The principal is the single most influential person in shaping a school's climate, culture, positive teacher attitude towards students and school practices (Washington III, 2006; DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Praisner, 2000). Based on this premise, the principal's attitude is the key to reshaping of the school. The purpose of this study was to identify the attitudes of urban elementary principals towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education environment. The study also investigated the relationships among the variables of demographics, professional training and education, and professional experience as they related to principal attitude. The research instrument utilized was the "Principals and Inclusion Survey Modified for Urban Educators" (PISMUE). It was a modified version of Praisner's "Principals and Inclusion Survey" (2000). The PISMUE consisted of three sections which were designed to collect data on demographics, principals' experience and training, and principals' attitudes towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education setting. The population utilized for this study consisted exclusively of public elementary school principals from Hudson County, NJ. An attitude score was calculated for each principal and the data was then analyzed using univariate analyses of variance and linear regression analyses. The results indicated that over 96% of the sample of urban principals self-reported positive attitudes towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education setting. The results indicated that training, specifically in behavior management for students with special needs and special education law in combination with training on the handling of crises involving students with special needs was a predictor of more positive principal attitude. The results also indicated that the presence of students classified as emotionally disturbed or orthopedically impaired was associated with lower attitude scores. The findings demonstrate a need for the integration of special educations topics into administrative training programs. Greater levels of preparation and support for dealing with crisis and specific special needs classifications would better equip urban elementary principals for the implementation of inclusion programs and result in more positive attitudes towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education setting. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]