveals that teachers are significantly favorable in accepting accommodations in the general education classrooms. In fact, the teachers did not mark any of the items of the instrument below M=1.49 or unacceptable accommodations for students with special needs. It is a 11 International Peer Reviewed Journal significant indicator that teachers express acceptance to make accommodations for all students to participate in class discussions, tasks, and assignments. It is important for teachers to provide a positive learning environment that promotes learning (Cluff, 2011) and that accepts students with special needs to accommodate their learning needs aptly. Even though teachers’ acceptability of accommodations varies differently from one another, it is still the obligation of the teachers to provide ways for students to learn and to have access of the learning standards in the educational system. Also, these teachers are under oath to accept students irrespective of their learning needs and to set compromising academic accommodations for them. Thus, it really needs an optimistic teacher’s attitude towards handling students with special needs to successfully implement appropriate and acceptable accommodations for them in the classroom. Furthermore, Table 3 reveals the level of teacher’s use of accommodations in the classrooms. It shows that accommodations are used realistically to aid students’ difficulty to improve understanding of the lessons taken in the classrooms. Also, it reveals that most of the teachers scored the accommodations between “used on a daily or nearly basis” and “used when appropriate in the instructional sequence.” The results imply that teachers are using accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms to help them have full access to the school curriculum and academic requirements. The use of accommodations is a significant indicator of successful implementation of inclusive education. Thus, the main concept of inclusive education is to provide accommodations for students with special needs in the classroom and it seeks to help them become competent and proficient in all the learning competencies of the curriculum. Similarly, Williamson (2011) shows the same results that the majority of the teachers are willing to make accommodations for students with special needs and used instructional accommodations on a regular basis. Some studies reveal that the use of accommodations increased students’ academic performance, boosted students’ confidence and motivation to thrive in academic challenges, and improved students’ comprehension of the lesson and retention of the task completion (Erten, 2011; Kim & Lee, 2015). In general, the average of the teachers’ level of acceptability of all accommodations is M= 4.15 (SD=.52) which strongly indicates that the accommodations are reasonably acceptable for most students with different learning strengths and needs in the classrooms while the mean of the teachers’ level of use of all accommodations is M= 3.57 (SD=.51) which clearly reveals that the accommodations are used rationally to all students with different 12 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research learning backgrounds. The results describe that the teachers have practically accepted and appropriately used the accommodations for students with special needs. The results in Table 3 reveal significant outcomes of the current study. It further implies that acceptance and the use of accommodations by the teachers are imperative to appropriately provide the needs of all students with different abilities and exceptionalities. Based on the results, Table 3 shows the correlation between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. It reveals that 43 percent of the accommodations have a significant, strong, positive correlation, 46 percent of the accommodations have a significant, moderate, positive correlation, and 11 percent of the accommodations have a significant, weak, positive correlation. Specifically, the teachers rated a statistically significant, strong, positive correlation on assignment accommodations (r=.521, p<0.05). Also, instructional accommodations (r=.473, p<0.05), accommodations to increase students’ focus (r=.388, p<0.05), visual accommodations (r=.482, p<0.05), peer accommodations (r=.458, p<0.05), and assessment accommodations (r=.488, p<0.05) have statistically significant, moderate, positive correlation. Generally, the bivariate correlation between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs is significantly strong positive correlation and is statistically significant (r= .521, p<0.05). It implies that the implementation of accommodations has not been the least priority of the school, administrators, and teachers. The teachers’ views on accepting and using appropriate accommodations are necessary to implement an inclusion program successfully and to uphold every child’s right- the right to free, appropriate, quality and accessible education. As a whole, teachers express their positive view of accepting and using accommodations for students with special needs. However, these teachers need to frequently use the cooperative learning strategy, use graphic organizers, and set-up a distraction-free classroom environment as appropriate accommodations. Lastly, all teachers are continuously challenged and constantly called to make accommodations. Teachers are not to alter what the students need to learn but rather to offer appropriate instructional strategies on how students learn the specific subject matter. Thus, accommodations make a big difference. A legendary difference which makes students with special needs perform better and significantly become proactive students in the classrooms. According to Zenisky and Sireci (2007), accommodations can only benefit students with special needs when they are appropriately used. In this approach, no child is left behind. The 13 International Peer Reviewed Journal teachers’ acceptance and use of accommodations are key pertinent factors to successful inclusion of students with special needs in the classrooms. In scrutinizing the results, the bivariate correlation between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations is significant, strong, positive correlation (r=.521, p<0.05). In Table 4, the data show the correlation between the teacher acceptability and use of accommodations while controlling the influence of the demographic profile of the teachers. Interestingly, while controlling the influences of teachers’ age; length of service in teaching; subjects taught; grade levels taught; previous trainings, seminars, workshops about the inclusive education; experience on teaching children with special needs; and experience on handling different types of exceptionalities, the partial correlation resulted to higher correlation coefficients compared to the bivariate correlation coefficient. The results are statistically significant, strong, positive correlations and it greatly strengthens the correlation between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations for students with special needs in general education classrooms. It directs that teachers’ personal and professional characteristics have very little influence in controlling the relationship between the acceptability and use of accommodations. However, the teachers’ educational attainment is a significant, moderate, positive relationship while controlling its influence between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. The partial coefficient of the teachers’ educational attainment signifies that it influences the relationship between the acceptance and use of accommodations by the teachers for students with special needs. It also reveals that educational attainment positively influences the teachers to accept and to use the appropriate accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms. 14 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Table 3. The Level and Correlation Coefficients of Teachers’ Acceptability and Use of Accommodations in the General Education Classrooms Item Accommodations TEACHERS’ ACCEPTABILITY TEACHERS’ USE CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS M SD Verbal Descrip-tion M SD Verbal De- scription Pear- son r p Associa- tion 1 use cooperative learning 4.33 .756 Acceptable for most students 3.26 .736 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .080 .508 Weak 2 allow students extended time for completing assignments or tests 3.74 .973 Acceptable for most students 3.59 .940 Used once a week .484* .000 Moderate 3 use graphic orga-nizers in lessons 4.34 .849 Acceptable for most students 3.87 3.643 Used once a week .197 .102 Weak 4 administer tests orally to students 3.64 1.228 Acceptable for most students 3.36 1.036 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .557* .000 Strong 5 directly teach stu- dents strategies to problem solve 3.86 1.040 Acceptable for most students 3.17 1.103 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .489* .000 Moderate 6 using grading adaptations for students 3.53 1.271 Acceptable for most students 2.84 1.199 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .388* .001 Moderate 7 lessen environ- mental distrac- tions 4.53 .696 Acceptable for all students 4.47 .812 Used once a week .220 .068 Weak 8 use peer tutoring 3.91 1.087 Acceptable for most students 3.13 1.296 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .533* .000 Strong 9 assign alterna- tive assignments or projects to students 3.57 1.303 Acceptable for most students 2.83 1.103 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .523* .000 Strong 10 break down assignments into multiple parts with feedback 4.09 1.126 Acceptable for most students 3.16 1.187 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .456* .000 Moderate 11 assign fewer assignments 3.84 1.163 Acceptable for most students 3.40 1.041 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .460* .000 Moderate 12 use different levels of ques- tions for students based on ability 4.20 1.016 Acceptable for most students 3.90 1.131 Used once a week .661* .000 Strong 13 vary the rate of instruction for students 4.04 1.109 Acceptable for most students 3.63 1.182 Used once a week .632* .000 Strong 14 highlight key information or concepts in text 4.49 .897 Acceptable for most students 4.17 1.103 Used once a week .677* .000 Strong 15 International Peer Reviewed Journal 15 adapt the format of tests 4.44 .773 Acceptable for most students 3.97 1.021 Used once a week .493* .000 Moderate 16 provide addition- al drill or practice based on student progress 4.67 .737 Acceptable for all students 4.26 .988 Used once a week .635* .000 Strong 17 adjust the length of assignments 4.13 1.141 Acceptable for most students 3.54 1.188 Used once a week .643* .000 Strong 18 provide organiza- tional strategies and supports 4.19 1.133 Acceptable for most students 3.34 1.433 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .487* .000 Moderate 19 simplify text material 4.53 .896 Acceptable for all students 3.79 1.273 Used once a week .431* .000 Moderate 20 provide both oral and written directions 4.81 .490 Acceptable for all students 4.56 .773 Used on a daily, nearly daily basis .430* .000 Moderate 21 allow students to dictate test answers 3.20 1.490 Acceptable for students with disabilities 2.73 1.393 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .697* .000 Strong 22 break tasks or concepts into smaller units of learning 4.36 .885 Acceptable for most students 3.96 .955 Used once a week .481* .000 Moderate 23 use alternative forms of text- books or trade books 3.83 1.167 Acceptable for most students 3.10 1.065 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .574* .000 Strong 24 provide dif- ferentiated instruction based on individual student’s needs 4.20 1.098 Acceptable for most students 3.51 1.073 Used once a week .551* .000 Strong 25 use hands-on activities or manipulative 4.49 .880 Acceptable for most students 3.66 1.128 Used once a week .404* .001 Moderate 26 allow students to draw pictures/ diagrams as part of written assign- ments 4.64 .660 Acceptable for all students 3.63 1.106 Used once a week .352* .003 Moderate 27 allow students to use word proces- sors for written assignments 3.84 1.326 Acceptable for most students 3.01 1.280 Used when appropriate in instructional sequence .505* .000 Strong 28 focus on the mastery of fewer objectives before addressing addi- tional objectives 4.67 .631 Acceptable for all students 4.19 .952 Used once a week .489* .000 Moderate Note: *Correlation is statistically significant at p<0.05 (2-tailed). 16 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training in University of Oregon (2013) undoubtedly states that academic accommodations for students with special needs in the general education classrooms minimize the students with special needs’ classroom frustrations as well as academic accommodations encourage students with special needs to succeed in the classrooms together with their peers and classmates. Interestingly, Womack (2017) expresses that accommodation in the classrooms as authentic teaching to all students. She evidently theorized that teaching is accommodation since teachers empower every student with special needs to learn in the classroom and to demonstrate understanding of the subject matter. Thus, teachers’ acceptance and use of accommodations for students with special needs promote learning and increase the rigor of learning accessibility. So, accommodations in the general education classrooms are not specifically designed to weaken the academic tasks of the students but are intentionally designed for students with special needs to completely do the academic tasks together with their peers and classmates. Hence, accommodations provide multiple opportunities to all students with or without special needs to engage actively in class; and it allows students to understand the subject matter in various ways to fully access the curriculum standards of the institution. Table 4. The Partial Correlation Coefficients between Teachers’ Acceptability and Use of Accommodations and Teachers’ Demographic Profile Teachers’ Demographic Profile Teachers’ Acceptability and Use of Accommodations Association Partial r p Age .578* .000 Strong Educational Attainment .497* .000 Moderate Length of Service in Teaching .583* .000 Strong Subjects Taught .528* .000 Strong Grade Levels Taught .523* .000 Strong Training/Seminar/Workshop .545* .000 Strong Teaching CSN .539* .000 Strong Type of CSN handled .530* .000 Strong Note: CSN= Children with Special Needs *Partial correlation is statistically significant at p<0.05 (2-tailed). 17 International Peer Reviewed Journal CONCLUSIONS The ultimate goal of this study is to reveal the level of acceptance and use of accommodations of general education teachers handling students with special needs in their respective classrooms. Also, it is to explore the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. Moreover, it is to show the relationship between teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations while controlling the significant influences of the teachers’ demographic profile. The results of the study imply that teachers need to be trained in handling students with special needs during their baccalaureate education course and these teachers need to know the appropriate ways in providing accommodations to students with exceptionalities. Hence, education is the fundamental right of all children around the world. In order for them to have access to the educational curriculum, accommodations must be given for them to be successful and to benefit the inclusive education placement. Furthermore, the acceptance and use of accommodations are active indicators that school-wide policy on inclusion is successfully initiated and implemented to maximize the learning potentials of all students. Accommodations encourage students with special needs to go to school and attend classes together with non-disabled peers. It is for this reason that the Department of Education dignitaries should create a policy on the appropriate use of accommodations both public and private institutions to support students with special needs in the accessibility of curriculum standards in the general education classrooms. Also, to institute the least restrictive environment for students with special needs by creating a more positive and supportive classroom setting while providing accommodations and meeting their various learning needs. In addition, the Commission on Higher Education officials should consider adding special education subjects to all major education courses in both elementary and secondary curriculum to prepare teachers in handling students with special needs and to equip teachers with accurate information to deliver significant and appropriate accommodations to all students with diverse learning strengths and needs. In the same way, school administrators should implement a school-based policy on inclusive education to support and to protect the students with special needs. Home and school agreement must be reinforced to protect the school, the family of the child with special needs, and the child with special needs. Moreover, the policy should include the provisions to maximize the learning capacity of the students with special needs by providing multiple opportunities and countless experiences; and 18 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research that learning experiences of the students must not be limited to one size fits all. Lastly, general education teachers should attend trainings to be informed with the latest developments and trends in education particularly on proper handling and appropriate delivery of accommodations. Future researchers should extend the study to private and public schools and to other educational levels (e.g., Junior High School, Senior High School, and College) that implemented policies on inclusion and accommodations. Also, it should extend on exploring the relationship between other relevant teacher factors and teachers’ acceptability and use of accommodations. Lastly, future researchers should extend this study beyond Corpus Christi School to provide generalizability of the research findings. TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH The outcome of this study will be entitled, “Teachers’ Acceptability and Use of Accommodations for Students with Special Needs in the General Education Classrooms,” will be translated into a policy to execute the right of every student with special needs to be educated in the general education classroom regardless of his learning needs. Also, it will be a great reference to other school administrators to implement accommodation provisions for students with special needs in their respective schools. Moreover, it will be of great help to all teachers to open their creaking eyes that all students with varying learning potentials and needs have the right to access free, appropriate, and quality educational curriculum in the country. 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