Education Commons^™

The Scottish Government International Development Fund: Designing A New International Development Inclusive Education Programme, Alexander Towne, Desmond Bermingham

International Education Research

This document was commissioned by the Scottish Government following a review of Scotland’s approach to international development in the wake of Covid-19, and incorporates a needs analysis and evidence, review, a detailed description of the global and national policy contexts relevant to partner country education systems and inputs from partner country governments, civil society and development partners on their priorities for investment in Inclusive Education. Drawing on these inputs, the report proposes a focus for the Scottish Government’s inclusive education programme on learners with disabilities and girls and young women, which is due to begin implementation in 2024. It also …

Remote Learning For Students With A Disability: Game Changer Or Moment In Time? Literature Review, Marijne Medhurst, Maya Conway, Kathryn Richardson

School and system improvement

This literature review draws from Australian and international research into the impact of remote learning for students with disability, published between March 2020 and April 2022. The literature relates to pedagogical services provided by early childhood services and schools to support students with disability, rather than therapeutic services. The social implications for students are reviewed along with educational factors, and implications for inclusion and support by schools. Following an overview of the legal and policy frameworks supporting the education of students with disability, this review investigates benefits, challenges and opportunities for both remote learning and transition back to in-person educational …

Teacher Professional Development For Disability Inclusion In Low- And Middle-Income Asia-Pacific Countries: An Evidence And Gap Map, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, David Jeffries, Anannya Chakraborty, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz, Budiarti Rahayu, David Armstrong, Amit Kaushik, Kris Sundarsagar

Assessment and Reporting

In the Asia‐Pacific region, around one‐third of the children who are out‐of‐school have a disability and given that teacher readiness and capability are key contributors for inclusive education, it is high time for a mapping of disability inclusive teacher professional development (TPD) interventions in this region. The key objective of this evidence and gap map (EGM) is to locate evidence on interventions for in‐service TPD focussing on education for the inclusion of students with a disability in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) in the Asia‐Pacific region. A broad range of bibliographic databases and repositories were searched electronically to identify the …

Collaborating With Parents With Disabilities To Create Accountability In The Special Education System, Brooke Crosby, Julia Lutz-Lawlor, Kelsy Farley, Khadra Geelle

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota is a state that prides itself on prioritizing education. As such, all school personnel must fulfill their obligation to ensure meaningful access for parents with a disability. As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is required under both federal and state special education law. In the special education IEP process, parental involvement is mandated to ensure the child's best interest. Research shows parents’ involvement in their children’s education can lead to an improvement in grades, performance, literacy, attendance, and homework completion. Disabled parents must be engaged as …

Teaching Writing To Middle School Students With Disabilities: A Merc Research Brief, David Naff, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Julie S. Dauksys

MERC Publications

This research brief by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium explores peer reviewed literature about effective strategies for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities. It answers the following questions: 1) Why is it important to teach writing? 2) What is the nature of the challenge in teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? 3) What interventions help with teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? and 4) What strategies are utilized in the MERC region for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities?

Blended Or Differentiated Instruction For Inclusive Education During Post-Covid-19 Era: The Need For Upgrading School Libraries In Nigeria, Charity Onyishi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

With the socio-educational challenges posed by COVID-19, teaching-learning is gradually moving from face-to-face to digital and online distance learning across the world. This makes it generally challenging to meet the needs of all learners in the context of inclusive education. Increasing evidence tends to show that for effective inclusive learning, the hybrid blended approaches to learning should be differentiated. Further still is the fact that school libraries need to be upgraded with resources that meet the needs of diverse learners, and speak to the present hybridization in pedagogy and learning. A major impairing problem is the documented lack of …

Protocol: Teacher Professional Development For Disability Inclusion In Low- And Middle-Income Asia-Pacific Countries: An Evidence And Gap Map, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, David Jeffries, Anannya Chakraborty, Petra Lietz, Amit Kaushik, Budiarti Rahayu, David Armstrong, Kris Sundarsagar

Assessment and Reporting

According to prior research, teacher readiness and capability are key contributors for successful transition towards disability inclusive education, yet in-service teacher professional development for disability inclusion remains an under-researched area. The key objective of this evidence and gap map (EGM) is to locate evidence on interventions for disability inclusion focused teacher professional development (TPD) in low-to-middle-income-countries (LMICs) in the Asia-Pacific region. As such, it will illustrate different levels of evidence for TPD interventions as well as where there is no evidence (i.e., gaps). In other words, the EGM can make agencies aware where they might be operating in an area …

Examination Of Online Accommodation Information For College Students With Disabilities In New England, Emily Rakers

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study is to report on the status of information available to college students with disabilities on the websites of New England colleges’ centers for students with disabilities. Primarily, this study focused on information about the application process for a student to receive accommodations. Data was generated by compiling a list of common factors on the websites of centers for students with disabilities at colleges not in New England, and then searching the New England websites to see if they included these factors on their own websites. Three separate categories of schools were included in the study: …

Coming To America For The Good Of A Deaf Child: The Case Of Joy, Angi Stone-Macdonald

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publication Series

Families of children with disabilities must make difficult choices about providing health and educational services that their children need and finding an environment where they can be socially accepted. In this study, parents from Kenya whose daughter is deaf weigh their desire to provide the best life for her against their desire to use their professional expertise to help people in Kenya. This article examines the role of cultural beliefs about disability in this family's experience. It highlights issues that deserve further research to learn more about how to meet immigrants' needs in special education, especially immigrant families from African …

Endrew F. Clairvoyance, Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has declared that “Prior decisions of this Court are consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Endrew F.,” the 2017 Supreme Court decision interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act obligation to furnish students with disabilities free, appropriate public education. This Essay considers whether that statement is accurate, and concludes that while some of the past Second Circuit decisions fit comfortably with Endrew F. ex rel. Joseph F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, others do not. The Essay submits that the court of appeals should confess a lack of clairvoyance in its earlier …

Participation Of Children With Disabilities In School: A Realist Systematic Review Of Psychosocial And Environmental Factors, Donald Maciver, Marion Rutherford, Stella Arakelyan, Jessica M. Kramer, Janet Richmond, Liliya Todorova, Dulce Romero-Ayuso, Hiromi Nakamura-Thomas, Marjon Ten Velden, Ian Finlayson, Anne O’Hare, Kirsty Forsyth

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background In order to make informed decisions about how best to support children and young people with disabilities, effective strategies that facilitate active and meaningful participation in school are required. Clinical factors, diagnosis or impairments somewhat helpful in determining what should be provided in interventions. However, clinical factors alone will not offer a clear view of how to support participation. It is helpful then to look at wider psychosocial and environmental factors. The aim of this review was to synthesise evidence of psychosocial and environmental factors associated with school participation of 4–12 year old children with disabilities to inform the …

Equitable Learning Assessments For Students With Disabilities (Neqmap Thematic Review), Anannya Chakraborty, Amit Kaushik, Unesco Office Bangkok And Regional Bureau For Education In Asia And The Pacific

Assessment and Reporting

Asia-Pacific is home to 690 million persons with a disability. Persons with disabilities experience lower educational opportunities as children and therefore also face fewer opportunities as adults. Children with disabilities experience barriers to participating in education that result in enrolment rate drops of up to 53 per cent between primary and secondary education, making it increasingly difficult for persons with disabilities to secure employment. Low participation rates and other barriers have a serious impact on the learning achievement and learning outcomes of learners with disabilities. This thematic review provides an overview of the existing inclusive education policies and practices in …

Journeys Through Rough Country: An Ethnographic Study Of Blind Adults Successfully Employed In American Corporations, Kirk Adams

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Blind and visually impaired people in the United States face a dire employment situation within professional careers and corporate employment. The purpose of this research study was to gain insights into the phenomenon of employment of blind people through analyzing the lived experience of successfully employed blind adults through ethnographic interviews. Previous research has shown that seven out of ten blind adults are not in the workforce, that a large percentage of those who are employed consider themselves underemployed, and that these numbers have not improved over time. Missing from previous research were insights into the conditions leading to successful …

Helping Students Make Informed Decisions About Transition Via Web-Based Resources, Dawn A. Rowe, John Mcnaught, Louise Yoho, Mariya T. Davis, Mazzotti Mazzotti

Special Education Faculty Publications

Although there are many transitions that occur in a young person’s life, transition from high school to adulthood can be one of the most challenging. This transition requires autonomy and decision-making skills. To support youth in having positive outcomes after high school, it is imperative for teachers to have strategies to guide students in making informed decisions as they begin the transition process. This article provides teachers with strategies and resources to help youth build autonomy, make informed decisions, and gain information via web-based resources to support the transition from high school into postschool life. Steps for building autonomy, evaluating …

Teachers As Facilitators Or Barriers Of Parent Involvement: Experiences Of African American Mothers Of Children In Special Education Programs, Princess Briggs

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parents in disenfranchised groups, namely African American parents of children with special needs, are less likely to be involved in their child’s education, although involvement is associated with positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate African American parents’ perceptions of special education programs, of teacher actions, and of school policies that influence parent involvement of African American parents of children with special needs.

A phenomenological study was conducted with 15 African American mothers of children with special needs. These parents participated in individual face-to-face interviews, which included a discussion of the child’s Individualized Education Plan. Audio …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Virginia Public School Special Education Due Process Cases And Their Resolutions From 2004-2016, Valerie Beaudoin-Saunders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Special education-related lawsuits are a concern to school systems. They are time-consuming, expensive, and contentious. School and parental relationships become strained when litigation is involved. This study analyzed data from the Virginia Department of Education’s due process database over a 12-year period of time to note common disabilities involved in special education litigation. Specific characteristics from each case were noted to determine if there was a trend in the frequency of due process cases: the sex, grade, age, disability, and outcome. The data was obtained from the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services. The purpose …

“For A Long Time Our Voices Have Been Hushed”: Using Student Perspectives To Develop Supports For Neurodiverse College Students, Kristen Gillepsie-Lynch, Dennis Bublitz, Annemarie Donachie, Vincent Wong, Patricia J. Brooks, Joanne D'Onofrio

Publications and Research

Although the challenges that autistic students face adapting to college are often pronounced, they are similar to the challenges that students with other disabilities face (e.g., difficulties with social interaction, self-advocacy, and executive functioning). However, extant evaluations of services for autistic college students are very limited despite an emerging literature examining supports for college students with a range of other disabilities. Given that many autistic students do not self-identify as autistic in college, and consequently might avoid autism-specific services, autistic students might benefit from services that are designed to support a broad range of neurodiverse students, or services that are …

Universal Design Across The Curriculum: Training For Students And Teachers, Trish Mackeogh, James Hubbard, Kieran O'Callaghan

Articles

Providing an inclusive educational setting for children with disabilities is essential if they are to truly benefit from mainstream education. Universal design (UD) provides a framework to develop our classrooms, materials and methods to accommodate diverse learners and students with special educational needs without the need to retrofit or remove the student from the classroom. This paper outlines the theory and the approach of two training courses on Universal Design developed for teachers and students.

“There Is Nothing Inherently Mysterious About Assistive Technology”: A Qualitative Study About Blind User Experiences In Us Academic Libraries, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

Eighteen academic library users who are blind were interviewed about their experiences with academic libraries and the libraries’ websites using an open-ended questionnaire and recorded telephone interviews. The study approaches these topics from a user-centered perspective, with the idea that blind users themselves can provide particularly reliable insights into the issues and potential solutions that are most critical to them. Most participants used reference librarians’ assistance, and most had positive experiences. High-level screen reader users requested help with specific needs. A larger number of participants reported contacting a librarian because of feeling overwhelmed by the library website. In some cases, …

Wheels Of Fortune: The Economic Impacts Of Wheelchair Provision In Ethiopia, Justin L. Grider, Bruce Wydick

Economics

Although approximately 1 billion people in the world live with physical disabilities, there is a lack of rigorous research on the economic impacts of providing assistive devices for persons with disabilities. This study involves 261 people with disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where 121 had received wheelchair donations through nonprofit organisations. Using covariate matching (CVM), seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) and a series of robustness checks for endogeneity, it is found that those given access to a wheelchair devoted 1.75 more hours per day to work, 1.40 fewer hours per day to street begging and realised a 77.5 per cent increase …

Technology, Diversity, Web Accessibility, And Ala Accreditation Standards In Mlis, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

This paper discusses an interconnection between diversity and technology: web accessibility for all, including people with disabilities. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight MLIS professors and two students or recent alumni. Findings showed attitudes regarding teaching web accessibility and recruitment of a diverse student body varied between professors who were familiar with web accessibility and those who were not. Participants who were familiar with web accessibility often thought it should be included within ALA Standards for Accreditation. Findings suggested that, in one school, incorporating diversity in their curriculum, including web accessibility, allowed recruitment of a more diverse student body and …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Food Allergy Research & Education, & Council Of Parent Attorneys And Advocates In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellants And Urging Reversal, T.F., A Minor By His Parents And D.F. And T.S.F., On Their Own Behalf V. Fox Chapel Area School District, Marc Charmatz, Caroline Jackson

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Combating Autism Reauthorization Act Of 2014, Kassandra Mores

Policy Analysis

On May 9, 2014, Representative Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Doyle (D-PA) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act (H.R. 4631) for five years. Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) are planning to introduce a Senate bill of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act. The Combating Autism Act of 2011, due to sunset September 30, 2014, provides federal funding for autism research, public education, and early detection and intervention in Maine. We are hoping that you will consider voting in support of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act.

Increasing Access And Success In The Stem Disciplines: A Model For Supporting The Transition Of High School Students With Disabilities Into Stem-Related Postsecondary Education, Martie Kendrick, Marnie Bragdon-Morneault, Janet May, Alan Kurtz

Transition-Age Resources

This publication (191-page PDF) contains a package of evidenced-based transition supports that can be used by educators or instructors with high school students with disabilities who are interested in pursuing STEM-related postsecondary education and careers. The publication contains information and instructional activities related to the following: self-advocacy and self-determination; exploring STEM careers; disability disclosure; the accommodations process in college; identifying assistive technology; mentoring relationships and internships; and using student- and family-centered planning to prepare for college.

Intrusiveness Of Behavioral Treatments For Children With Autism And Developmental Disabilities: An Initial Investigation, Michael R. Mayton, Stacy L. Carter, Jie Zhang, John J. Wheeler

ETSU Faculty Works

The behaviors frequently displayed by students with autism can place them at risk for overly reactive behavior interventions with unwanted side effects. The current study examined the level of intrusiveness of behavioral treatments developed for 198 students with disabilities from 13 different states. Results demonstrated that students diagnosed with autism had proportionally more intrusive behavior interventions when compared to students in five other disability categories and indicated that many students with autism were unnecessarily subjected to highly intrusive behavior interventions. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.

Comparing Types Of Student Placement And The Effect On Achievement For Students With Disabilities, Patricia Mason

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Since implementing No Child Left Behind, schools have improved student achievement while also preparing students for the 21st century. Schools continue to strive for 100% proficiency in all subgroups by 2014, but achievement gap exists for students with disabilities. This study used a causal comparative research design to test the concept of co-teaching by comparing types of placement for students with disabilities and the effect on student achievement. For this study, placement was considered where the student received instruction in either a general education class or a co-taught class during 9th through 11th grade. Student achievement was based on the …

Examining The Relationships Between Secondary General Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Professional Development, And Support From Special Education Personnel, Lynn Wogamon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This correlational research study examined the relationships between secondary general education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, hours of professional development in topics related to special education and hours of support from special education personnel addressing the needs of students with disabilities received weekly. The research also investigated whether this information could be used to predict secondary general education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. General education teachers in six South Carolina high schools completed the Scale of Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) and a demographic survey that asked about hours of professional development in special education topics and hours of support received …

Family Portraits: Past And Present Representations Of Parents In Special Education Text Books, Dianne L. Ferguson, Philip M. Ferguson, Joanne Kim, Corrine Li

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper analyses the descriptions of families of children with disabilities as contained in introductory special education texts over the last 50 years. These text books are typically used in pre-service teacher education courses as surveys of the education of ‘exceptional children’. The textbooks reflect the mainstream professional assumptions of the era about topics such as disability, special education, inclusion, and family/school linkages. However, they also shape the assumptions of the next generation of educators about these same topics. The paper summarises the results of a qualitative document analysis of a sample of these textbooks from two different eras. The …

Functional Story-Based Instruction About Hand Washing To Teach Emergent Literacy Skills And Hand Washing Skills To Three Elementary Students With Significant Intellectual Disabilities, Glenda Hyer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study used a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of Functional Story-Based Instruction about hand washing on the independent and correct emergent literacy responses and independent and correct hand washing responses of three elementary students with significant intellectual disabilities in small inclusive reading groups. Data were collected during baseline, intervention, and generalization phases, and then analyzed using visual analyses. The result of the study indicated a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Social validity indicated Functional Story-Based Instruction about hand washing was an effective approach for teaching both emergent literacy skills and hand washing …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …