Education Commons^™

Spiritual Experiences Of Young People With Cognitive Impairments Within Christian Communities Of Faith, Lea Danihelova

Dissertations

This study was initiated with the primary objective of delving deep into the spiritual experiences of individuals living with cognitive impairments. The research was centered on seven young adults with cognitive impairment who were members of the Christian communities of faith and resided in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The study focused on giving voice to these young people since there were no studies about the spirituality of people with cognitive impairment done in central Europe. The hermeneutic phenomenological approach was chosen as the research method due to its capacity for facilitating personal interactions, thus enabling a comprehensive understanding of …

Parent Satisfaction Of Daily Organized Physical Education For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cody Mills

Master's Theses

Daily structured physical education programming should be protected to support the achievement of goals set within an individual education plan (IEP) for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To ensure this is a priority, parent satisfaction is necessary to prioritize a healthy partnership between home and school. The objective of this research study is to identify the level of parent/guardian satisfaction in school-based and community-based daily organized physical education provided for children with autism. The research will determine if parents/guardians are wholly satisfied with the programming provided by their child’s school, or if greater satisfaction is attained when parents outsource …

P-13 Predictors Of General Education Teachers Self-Efficacy For Educating Students With Asd, Renette Portecop-Prentice

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

This study examines the influence of ASD-specific training or professional development, peer observations, feedback from consultation/collaboration and teacher attitudes on general education teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs for educating students with ASD, as well as whether knowledge mediates the effect of professional development on teacher self-efficacy. It is hypothesized that the proposed theoretical model of teacher self-efficacy for educating students with ASD will fit an empirical model based on collected data. Data from 536 participants have been collected and are being analyzed. Preliminary results suggest that the hypothesized model does not fit the empirical model. However, the factors appearing to have the …

The Inclusion Of Special Education Services In Seventh-Day Adventist Schools In New York City, Marlene Morris-Lambert

Dissertations

Problem

Over the past fifty years, there has been an increase in the number of students with special needs in the U.S., from 1.8% of students in 1977 to 5.7% of students in 2006 and 13.0% of students in 2015. Federal legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act support equal education for this growing population of students, and special-needs educators have responded by implementing full-inclusion strategies. Public schools continue to make advances in implementing inclusion practices since they are legally bound to do so. The Seventh-day Adventist community is one of …

Fun Reading Practice?: Strategies And Evidence From A One-On-One Reading Intervention, Caddabra Brown

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Based on the Response To Intervention (RTI) model, about 5% - 10% of students do not respond to generalized or small group instruction. These students need direct instruction delivered with an individualized format during which they receive an increased number of opportunities to practice with immediate corrective feedback. However, these practice sessions can be met with resistance. This is moreso the reality among at-risk readers and boys. In this presentation, creative, engaging, multisensory approaches useful for practicing reading skills will be discussed and demonstrated. These approaches are useful for teachers, school psychologists, interventionists, and parents.

Special Needs Children And Mental Health, Nancy J. Carbonell

Faculty Publications

What do these stories have in common? They are representative of many students who experience learning difficulties while at the same time struggling with mental or emotional issues. Special-needs teachers see children like Brandon, Carmen, and Jake in their classrooms every day. It is estimated that in the U.S., 37 percent of children with special needs also need mental-health care. That is approximately one in every three special-needs students! This is particularly challenging for teachers whose training did not include how to deal with children experiencing mental-health issues.

Teacher's Attitudes Towards Instruction Of Students With Disabilities In An Inclusive Setting, Beverly Nunes

Master's Theses

According to some studies, there is a trend in inclusion of students with disabilities in general classroom. And the key element to deal with this special education issue is the general education teacher. The present research surveyed the variables that would predict teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in inclusive settings. The variables include years of service, teachers' attendance to special education courses in their program preparation, differentiated instruction, and previous experience with inclusion. Eighty general education teachers from public schools in a very diverse area of Southwest Michigan, answered a survey with 31 questions involving the Scale …

Preservice Teachers' Attitudes And Efficacy Beliefs Toward Inclusion Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders In The Midwestern Region Of The United States, Amy Cavanaugh Cramer

Dissertations

Problem Statement. The increased prevalence of children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) will likely result in these students being placed more frequently in general education classrooms. As a result, general education teachers will be responsible, and must be willing and adequately prepared, for teaching students with ASD. Attitudes are one of the most important predictors for successful inclusion. Teachers indicate a willingness to include students with ASD. However, they do not feel prepared for inclusion for students with ASD.

Teacher training and efficacy beliefs are related to teachers' ability to educate students with disabilities. Since teacher training occurs at …

The Perceptions Of General Education Teachers About The Over-Representation Of Black Students In Special Education, David Roland Grice

Dissertations

Statement of the Problem: There is an over-representation of Black students in special education. Black students are typically referred for special education consideration by the end of the fourth grade. One effort to reduce the large number of referrals in Connecticut was Courageous Conversations About Race. Courageous Conversations About Race is designed to address what educators, families, and other community groups can do to improve teaching and learning across racial lines. It served as a strategy for educators to confront and deinstitutionalize racism. Courageous Conversations About Race is an effective means to address the issues of race in schools/districts where …

Achievement Barriers Perceived And Overcome By Successful High-School Students Participating In Upward Bound Programs In Indiana, Alyssia Janet Parris-Coates

Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how academically successful Upward Bound students overcome the barriers to high-school graduation. While Upward Bound students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, similar to those of many students who fail to graduate from high school, 90% of them graduate.

Method

The research design for this study was Padilla‘s Student Success Model (SSM). Student Success Model (SSM) is a qualitative technique to portray successful student methods by capturing the perceived reality of the particular students being studied.

Results

In response to the first research question—What do students and staff perceive to be the barriers …

The Impact Of Early-Intervention/Prevention Services On The Northville Public Schools, Robert O. Sornson

Dissertations

Problem

Whereas some school districts have continued to observe high rates of reading failure and increasing rates of special education identification, others have looked at program or system changes to reduce early learning failure. This study is an analysis of the impact of early intervention practices in the elementary schools of an upper-middle-class community.

Method

Cost analyses of district programs were compared to a hypothetical district with state average levels of special education identification. Special Education eligibility rates were tracked over a 10-year period. Data were collected from surveys given to Instructional-Support Team personnel, general education teachers, elementary administrators, and …

Fixing The Hole In The Pipe : Moving Beyond Prereferral Toward Changing The System, Jean T. Papandrea

Dissertations

Problem

Too many students in school districts across the nation fail and are inappropriately referred for special education classification and services, when, in reality, they are not disabled, but are casualties of systems that do not have appropriate instructional intervention and support systems in place. This study explores the outcomes of an Instructional Support system called the 7 SHARE Initiative. Essential system components are: (a) Instructional Support Teachers (ISTs) in each school, (b) Curriculum-Based Assessment as developed by Edward E. Gickling, (c) direct instruction of strategies to students, and (d) modeling strategies for teachers to implement in class-wide applications.

Method …

The Effects Of Prereferral Intervention Through The Connecticut Early Intervention Project On Special Education Prevalence Rates In Connecticut Schools, Marianne Eike Kirner

Dissertations

Problem. Prereferral intervention has been implemented in many schools across the country as one systemic solution to concerns about special education prevalence rates. This study analyzed change in special education prevalence rates in Connecticut schools participating in the Early Intervention Project (EIP) as compared to Connecticut schools not participating in the project. The project incorporates a building-based team using a problem-solving approach to provide prompt and sustained support to classroom teachers who request assistance in working with students who are at risk of referral for special education.

Method. The research design consisted of a comparison of special education prevalence change …

Investigation Of The Prevalence Of Learning Disabilities Within The Home-School Population Of Southwest Michigan, Paul Steven Kitchen

Dissertations

Problem. The special education needs of home-school children have rarely been studied. This research utilizes the homeschool population of Southwest Michigan to investigate the incidence of learning disabilities (LD) within this group. At the same time, it is possible to investigate some of the criticisms of the learning disability field of study.

Method. Two hundred ninety-eight home-school children in southwest Michigan were assessed for LD using the Michigan State Board of Education definitional criteria. Achievement was assessed by use of the Wide Range Achievement Test, third revision. Ability was measured with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, third revision. …

A Study Of The Discriminative Function Of Six Variables In 9-12-Year-Old Males With Learning Disabilities, Kenneth M. Hanig

Dissertations

Problem

Greater discriminative power to clarify the diagnostic category of learning disabilities is needed. Research identifies many types of learning disabled populations. Studies do not indicate that the six variables used in this project had been combined and used in a project prior to this. Using measures such as Sentence Repeat, Synonyms, Digits Forward/Backwards, Design Copy, Nonsense Words, and Visual Pattern Matching, this project studied the responses of an LD sample to these subtests and their ability to discriminate among a verbally impaired sample, a spatially impaired sample, and a control group.

Method

Six subtests were developed, which, according to …

Effects Of Rational-Emotive Group Therapy Upon Anxiety And Self-Esteem Of Learning Disabled Children, Donna J. Meyer

Dissertations

Previous research has indicated the effectiveness of rational-emotive education techniques in reducing anxiety and building self-esteem with regular classroom children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of rational-emotive group therapy on anxiety and self-esteem of learning-disabled children. One hundred ten learning-disabled children (ages 8-13) were assigned to one of three experimental conditions: rational-emotive therapy (N=32), recreational-educational programming (N=31), or no-contact (N=47). Within the two experimental treatments that actually met, groups of seven to nine members, similar in chronological age, were formed. The rational-emotive groups received therapy based on rational-emotive theory. The recreational-educational programming groups engaged in …

Use Of The Audio Visual Tactile Treatment On Disabled Readers In Grades Three And Four : Its Effect On Word Recognition, Silent Reading Comprehension, And Attitude Towards Reading, Shirani Christine De Alwis

Dissertations

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Audio Visual Tactile (AVT) treatment in third - and fourth-grade disabled readers in three areas of reading: word-recognition skills , silent-reading comprehension skills , and attitude towards reading. Procedures A Quasi-Experimental Pretest-Posttest Nonequivalent Group Design was used. The subjects were 87 students in grades 3 and 4 with at least low-average intelligence ( I . Q. scores of 80 and above), receiving Title I reading-support services during the 1979-80 school year. The students were from the Central, Northside, and Oak Manor elementary schools in the Niles Community …

The Development And Validation Of A Vocational Interest Survey Instrument With Audio-Visual Format, Paul Gene Elliott

Dissertations

Problem. Many present day vocational interest surveys rely exclu­sively on printed reading materials to assess youngsters' vocational interest . The use of printed reading materials alone may not best serve the youngsters who are unable to read or who learn best through a different kind of learning structure . There needs to be a variety of valid assessing techniques that explore the youngster's vocational interest. These techniques should not raise side issues of academic skills, but provide a pure measure of interest . The purpose of this research was to develop and test an instrument using photographs as choice stimulants …

A Multi-Sensory Approach To Teaching Spelling To Learning Disabled Children, Judith M. Meuleman

Master's Theses

Problem

Learning disabled children are receiving increasing attention, for despite an intelligence quotient within the normal range, they are not achieving in school as well as their peers. The reasons offered for this phenomenon seem to relate to perceptual problems. Specific learning disabilities occur in reading, arithmetic, spelling, handwriting and other motor coordination areas. This study investigates the effect of a multi-sensory method of teaching spelling to learning disabled children using sandpaper letters to utilize the tactile and kinesthetic sensory modalities.

Method

Unfamiliar spelling words were taught to 40 learning disabled children, 38 boys and 2 girls. The children were …