Education Commons^™

Teacher Evaluations, Pbis Implementation, And Student Outcomes, Kasey Catherine Keith Boyd

Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Professional Growth System school-wide Teacher Growth Rubric (TGR) score averages by standard and student academic and behavioral outcomes (i.e. state assessment scores, discipline referrals, suspensions, attendance.). The study also examined the relationship among Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) implementation fidelity, MDE TGR scores, and student outcomes. Twenty-seven schools were selected to participate in the study. Fifteen of the schools were implementing with fidelity during the 2021-2022 school year, as measured by the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI), and twelve schools were not implementing SWPBIS during the 2021-2022 …

Educators’ And Parents’ Attitudes Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Emotional And Behavior Disorders, Shannon L. Howze

Dissertations

Educating students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) has historically been a difficult task for educators (McKenna et al., 2021). The general education setting comes with many barriers when attempting to include students with EBD to the equation. Parents are instrumental to the success of their students with EBD regardless to the setting. Educators may lack in the skills needed to communicate, educate, and understand students with EBD. Without educators and parents collectively communicating and collaborating, students with EBD will not have the opportunity to have the positive experiences and outcomes to be successful. Applying the theoretical frameworks of Bandura’s …

Self-Efficacy And Burnout Among Mississippi Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers, Stacey Anne Price Frye

Dissertations

This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between Mississippi mild/moderate (certification endorsement number 221) special education teachers’ levels of self-efficacy and burnout, as well as to determine which factors influenced self-efficacy and burnout. Teachers from across the state of Mississippi responded to an online questionnaire that collected demographic data, the Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Teacher Burnout Scale.

The results of the correlation research showed that subscales of Student Engagement and Instructional Strategies are positively correlated. Subscales of Student Engagement and Classroom Management are positively correlated. The Teacher Burnout survey subscale of Coping had a …

Principals' Knowledge Of Special Education Policy And Procedure And The Special Education Teachers' Intent, Tara Clark

Dissertations

Teacher shortage has been a growing problem. With the increase of teacher shortages, some areas are being impacted more intensely. Special education is one of the areas most impacted by the shortages. Common reasons exist as to why teachers are leaving the field or profession. These reasons may be personal or professional related. Some of the professional reasons for leaving pertain to the school’s administration and the way special education teachers are treated. Principal support is cited as one of the primary indicators of teacher satisfaction. Literature supports the analysis that a principal’s leadership heavily determines a teacher’s job satisfaction. …

Career And Technical Education Teachers’ Attitudes Toward And Their Participation In Technology-Based Professional Development Training In Mississippi’S High School Districts, Natalie N. Hill

Dissertations

The use of technology has become an essential part of daily interaction in Career and Technical education learning environments. There is very little research regarding career and technical teachers’ attitudes and participation in professional development, although previous studies have been conducted referencing K-12 teachers’ attitudes. A qualitative research methodology was employed to investigated the insight of CTE teachers’ attitudes toward the professional developments that they had attended. This study also investigated whether training was appropriate to teachers’ learning needs in high school districts in MS. The population for this study included seven high school career and technical teachers in five …

Social-Emotional Difference Given Disability, Grade, And School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports, Edith A. Hayles

Dissertations

Students with disabilities as a group remain behind in academic achievement when compared to students without disabilities. Without the right school-based interventions, many students with disabilities will experience academic failure, disciplinary infractions, social isolation, self-doubt, school disengagement, and school dropout. Additionally, social-emotional intervention helps older students to improve executive functioning, develop self-regulation skills, and score better on achievement tests than the students not receiving any social-emotional programming. Moreover, students enrolled in schools that implement evidence-based educational interventions to facilitate students’ social-emotional competencies demonstrate more positive behaviors and social-emotional interactions. Students with social-emotional competencies have also described feeling safer and happier …

Perspectives Regarding Care Of Students Enrolled In Special Education Day Schools For Emotionally Disabled Students, Robin Y. Davis

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was the program evaluation of a special education day school for students with emotional disabilities by analyzing data from the perspectives of the staff employed by the day school and the parents of students enrolled in the day school. The evaluation will enable the day school to make decisions about which aspects of the program to continue, strengthen, or discontinue.

In this study, Malcom Provus’ Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM) was used. The population included staff employed by the day schools and parents of students enrolled in the program during May, 2016. Data were gathered from …

Short-Term Memory Capacity And Recall Of Students With And Without Intellectual Giftedness: An Empirical Inquiry, Angela Foil Ellison

Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine the differences of short-term memory capacity between intellectually gifted, general education, and students receiving special education services. Using foundations in memory and recall research by Atkinson and Shiffrin and Baddeley and Hitch, data was collected by replication of a previous serial position effect research design. Participants were children in grades four through six located in the southern portion of the United States. An ANOVA analysis found a statistical significance between students receiving special education and general education and gifted students. A failure to reject of the null hypothesis supported that short-term memory …

The Good Behavior Game: Effects On And Maintenance Of Behavior In Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo, Komila Dadakhodjaeva

Dissertations

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form, focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a …

Teacher Beliefs Regarding Positive Behavior Support Programs In Mississippi Middle Schools, Chad Joseph Davis

Dissertations

In today’s educational environment of continued and high-stakes accountability, school administrators are constantly looking for effective techniques to improve the academic performance and behavior of their students. In an effort to attain improvement by their pupils, many educational leaders are choosing to implement positive behavior support (PBS) programs in their schools. This study examined the differences between teachers’ beliefs about PBS programs and their impact on reported student attendance, standardized test scores, engagement, and behavior. It also examined the differences in reported changes in these variables between teachers at schools with PBS programs and teachers at schools without the behavior …

Transition Outcomes Of Young Adults With Disabilities: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Perspective, Sabrina Michelle Singleton

Dissertations

Young adults with disabilities are impacted by the learning experiences they engage in as students that help shape their career development post-high school. Researchers have identified moderate-level transition predictors that improve post-school outcomes in employment, postsecondary education, and/or independent living. This study used the Social Cognitive Career Theory to examine if a relationship exists among race/ethnicity, gender, and disability type and transition predictors among young adults with disabilities in Mississippi who completed high school in May of 2013. Additionally, this study explored whether a relationship existed between career decision self-efficacy and engagement in employment or enrollment in postsecondary education. A …

Special Education Teachers' Knowledge Of The Discipline Section Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Of 2004 As It Relates To Functional Behavioral Assessment And Behavior Intervention Plans, Tricia Michelle Cox

Dissertations

This study explored the overall special education teachers’ knowledge of the discipline section of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) as it relates to Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans. The variables associated with this research included the special education teachers’ route of certification, level of education, years or experience, and the type, quality, and time of training associated with Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans. The participants were special education teachers in the state of Mississippi. The research revealed no significant differences or relationships between any of the variables identified above. However, even though the study …

Cognitive Function And The Administration Of A Writing Strategy Compendium Incorporating Autobiographical Recall And Art, Jonnie Sue Cleveland

Dissertations

The ability to write is vital in many academic areas (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Roughly 70 percent of U. S. students in a representative sampling during 2010 (grades 8 and 12) scored only at the Basic (fractional grasp of prerequisite information and abilities) level and below (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).

Fifty-four percent of students in the eighth grade and 52 percent of students in the twelfth grade in the United States scored at the Basic level. Another 20 percent of students in the eight grade and 21percent of students in the twelfth grade scored below the Basic level. …

Parental Perceptions Of Early Childhood Education Programming For Children With And Without Disabilities, Brittany Greer Herrington

Dissertations

This study examined the factors influencing parental selection of early childhood education programs for their children with and without disabilities. Factors explored were severity of disability, parental choice in programming, inclusion, parental satisfaction, type of disability, and availability of programs that take part in early childhood education. Parents with at least one child with a disability and one child without a disability age eight or younger participated in this study by responding to items from a researcher-adapted instrument. Though no findings were statistically significant, conclusions drawn both support the literature and suggest that parents want the same programming for their …

Interpretations Of Student Engagement In The Context Of The Orff Schulwerk Music Classroom At The Dubard School For Language Disorders, Anna Rebecca Bondurant Halliday

Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the lived experiences of four students with language disorders within the context of their Orff Schulwerk music class at the DuBard School for Language Disorders. In addition, the observational insights of their classroom teachers and the practitioner researcher were compared with the responses of the students in order to determine any discrepancies between the child’s awareness of his or her musical engagement and that of the observer. Using data collected from interviews, stimulated recall (Dempsey, 2010), and student generated artwork (Freeman & Mathison, 2009), I explored the lived experiences of …

Family Experiences And Children With Autism Who Use Speech Generating Devices, Rebecca Elizabeth Mullican

Dissertations

Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate family experiences with their children with autism who use Speech Generating Devices (SGDs).Six parents were interviewed on two separate occasions about their experiences with their child, ages three-eighteen. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the interviews. Five super-ordinate themes emerged: (a) Complexity of speech generating devices as tools for communication, (b) Tension between structure and play, (c) Interplay between requesting and social interaction, (d) The fluctuating role of parent advocate, and (e) Building a diverse support network. These qualitative findings can be used to inform families and professionals working with children who …

The Relation Among Sleep, Routines, And Behavior In Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jill Angelique Henderson

Dissertations

Children with an ASD have a propensity for routines and reportedly have a greater incidence of sleep disturbance and externalizing behaviors than typical children. In addition, significant relations have been identified among routines, sleep behavior, and externalizing behavior in a community sample of children, suggesting that a lack of routines maybe related to sleep disturbance and externalizing behaviors. However, to date, no known studies have thoroughly examined the relation between these variables in children with an ASD. The primary purpose of the present investigation was to examine relations among routines, sleep, and behavior in children with an ASD. Primary caregivers …

Does Change In Timbre Alter Stereotypy Movements Exhibited By Three Persons With Diagnoses Of Mental Retardation And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Three Case Studies, Kathy Wade Webb

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe and collect data while monitoring the responses of three individuals to recorded presentations of four folk songs. The individuals, or participants, were all residents of a state-run facility in the southern region of the United States. The participants were females diagnosed with mental retardation and autism spectrum disorder, and they all exhibited one or more stereotypy behaviors in some form or another. The primary purpose of the study was to see if change in timbre of the songs would alter the stereotypy movements exhibited by these participants as the songs were presented …

Generalization Effects Of Social Story Interventions For Individuals With Asperger's Disorder, Jennifer Alphonso Abraham

Dissertations

Social Stories™ (Gray, 2004) is a relatively new intervention designed to teach appropriate skills to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Although there is preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of Social Stories it has typically been implemented in one target setting. As a result, there are little data to support whether or not the effects of Social Stories will generalize to other settings. The current study examined the effectiveness of Social Stories for increasing appropriate behaviors exhibited by four children diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder. Generalization effects across settings were assessed using a typical Social Story (Train and Hope) format and …

Principals' Knowledge Of Idea And Their Implementation Of Special Education Services, Karen Smith Collins

Dissertations

This correlational study was designed to determine the relationship between the principals' knowledge of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and their implementation of special education services, as well as to determine if there was a relationship between principals' knowledge of IDEA and their beliefs and practices; experience, training, and demographic characteristics. The respondents, principals in New Orleans area schools, were divided into three groups: charter, city/district, and state operated. Their knowledge of IDEA was measured using a survey instrument developed by Wakeman (2005) and Copenhagen (2005). It also included a small section on specific characteristics of the principals assigned …

Gifted Education Exposure In Introductory Special Education Texts: Quantitative Text Content Analysis, Sandra Kay Hansen Wentworth

Dissertations

This present study was designed to examine and compare 10 introductory special education textbooks used in mandatory introductory special education courses. The percentage of text devoted to gifted education chapters in comparison to specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, and speech/language/communication disorders was explored for statistically significant differences. Paired samples t tests were conducted to analyze the data. A statistically significant difference was found between the coverage of gifted education and autism spectrum disorders among the 10 examined texts. No other significant statistical findings were found between various exceptionalities among the 10 examined texts. The prevalence …

Power Base Perceptions Of School Administrators At Residential Schools For The Culturally Deaf, Allison Washington Moffett

Dissertations

Residential schools fill a significant role in the academic and social education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students worldwide. Progress has been made in these schools as a result of a collaborative effort between schools and community working together. Administrators at the residential schools play essential roles in the academic and social processes of education and as such they must be aware of their own power bases and usages. Hersey and Blanchard (1993) maintained that it is essential for school administrators to be able to distinguish the power sources and to be knowledgeable about which power sources to use in a …