Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher And Students' Perceptions Of A Modified Inclusion Classroom Environment, Elizabeth Kirby Fullerton Ph.D., Caroline Guardino Ph.D.

Caroline Guardino

The purpose of this study was to examine how modifying the inclusion classroom impacts teacher and students’ perceptions of their learning environment. Prior to intervention the teacher was interviewed providing information about her preferred modifications. Following the intervention the teacher completed a rating scale and a post interview. The students completed a classroom environment student survey (CESS), to assess their perceptions of the classroom before, during, and after modifications were made. Twenty fourth grade students, as well as their teacher participated in the study. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Out Of "Dark Backrooms And Sheds", Marguerite Maher M.Ed

Marguerite Maher

Commitment to a single, inclusive education system has been the aspiration of reform in education in a democratic South Africa as articulated in White Paper 6: Special needs education: Building an inclusive education and training system (Department of Education, 2001, referred to hereafter as White Paper 6). Within a ‘barriers to learning’ approach to inclusive education, progress is being made with improved facilities and the implementation of AIDS awareness programmes. Managing the transition towards an inclusive education system has proved challenging in some areas, however, and the specific provision in policy documents directed towards children with disabilities is behind schedule. …

Educational Genocide: Examining The Impact Of National Education Policy On African American Communities, Christopher Knaus, Rachelle Rogers-Ard

Christopher Knaus

Abstract This paper clarifies the cumulative impact of the current national education policy on African-American children, which ultimately aims to limit local control of urban schools. The authors argue that urban schools in the United States are increasingly required to rely upon temporary teachers who are trained to implement a curriculum focused on standardized testing. The No Child Left Behind Act and the current Duncan administration’s approach to closing (and re-opening) schools combines to further exclude low-income community involvement in local schools. These efforts to control the development, hiring, and evaluation of local educators further expands educational racism that silences …

The Policy/Parent Gap, Philip Ferguson

Philip M. Ferguson

"[T]here is probably no area where the rhetoric and the reality are so far apart as in the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Despite official national and state education policies (embodied in laws, regulations, and court decisions) supporting inclusive education for students with disabilities, access to the general curriculum, and a massive commitment of public funds, data from the Department of Education shows that urban schools consistently place such students in more segregated settings for greater parts of the day and year than do school systems generally."

“First Grub, Then Ethics”: The Place Of Research In A Time Of Crisis, Philip Ferguson

Philip M. Ferguson

A reflection on school's failures to meet the needs of students with disabilities and their families in light of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Rti Success: Proven Tools And Strategies For Schools And Classrooms, Elizabeth Whitten, Kelli Esteves, Alice Woodrow

Elizabeth Whitten

This all-in-one resource provides information on Response to Intervention (RTI) as well as step-by-step administrator guidelines and practical teacher tools for implementation. Despite ongoing federal initiatives meant to increase the profile and prevalence of RTI in the nation's schools, many educators continue to have questions about the framework. What are the three tiers of intervention? How do screening and progress monitoring work? Is there funding available? "RTI Success" provides the "what" and "how-to" information that educators have been asking for. Features of the book include: Step-by-step guidelines for implementing RTI100+ teacher-friendly, research-based strategies for targeting specific skill deficits"What to Try …

Accommodating Accommodations: How A Small Liberal Arts College Certification Program Redefines The New Ell State Mandates, Brent C. Talbot, Kaoru Miyazawa

Kaoru Miyazawa

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of Idea Due Process, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

Due Process hearing rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are under attack. A major professional group and several academic commentators charge that the hearings system advantages middle class parents, that it is expensive, that it is futile, and that it is unmanageable. Some critics would abandon individual rights to a hearing and review in favor of bureaucratic enforcement or administrative mechanisms that do not include the right to an individual hearing before a neutral decision maker. This Article defends the right to a due process hearing. It contends that some criticisms of hearing rights are simply erroneous, and …

Idea Class Actions After Wal-Mart V. Dukes, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

Wal-Mart v. Dukes overturned the certification of a class of a million and a half female employees alleging sex discrimination in Wal-Mart’s salary and promotion decisions. The Supreme Court ruled that the case did not satisfy the requirement that a class have a common question of law or fact, and said that the remedy sought was not the type of relief available under the portion of the class action rule permitting mandatory class actions. Over the last two years, courts have struggled with how to apply the ruling, especially how to apply it beyond its immediate context of employment discrimination …

Helping Kids With Disability, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

The Verdict And Response, Edward Earl Bell

Edward Earl Bell

The murdering of black boys is not foreign. Prior to Zimmerman, black boys were murdered in streets from coast to coast. “We” were somewhat silent calling for a global ending of these deaths. The Zimmerman verdict seems to have produced clamor not only in the black community but also in communities across the globe.

Unequal Access To Tertiary Education; Implication For National Security, Olukunle Saheed Oludeyi

Olukunle Saheed, OLUDEYI

This paper examines the growing rate of unequal access to tertiary education among Nigerian youths and its implication for national security. Although bias has existed during the colonial era, recent events reveal high waves of access-inequality and prejudice. Following the trend of violence, terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria today, this paper contends that youth education, reorientation and empowerment organized through unbiased processes are fundamental requisites for socio-economic, political and national security. The paper argues further that the number of youths who enjoy unrestricted access to tertiary education is unequal to the number of those who find it as privilege rather …

"All Areas Of Suspected Disability", Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school districts to assess children “in all areas of suspected disability.” It further provides that each child’s individualized education program (IEP) must contain measurable annual goals designed to “meet each of the child’s . . . educational needs that result from the child’s disability,” and a statement of special education and related services that will be provided for the child “to advance appropriately toward attaining annual goals.” Courts have strictly enforced these requirements in the last several years, remedying violations of IDEA when school districts fail to assess in all areas of …

Women, Education & The Diaspora, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Educating the woman is a challenge to many governments in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria where successive governments have made efforts to promote and support women education and bridging the gender gap in the education, labor and economic sector. This position paper examined issues and challenges of women regarding education and the Diaspora: An experience coming from a Nigerian-American who spent more than a decade living and working in the United States of America. Motivations for leaving an individuals’ homeland are as varied as the immigrants themselves, especially women who leave for opportunity, some for adventure, education, marriage and some to …

Common-Law Interpretation Of Appropriate Education: The Road Not Taken In Rowley, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

Thirty years old in 2012, Board of Education v. Rowley is the case that established a some-benefit or floor-of-opportunity standard for the services public school districts must provide to children who have disabilities. But the some-benefit approach is by no means the only one the Court could have adopted. It could have endorsed the view of the lower courts that each child with a disability must be given the opportunity to achieve his or her potential commensurate with the opportunity offered other children. Or it could have adopted a standard based on achievement of the child’s full potential or the …

Effects Of The Humanitarian Aid, Internal Displacement On The Social Impacts In Sudan, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The study presented here reviews activities of NGOs in Sudan by surveying and studying the activities of Save the Children of United Kingdom. Activities of NGOs in Sudan were always a controversial issue that resulted in the expulsion of many in 2009. There were also precedents of such expulsions in previous and following years. The paper discusses humanitarian work in Sudan, positive and negative sides. The case study's activities of the Save the Children efforts in Jebel Aulia Internally Displaced People, specially their efforts in education were investigated. It is concluded that introduce invaluable help in educational field, building classes …

Thieves Or Doctors, Armed Civil Conflicts In Darfur And Impacts On Education In Refugees Camps, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The study presented here depends on a field survey of refugees' camps in war strived Darfur region. The data are genuine from people and children. The expelling of NGOs from the region was a moral shock to the whole world, but in Darfur, it was a humanitarian catastrophe affecting the population. In this paper, I surveyed and analyzed data on what I consider the most important factor which are children and establish education as the base of the arguments introduced here. A case study is introduced which is Attash refugees or displaced camp were produced. Data were collected by field …

Impacts Of The Political Regime On The High Education System Of Sudan, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

In totalitarian systems, especially that of dogmatic nature, education is often targeted to be devoted for the preparations of young generations and dedicating them to the regimes' structure and principles. However, such method negatively influences the educational system and renders the efficient inputs to students. The results can be manifested in deterioration of knowledge, human capital development and the future performance per se.

Special Education From The (Damp) Ground Up: Children With Disabilities In A Charter School-Dependent Educational System, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

Hurricane Katrina created the need and the opportunity to reconstitute the New Orleans public school system. Educational reformers took advantage of the destruction of existing institutions to build a new system based on educational choice and dependent on charter schools to provide the choices. The disaster also created the need and opportunity to rebuild the system of special education in the city, but education for children with disabilities appears to have been an afterthought. Reports have surfaced of children being steered away from charter schools or inadequately served there. This paper asks what principles should guide reformers in establishing education …

Education And Training Systems For Social Inclusion, Robert Simons

Dr Robert Simons

No abstract provided.

Language And Graffiti Of Exceptional Individuals In West Africa, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

This paper establishes the place of language and graffiti practiced by exceptional individuals in the interpretation of family values, the preservation of culture and traditional heritage of the Igbo community in Southeastern Nigeria. The paper also takes a cursory look at graffiti art and exceptionality in a time when the Igbo tradition and culture were highly respected, jealously guarded and deep-rooted in the heart and soul of its people. Graffiti creations by exceptional individuals transfer both oral and visual education to documented tradition; for societal knowledge and awareness, individual wisdom, expressions against repression, pride and recognition of Igbo language and …

Applying Focus Groups In Educational Research In Africa, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

The study using focus groups in the West African nation of The Gambia was an experiential research, which provided viable data on girl child education practices, problems and prospects in the African sub region. This paper presents an opportunity to explore peoples’ perceptions on issues of interest and concern to Gambians on girl child education. The 2006-2007 study was conducted through the use of focus groups for data collection, covering six educational regions in the Republic of The Gambia.

Encouraging A Barrier-Free Built Environment In A Malaysian University, Hazreena Hussein

Hazreena Hussein

A goo d pedestrian network around the campus should be accessible and friendly for all users including disabled persons. The environment should offer 'some activity nodes to ensure that the learning and working in campus is more pleasant. The pap er will clar ify the importance of collaborative development among various professionals and organisations in order to achieve a 'barrier-free built environment', focusing on the University of Malaya as a case study. It will share experience on the education of inclusive design for students who will become professionals and responsible in implementing the legislation relating to safety, accessibility and usability …