Schools currently face a great deal of accountability to ensure students with disabilities are meeting rigorous achievement standards and develop the skills needed to be independent and successful upon graduation. Despite this expectation a large achievement gap between students with disabilities and their peers persists. To address these gaps, educators have explored different methods of service delivery, instructional strategies and inclusive practices for students with disabilities. As a result, students with disabilities are spending more time in general education settings. General education teachers, however, do not feel prepared to effectively educate students with varying needs in their classrooms. This qualitative study addresses the factors that general education teachers at the secondary level identify as barriers to meeting the needs of students with disabilities in their classrooms. Semi-structured interviews with general education teachers in grades 6-12 and building administrators were conducted with a focus on their experiences educating students with disabilities through the framework of the Social Constructivist Theory. This study has implications for practitioners and teacher preparation programs as its findings point to the importance of training, professional development and opportunities for collaboration between general education and special education teachers to increase teacher efficacy and ultimately close the achievement gap. [The dissertation citations contained hereteaching metho 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.]