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The Effects Of The Write Source 2000 Program On Adolescent Students With Learning Disabilities In The Area Of Writing, Debra E. Gray

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Write Source 2000 Program on adolescent students with learning disabilities in the area of writing. A single-subject was used in this A-B design. In the study the subject was exposed to various writing techniques found in the Write Source 2000 Program. A pre-writing sample was taken before treatment began. This writing sample was assessed with a Rubric Writing Assessment. Mid-way through treatment another writing sample was taken and assessed with the Rubric Writing Assessment. The student was also at this time placed into a regular education classroom where …

Self-Perceptions Of Special Education Students Within The Regular Classroom, Sean Rayner

Theses & Honors Papers

This study was conducted to determine the self-perceptions of special education students within the regular education classroom . The subjects in this study consisted of 25 students from a mid Atlantic school system in Virginia . The subjects were high school students. The data were collected by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included 18 closed ended or likert questions. The data were then analyzed qualitatively by descriptive statistics. The results showed that students with disabilities perceive their behavior to be the same in both the special education and the regular education classroom.

The Relationship Between The Classification Of Dementia And Social Policy And Consequent Delivery Of Services, Brigitte Pennington

Theses & Honors Papers

The American population is getting older, and with the aging of the population the prevalence of chronic illnesses will increase. Current social policies that are intended to assist elderly persons and their families in case of illness are no longer sufficient to meet that need, and will decline further as the number of older persons increases. This is especially true for patients who have developed dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, because dementias are still considered that "peculiar disease of the cerebral cortex" described by Alois Alzheimer in 1907 that seems not to fit any current classification. This study was designed to …

Teacher Perspectives Of Student Transitioning In Special Education From Correctional Facilities To Public Schools, Elanor B. Mccormack

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore correctional special education teachers' and public high school special education teachers ' perspectives of student transitioning from correctional facilities back to public schools. The point of interest was regarding what information these two groups of teachers believe to be important for transitioning to occur more smoothly from correctional education to the public schools.

Surveys were distributed to the two groups of teachers. Respondents indicated the need for collaboration between correctional facilities and public schools. They also indicated the need for transference of information about the student prior to the student's arrival in …

Perceptions Of Regular Education And Special Education Professionals Regarding Involvement In The Iep Process, Donna B. Howland

Theses & Honors Papers

Special education and regular education professionals in public high schools in Virginia were surveyed regarding their perceptions of student, parent, special and regular educator involvement in the IEP conference. The survey aimed to compare the teachers' perceptions on the ideal level of involvement with what actually occurs in the schools. Students and regular education teachers had lower levels of actual involvement in the IEP conference than the teachers believed it should be. Furthermore, both groups of teachers indicated that the primary responsibility for developing the IEP should fall to the special education professional.

Students' Perception Of Involvement In Transition, Linda D. Sadler

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the exceptional student's perception of his or her involvement in the transition process as well as expectations and desired outcomes for adult life. A sample of twenty-one students classified as learning disabled who were taking a study skills class chose to participate in this study. The results show that over half of this sample were not aware that they were currently in a program designed to assist them with planning their future. Even so, over ninety percent stated that they had a future plan in mind, with over ninety percent planning to …

The Effects Of Direct Instruction On The Decoding Skills Of Learning Disabled Student With An Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Stephanie Sample

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of direct instruction on the decoding skills of a student identified as learning disabled and with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A procedure called the Corrective Reading Decoding Program was used to test this hypothesis. A single subject sign was used for this study. The subject received a direct instruction decoding program that consisted of sixty-five lessons, that took approximately six weeks to complete. An analysis by descriptive statistics showed that the subject improved his percentages at each grade level on the word lists, and improved at each reading level …

Developing Reading Potential Using Repeated Reading And Phonic Awareness, Dorothy E. Dawson

Theses & Honors Papers

The author examined the relationship between the assistence given with an independence clue book, and an individual reading instruction by the author, with a reading text selected by the student. This design also involved a built in success model with repeated readings. The results, in the units of words per minute, were graphed and became a visual reinforcement for success. This was a single subject design and included twenty minutes of individual reading instruction per day with a pre and post-test evaluation along with daily and weekly comparisons. The student was tested on a Curriculum-Based Assessment.

Are The Personnel Of Support Centers Trained To Meet The Needs Of Students With Learning Disabilities In College?, Sheri Barger

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not the directors of support centers are prepared to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities in college. The subjects in this study were selected from all two and four year public schools from three states. They responded to a questionnaire about their training and the pertinence of their training to their work . The data were analyzed using a Pearson-r to examine the relationship between the variables . All questions were found to be statistically significant. Seventy-five percent of the variables were found to be significant at the …

An Investigation Into Attitudes Surrounding Facilitated Communication, Jessica N. Peregoy

Theses & Honors Papers

This qualitative study investigated facilitators' opinions regarding facilitated communication (FC). Six individuals who have experience and/or training in the use of this method were interviewed. Issues discussed included FC's effectiveness for individuals other than those with autism, training prior to using the method, need for modifications in the method, and validity of the communication arising from the use of FC. Recurring themes were constructed from comments made during the course of the interviews. Each theme was supported by comments made by at least half of the facilitators. These themes were dissatisfaction with formal training, application to other populations, acknowledgement of …

Factors Related To School Involvement By Parents Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Kristen White

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors related to a parent's involvement in their child's education. More specifically it addressed the factors related to the involvement by parents of children with learning disabilities. The subjects (n=52) were all parents of children with learning disabilities. All parents attending a convention sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association of North Carolina were surveyed. A self-developed questionnaire was used for this research. 37% of the questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Pearson r. A significant correlation was found between teacher involvement and parental involvement (r= …

Regular And Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Role In A Collaborative Teaching Model, Kristen Philbrick

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate regular and special education teachers' perceptions of their role in a collaborative teaching model ..The subjects of this study were (N=39) from elementary, middle, and high school levels . A self-developed survey was used in collecting data for this research. Responses were categorized as either regular or special education, and how much question items were representative of each teacher's particular classroom situation. An independent sample t-test was used to determine any significant differences between the perceptions of regular and special education teachers. A. Pearson-r was used to examine any significant relationships between …

Biological Determinism And The Human Genome Project: Is The Past Prologue?, Alexandra Dawn Breen

Theses & Honors Papers

In 1989, The National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the United States Department of Energy, launched a three billion dollar project that could potentially change the way we view human life. The purpose of the project is to map every gene on every chromosome of the human DNA. The Human Genome Project, as it is referred to, is scheduled for completion by the year 2005. The frank reality of the Human Genome Project is that it will indeed offer some real and measurable benefit to different types of people, including some of those inflicted with fatal diseases and disorders; …

Factors Affecting Parent Perceptions Of Children's Performance In Inclusive Classroom Settings, Amy M. Johnson

Theses & Honors Papers

The subjects of this study included parents of forty - five students with learning disabilities who were integrated in the regular education classroom from rural Virginia. A self developed questionnaire was used to collect the data . Thirteen (28%) of the questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that divorced parents, married couples working between 20 to 29 hours per week, married parents who both had finished college, single I divorced parents who had finished High School only, and parents who had one child or all children in the family receiving Special Educational services …

The Effects Of Dialogue Journal Writing On The Writing Apprehension Level Of Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities, Jennifer H. Dooley

Theses & Honors Papers

This study examined what effects writing in dialogue journals has on the writing apprehension level of middle school students identified as having a learning disability related to writing. Twenty eight students participated in the study , eleven of which served as a control group and eleven as an experimental group (other subjects were eliminated randomly ). Each subject completed the Writing Apprehension Measure before and after the treatment. During the six - week study , the control group wrote in journals three times each week. The experimental group wrote in journals three times each week and received a response from …

The Relationship Between Elementary Teacher Personality Types And Their Attitudes Toward Elementary Age Students With Learning Disabilities, Mary Beth Thompson

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between regular elementary teacher personality types and their attitudes toward elementary age students with learning disabilities. Subjects (n= 50) were regular elementary teachers grades two through six from five randomly sampled elementary schools in Virginia. 62% (n= 31) of the questionnaires were returned. The attitudes of the selected elementary teachers were determined by self-developed survey questionnaire using a Likert Scale. Personality types were determined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). A Pearson r was used to analyze the data obtained from the Likert Scale and the MBTI at …

Instructional Techniques For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Marlene Tiller

Theses & Honors Papers

Instructional techniques used with elementary students diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were investigated. Subjects included fifty (n=50 ) special education teachers of elementary level (K-5 ) students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or emotional disabilities (ED). Of the fifty subjects, only twenty-three surveys were returned . Subject s were asked to choose the most effective desk placement, classroom placement , classroom strategy , and teaching method for an elementary level student with ADHD . A t-test, chi- square, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data . No significant differences were found between the choices of teachers …

Student And Teacher Perceptions Of The Aversiveness Of Behavior Management Techniques, Brent Halstead

Theses & Honors Papers

This research investigated teacher and student perceptions of behavior management techniques. Subjects for this study were all ninth grade students in a city high school. Both the students and their homeroom teachers were surveyed. The sample was drawn from a city school district in central Virginia. The sample provided 169 subjects, five teachers and 164 students.

The results of the study were consistent with previous research in the field. Students thought public discipline and techniques that involved outside forces (parents, principals , etc.) were most aversive. Students perceived token economies and private correction as not aversive.

Social Skills Intervention For A Black Male With Serious Emotional Disturbance And Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bridget Graham

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of the study was to equip one eight-year old Black male, who has been labeled with serious emotional disturbance as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with a repertoire of social skills so that he might know how to make and maintain friendships. The behaviors of asking to play, joining in and waiting one's turn were targeted. The results of this study indicate that instruction in social skills increased the percentage of times the subject engaged in the targeted skills during play sessions.

Teaching Decision Making Skills, Beatrice Landrum Gallier

Theses & Honors Papers

Summarized in this document are results from a survey distributed to find the number of hours elementary, middle and high school teachers were trained to teach the six decision making skills to students . This survey found that at least sixty percent of all teachers responding received no training. The teachers indicated which skills were the most important for students to acquire . The skills which were most important for students to acquire were rated among the lowest for student mastery of the concept/skill. Although many of the teachers were not trained, they did report teaching the skills as the …

Special And Vocational Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Responsibility For Implementing Transition Objectives, Cindy Marie Driver

Theses & Honors Papers

Subjects from eight school districts in Central Virginia were surveyed. The sample included 73 secondary- school (grades 9 - 12) vocational education teachers from general academic public schools and 46 secondary {9 - 12 grades) special education teachers from public schools.

T-tests revealed significant differences in attitudes toward transition between the two groups. Special education teachers displayed significantly more awareness of transition goals, involvement in implementing these goals and increased communication about transition goals. Vocational education teachers indicated that they should attend the IEP meeting and have involvement in writing transition goals, but that they generally are not involved in …

Personality Traits Of Special Education, Regular Education, And Non-Education Teacher Preparation Graduate Students, Carla Crawley

Theses & Honors Papers

With the growing need for special education teachers, institutions of higher education need new ways to screen candidates for admissions purposes. Since research shows that people with specific personality characteristics/traits seem to be attracted to and better suited for certain careers, screening with personality inventories may be a solution to the admissions problem. The purpose of this study was to gain information regarding personality types of three groups of graduate special education students: 1) those with a special education teacher preparation background, 2) those with a regular education teacher preparation background, and 3) those with a non-education teacher preparation background. …

A Child's Perception Of Bullies In Grades 3-4, And 7-8, Kristine E. Nebeling

Theses & Honors Papers

The study was conducted to determine if differences exist in bullying behavior between elementary and middle school students. The sample consisted of 192 children: 57 third graders, 29 girls and 28 boys; 40 fourth graders, 26 girls and 14 boys; 47 seventh graders, 20 girls and 27 boys; and 48 eighth graders, 26 girls and 22 boys . A rural school district in central Virginia was used. A likert scale survey containing 10 questions was administered to determine the perceptions children hold regarding fear of bullying, the number of bullying experiences, why children are bullied, and what adults do or …

Secondary Special Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Extended School Year Calendars, Stephanie Elizabeth Kidd

Theses & Honors Papers

This researcher conducted a study in four traditional school year calendar districts to determine teachers' attitudes towards extending the school year. All special education teachers and a randomly selected sample of regular education teachers from the middle and high schools from each school district were surveyed. A researcher-made survey was constructed using a Likert scale. Questions were constructed to obtain information about their own feelings toward extended school year program s and how their students might benefit from these services. Results were categorized as either regular or special education. A t-test was conducted to determine any significant differences between the …

Interactions Between Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders And Teachers In The Mainstream Setting, Susan Palese Page

Theses & Honors Papers

The author assessed the self reported behaviors of mainstream academic high school teachers who teach students with emotional/behavioral disorders with respect to preferred consequences for inappropriate student behaviors. Teachers were surveyed from four counties and asked to respond to an inappropriate student behavior with 1) positive reinforcement of the appropriate student behavior, 2) punishment of an inappropriate student behavior, 3) consequence which resulted in student escape from the academic task (negative reinforcement) or a free response of the teacher's choice. Results indicated that 49.6% of teacher responses were examples of positive reinforcement, 25.4% negative reinforcement, 6.4% punishment and 18.6% other …

Criteria For The Removal Of Children With Serious Emotional Disturbance From The Public School System, Becky Flippin

Theses & Honors Papers

Over the last decade, educators, administrators, and parents have become increasingly concerned regarding the identification and appropriate placement of children with serious emotional disturbance. These special individuals need a variety of services to enable them to function at their greatest level in the school system and in the community. The literature suggests that there are differences in the availability of programs in various school divisions and communities which may contribute to a child being prematurely placed in a residential treatment facility. Through surveying members of eligibility committees in various areas of the state, both urban and rural, this study has …

Women And Family In The Fiction Of Barbara Kingsolver, Laura Ann Gussett

Theses & Honors Papers

Realizing the situations facing the American family and the changes it underwent, Kingsolver chooses to use her works as a means to explain how nontraditional families can succeed in American society. Kingsolver describes the evolution of Taylor Greer from a woman trapped in a hopeless situation into one with opportunities for success. Taylor discovers who she is but additionally learns through her relationships and from nature’s cycles that her interdependence with others permits the simultaneous growth of her identity and family. Her new found acquisition of an abused child, her new-found motherhood, and her decision to establish close ties with …

Regular Education Teacher's Perceptions Of Inclusion In Virginia, Karen F. Schroeder

Theses & Honors Papers

Forty regular education teachers responded to a questionnaire concerning regular education teachers·beliefs and perceptions about the benefits. attitudes, and effectiveness of inclusion. The results were analyzed by calculating percentages and means for each item of the questionnaire and by calculating mean scores for each respondent's questionnaire to examine positive or negative reactions to inclusion. In addition. a t-test was computed. The results indicated that regular education teachers who responded were not strongly positive towards _the inclusion of students with disabilities into regular education classrooms. The t-test showed no significant difference between regular education teachers who have students with disabilities included …

The Involvement Of Students With Learning Disabilities And Emotional-Behavioral Disorders In Gang Membership, Melinda L. Kates

Theses & Honors Papers

Commonalities exist between gang members and individuals with learning disabilities and/or emotional-behavioral disorders. These characteristics are low self-esteem, poo social skills, difficulty maintaining personal relationships, and behavioral problems. Through a series of interviews conducted at a private facility for individuals with behavioral disorders, this study investigated the involvement of students with learning disabilities and/or emotional-behavioral disorders in gang membership.

Student Perceptions Of Conflict Resolution Instruction, John Scott Forbes

Theses & Honors Papers

Today many of the Nation's youth exhibit poor conflict resolution techniques. Some students with emotionally/behaviorally disorders have never been taught appropriate ways to handle day to day conflicts while other students have been exposed to elective classes on social skills and conflict management. The literature states that there are effective and comprehensive curriculums to handle the instruction of conflict resolution skills. Through a series of interviews with students who have and have not been exposed to conflict resolution curricula, this study explored the differences those curricula had on the students compared to another group of students who hadn't been exposed …