Education Commons^™

Common Characteristics Of School Administrators Who Are Perceived As Effective In Meeting The Needs Of Students With Disabilities., Carissa Gail Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted in 3 school systems in East Tennessee by interviewing special education directors, school principals, and teachers. The purpose of this study was to identify administrators who are successful in meeting the needs of special education students and determine characteristics they possess that facilitate success. The grounded theory study employed purposeful sampling and the snowball sampling method. It also included the use of a pilot study to refine the interview protocol. This study includes the characteristics of effective principals as perceived by the special education directors, principals, and teachers. Although some variety of conclusions existed within …

Perspectives Of Special Education Teachers On Implementation Of Inclusion In Four High Schools In East Tennessee., Lori Bellar Goodin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The terminology found in state educational policies coupled with congressional intent provides a supportive framework for integration of inclusion into public education (Duhaney, 1999; Heumann, 1994). The U.S. Department of Education declared that the required continuum of alternative placements reinforces the importance of the consideration of the individual versus programming for the masses in determining what placement is the LRE for each student with a disability (Heumann, 1994). This disagreement of what constitutes the best educational model affects political agendas and funding issues (Idol, 2006).

The purpose of this study was to examine special education teacher perceptions through a qualitative …

Exploring The Concerns Of Teachers And Principals Implementing Response To Intervention In A Pilot Project: Where Policy And Practice Collide, Lisa Michele Bilton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods, multi-site study was to identify and explore the concerns of teachers and principals implementing a pilot Response to Intervention (RTI) model in three elementary schools in the southeast United States and to determine whether these concerns differed significantly from the beginning to the end of the first year of implementation. The Stages of Concern from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (George, Hall, & Stiegelbauer, 2006; Hord, Rutherford, Huling, & Hall, 2004) served as the theoretical framework for the design and analysis of this study.

Between Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, 18 participants, including six administrators and …

A Functional Assessment Of The Use Of Virtual Simulations To Train Distance Preservice Special Education Teachers To Conduct Individualized Education Program Team Meetings, Lee Landrum Mason

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The individualized education program (IEP) is a critical component of providing special education services to children with disabilities, outlining the services and modifications that will be provided to help them make progress towards the general curriculum. While simulations have been shown to be an effective means of teaching special education policies and procedures, this can be challenging when working with distance students. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine how virtual simulations function to train preservice teachers learning to conduct IEP team meetings.

Seven preservice special education teachers enrolled in a mild/moderate distance degree and licensure program …

Special Education Transition Programs For Three Southwest Virginia School Systems: A Comparative Study., James R. Myers Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transition services at the high school level can make a positive difference in the postsecondary outcomes of students with disabilities by providing them a program of study or training at the secondary level. Transition services can also assist them in aquiring an education, vocational training, rehabilitative services, and work opportunities as they enter the postsecondary world of young adulthood.

The purpose of this study is to compare the transition programs of 3 Southwest Virginia school systems in an effort to determine the difference a full-time transition coordinator could make in the postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities.

Findings revealed significant …

Evaluating Special Education Teachers: Do We Get The Job Done? A Regional Perspective., Robert Edward Widener Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legislation enacted by federal and state governments has created a transition in the service delivery model of instruction provided to many students identified as having an educational disability. As a result of this transition, more emphasis is being placed on educating these students in the least restrictive environment, which moves these students from a self-contained model into a collaborative or inclusive setting. This transition has also created a situation where building level administrators are now evaluating and observing special education teachers in a variety of instructional settings.

This qualitative study was conducted in order to examine perceptions of a group …

Life After Disability Diagnosis: The Impact Of Special Education Labeling In Higher Education, Nathan Joshua Camara

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

There has been an increasing number of students with learning disabilities attending colleges and universities over the past two decades. As a result of federal legislation, institutions of higher education are required through an office of student support services to provide accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities in order to receive federal monies. This semi-structured interview-based qualitative study seeks to understand how four higher education students with disabilities make the choice to “come out” as possessing a learning disability in order to seek academic assistance from the office of student support services. The foundation for this inquiry emerges out …

African American Mothers' And Professionals' Perceptions Of Transition To Special Needs Preschool, Jana R. Ladner

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) mandates services from birth through age 21 for children with disabilities and their families (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Children experience significant transitions between formal parts of special education, including the transition from birth-to-age-three services, to age-three-to-five services (Fowler, Donegan, Lueke, Hadden, & Phillips, 2000). Barriers, problems, and positive factors in these transitions (Christenson, 2004; Feinberg, Beyer, & Moses, 2002; Mitchell & Sloper, 2002; Valle & Aponte, 2002) include stress, satisfaction/dissatisfaction in professional-parent interactions, resistance of professionals to working with parents, and agreement/disagreement over service provision (Christenson, 2004; Ladwig, 2003; Minke & …

The Privatization Of Special Education, Judith Mckinney

Theses and Dissertations

This study, The Privatization of Special Education, addresses a shift in the provision of special education and related services to students with disabilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students with disabilities are being publicly placed in private day and residential schools at public expense. In Virginia, 125 private schools are licensed by the Virginia Department of Education to serve students with Disabilities. The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of programs, services, and interventions offered in private education schools. This nonexperimental design study focused on a secondary data source: the Virginia Department of Education, Private Schools for …

The Use Of A Signal Device Self-Monitoring Program To Improve On-Task Behavior Of Special And General Education Students, Casey L. Allie

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Research has shown that self-monitoring can increase on- task behavior with students in the classroom setting. This project examined the use of a signal device to teach self monitoring to increase on-task behavior of special education students with behavioral problems. Participants were two elementary school para-educators and two K-4th grade students. During a two part process, baseline and intervention was conducted by the researcher with each student evaluating his/her on-task behavior. The researcher examined the reliability of the data on the student’s on-task behavior. The researcher found that the student’s on-task behavior increased with implementation of the signal device self-monitoring …

Implementing A Dialogic Reading Intervention: The Experiences Of Teachers Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students, Jacquelyn Urbani

Education | Faculty Authored Dissertations and Theses

Deaf and hard of hearing children (hereafter DHH) frequently have delayed language and little experience with books because they do not share a common language with their hearing parents. However, there is little research concerning language and literacy development in the DHH classroom and equally little discussion of teacher responsibilities to address these issues. This study investigated the implementation of dialogic reading, which aims to engage students in active discussion and retellings of stories, using American Sign Language, called story signings. Because dialogic reading research with language delayed, hearing preschool students resulted in significant improvement of language skill (Whitehurst, Arnold, …

Special Education Learning Environments: Inclusion Versus Self-Contained, Al E. Lohman

Dissertations

The field of special education has been challenged by the quandary over which educational environment provides the best academic opportunities for students with learning disabilities: self-contained versus inclusive. Proponents of self-contained classroom placement have insisted students with learning disabilities placed in self-contained classrooms receive better instruction due to the reduced class sizes and the efficient delivery of special education services. Proponents of inclusive classroom placement expound inclusive classrooms allow students with learning disabilities to engage in enhanced learning via emersion into the regular education population. To assess both learning environments, disaggregated data from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) were collected …

Perspectives Of Teachers Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Regarding The Factors Related To Their Intent To Remain In The Profession, Glenda Esther Koshy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors related to the intent of special education teachers of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to remain in the profession. A modified Working in Schools: the Life of a Special Educator (WSLSE) survey, developed by Miller, Brownell, and Smith (1999), was utilized to explore the relationships between factors associated with Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model (1977) and the special education teachers' intention to remain in the field of teaching students with ASD. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model (1977) includes the Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and the Individual domain.

Multiple regressions conducted as the method of data analysis revealed …

"They Need To Understand How To Educate Her": The Parent Experience In Special Education, Michelle Harvey

CMC Senior Theses

This study attempted to improve upon previous qualitative research by conducting a large scale, quantitative study on the parental experience in special education. 76 parents of children receiving special education services were surveyed regarding their communication with school personnel, the focus of their child’s education, involvement in the IEP meeting, and satisfaction. It was found that parental perception of involvement did not predict active IEP involvement, more communication with school personnel, more satisfaction with services received, or the belief the child is benefiting. An active role in the IEP meeting, though, did predict more satisfaction with the last IEP meeting, …

Understanding Teacher's Experiences In Co-Taught Classrooms, Darrell S. Carson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Impact Of Collaborative-Inclusion Education On The Academic Achievement Of Students In General Education And Measured By The End Of The Year Mathematics Assessment In Grade 2, Felice Harrison

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.