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Mainstreaming K-12 Special Needs Students: Impact on Products and Services

Image of Laurence Bloom

Author: Laurence Bloom, Affiliate Analyst

Mainstreaming can be broadly defined as integrating students with language and/or learning disabilities into general education classes with non-disabled students, in order to benefit the children with disabilities. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 requires that all students be evaluated uniformly, rather than using different standards as in the past, and many districts have turned to mainstreaming in hopes of better preparing special needs students for annual progress evaluations. With an increase in the number of special needs students in general education classrooms, districts are looking for the best instructional strategies and methods for working with these students. Outsell developed this report to examine the trends and analyze the barriers impacting districts’ mainstreaming efforts, and to clarify for suppliers of special needs instruction and professional development how mainstreaming has affected the types of instructional materials and technology teachers use for these students in the classroom. The report also examines the impact of mainstreaming on teacher professional development. The report provides:

- Data from an Outsell survey of 300 special needs educators, covering types and preferred format of instructional materials used in mainstream classrooms;
- Data from the same survey looking at the most effective tools for working with special needs students in general education classrooms;
- The top software programs for special needs students, according to survey respondents;
- Essential actions for suppliers to the K-12 education market.

Pub Date: April 9, 2008
Pages: 25
Format: PDF Application_pdf

Table of Contents

  • Why This Topic?
  • Key Findings
  • Mainstreaming Drivers and Trends
    1. English Language Learners
    2. Special Education Students
  • Instructional Materials
    1. English Language Learners
    2. Special Education Students
  • Impact of Technology
    1. English Language Learners
    2. Special Education Students
  • Professional Development
    1. English Language Learners
    2. Special Education Students
  • Essential Actions
  • Methodology

    • Tables & Figures

  • Figure 1. How Districts Determine Whether an ELL Student Is Mainstreamed/Included
  • Table 1. Perceived Greatest Barriers to ELL Mainstreaming
  • Figure 2. How Districts Determine Whether a SpEd Student is Mainstreamed/Included
  • Table 2. Perceived Greatest Barriers to SpEd Mainstreaming
  • Table 3. Types of Instructional Materials Used for ELL Students in Mainstreamed Classroom
  • Figure 3. Preferred Format for Materials Used by ELL Students in Mainstreamed Classroom
  • Table 4. Most Effective Tools to Add to General Education Materials
  • Table 5. Types of Instructional Materials Used for SpEd Students in Mainstreamed Classroom
  • Figure 4. Preferred Format for Materials Used by SpEd Students in Mainstreamed Classroom
  • Table 6. Most Effective Tools for Working with SpEd Students in a General Education Classroom
  • Figure 5. Use of Content Area Software Programs for ELL Students (Multiple Responses)
  • Table 7. Top 5 Software Programs for ELL Instruction
  • Figure 6. Use of Content Area Software Programs for SpEd Students (Multiple Responses)
  • Table 8. Top 5 Software Programs for SpEd Instruction
  • Figure 7. Use of Assistive Technologies for SpEd Instruction (Multiple Responses)
  • Table 9. ELL and SpEd Professional Development Metrics
  • Figure 8. ELL Survey Respondents by District Size
  • Figure 9. ELL Survey Respondents by Population of ELL Students
  • Figure 10. SpEd Survey Respondents by District Size
  • Figure 11. SpEd Survey Respondents by Population of Special Needs Students