Education Commons^™

Elementary Teacher Experiences With English Language Learners With Special Education Needs In New York, Colleen Ann Cahill

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study aimed to understand teacher experiences working with English language learners (ELL) with or suspected of having a learning disability. This study also addressed the current problem of ELL students concurrently being under and over classified as needing special education services. This study explored the experiences of elementary school teachers in the state of New York. The participants were from different school districts within New York State. The participants all had experience teaching students who were designated ELL who were currently in the process of response to intervention (RTI) or had already been referred and classified as having …

Professional Role Of Paraprofessionals: A Literature Review, Emily Martin Thompson, Karli Kirkwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Paraprofessionals are an integral component to the learning and growth of students with unique needs. While paraprofessionals are heavily relied upon to provide guidance, communication, instruction, and behavior management amongst other things, studies have found that many individuals working within this field feel underprepared expressing lack of training necessary to carry out the duties to which they are assigned. Professional development for paraprofessionals is limited, and the acknowledgement of such training lacks attention. Research shows that the roles, duties, and responsibilities of paraprofessionals are blurred and often overlooked. This literature review aids in defining the needs of paraprofessionals to …

In This Together- A Collaborative Family Support Group Project, Gena Dempsey

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

According to a recent United Nations report, “the COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents. Closures of schools and other learning spaces have impacted 94 percent of the world’s student population, up to 99 percent in low and lower-middle-income countries” (United Nations Policy Brief, 2020). The closing of schools and distance learning has disrupted the communication and collaboration between families and school staff in our local communities, causing damage to parent and teacher partnerships. The need is great to re-establish connections …

Professional Role Of Paraprofessionals: A Literature Review, Karli Kirkwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Paraprofessionals are an integral component to the learning and growth of students with unique needs. While paraprofessionals are heavily relied upon to provide guidance, communication, instruction, and behavior management amongst other things, studies have found that many individuals working within this field feel underprepared expressing lack of training necessary to carry out the duties to which they are assigned. Professional development for paraprofessionals is limited, and the acknowledgement of such training lacks attention. Research shows that the roles, duties, and responsibilities of paraprofessionals are blurred and often overlooked. This literature review aids in defining the needs of paraprofessionals to …

Computer-Based Training For Mswo Preference Assessment With Paraprofessionals In A Self-Contained Special Education Classroom, Megan Robertson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special educators are required to train the staff who work in their rooms to be competent in working with students with severe disabilities. Oftentimes these special educators do not have enough time to adequately train the staff and this often results in a high turnover rate and frustrated staff. This study looked at the effects of using a video model to train staff to complete a multiple stimulus without replacement assessment which identifies a student’s preferences. These preferences can then be used for a student to earn throughout their school day. The participants were paraprofessionals who work in a self-contained …

Utility And Professional Attitudes Toward Assistive Technology In Uae Special Needs Centers, Mohammad Fteiha, Deena Elsori, Ashraf Khalil, Ghanem Albustami

All Works

The attitude of teachers about the use of technology is critical. As a result, when teachers have a constructive outlook toward a new type of assistive technology, they are more likely to make meaningful efforts to successfully integrate it into the teaching-learning process. The way assistive technology is used in the teaching and learning environment is heavily influenced by a special education teacher's attitude. Therefore, the study explored the availability of assistive technology and explored the attitudes of professional of special education towards the use of assistive technologies in special needs centers of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Questionnaires were distributed …

The Attitude Of Staff Members With Regards To Trauma-Informed Care In A High School In Arizona, Deanna Aljean Iverson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study analyzes the attitudes and beliefs with regards to trauma-informed care, of certified staff members at one public high school, in a public school district, in the southeast valley of Phoenix, Arizona. Previous studies have demonstrated that the attitudes of certified staff members have had a large impact on the implication and effectiveness of trauma-informed care within schools. The certified staff members went through several trainings to increase their trauma-informed readiness, help them identify struggling students, and build trauma-informed strategies when working with students. The relationship between these trainings and the overall attitude of certified staff requires further research …

Special Education Parent Perceptions Of Involvement And Parent–Educator Relationships During Iep Meetings At Nonpublic Schools, Alex Huynen

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) requires parents to be involved in all parts of the education decision-making process, including the IEP meeting. Although there is a vast body of research about parents of students receiving special education services and their perspectives of the IEP meeting, little is known about parents’ perspectives of the IEP meeting while students are at a nonpublic school. Understanding the perspectives of parents whose students attend nonpublic schools will allow for more collaboration and more effective IEP for their students attending nonpublic schools. The current study explored parent perspectives of involvement and parent–educator …

Understanding The African American Male Student Experience Of Being Diagnosed With Emotional Disturbance Through The Use Of Counter-Storytelling, Sara Ordaz

Doctoral Dissertations

In the U.S. educational system, it is too common to see African American males overrepresented in special education classrooms, including segregated special education settings. African American males continuously experience disproportionate representation and placement in special education, especially under the label of ED (Harry & Anderson, 1994). Twice as many African American students in the United States are receiving services for Emotional Disturbance than their White counterparts.

Students who are labeled with ED have the lowest educational outcomes as well as lower success rates in life than any other disability classification (Merrrell & Walker, 2004). The consequences of the ED label …

Supporting High Quality Teacher Preparation: Results From A Mentoring Program For Special Education Faculty - Two Years Later, Harriet J. Bessette, Katie Bennett

The Advocate

Two years ago, we presented a newly formalized process for systematically inculcating new faculty into our department, which up to that point had relied solely on the generosity of the department chair, seasoned faculty, and other new faculty for advice, support, and the sharing of ideas, resources, and knowledge about the specifics of the university, college, department, and academe in general. The mission of our mentoring program was envisaged as providing visible and consistent support for new and early career faculty development. The program that was established was conceived as a reciprocal learning relationship characterized by trust, respect, and commitment …

Perceptions Of Preservice Teachers Of Students With Intellectual Disabilities About Their Preparation For Inclusive Education, Abdullah Aljudaya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inclusive education improves social skills, cognitive abilities, and quality of life for students with special needs and has significant implications for governments, economies, and the workforce. Implementing inclusive education is a challenging process, however, that requires support from all sectors to provide the necessary skills and training to pre-service teachers. Empirical evaluations of teachers’ first-hand perceptions of the content and quality of these training programs are necessary to advance inclusive education practices and pre-service training to ensure special education teachers are prepared for their roles. To address this issue, this dissertation presents an in-depth review of the literature, followed by …

Special Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy And Job Satisfaction In Youth Development Centers: A Quantitative Correlational Study, Kimberley Kerchelle Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The number of students with disabilities entering youth development centers is increasing exponentially. The youth development center schools that are responsible for providing academic services to these students are inadequately staffed with special education teachers to meet the behavioral and academic needs of juvenile offenders with disabilities. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore the relationship between special education teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction in teachers within the twenty-five youth development center schools located throughout the Georgia DJJ System. The participants completed the Teachers' Sense of Self-Efficacy Survey (TSES) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). TSES was …

Taking Flight: Giving Up The Things That Weigh Me Down, Karina Malik

Occasional Paper Series

From the perspective of a Latinx, dual-language, special education, public school teacher, I explore and detail what an equitable and just education could look like in our future. I begin by envisioning a future that:

• Values collaboration in teaching and learning

• Allows for spaces of ongoing teacher learning where we teachers decide where we want to grow and how we want to learn.

• Invests in our growth and development as educators.

• Consists of a solid understanding that there is more expertise across communities than in any one person.

I continue by explaining that in order for this to be a …

Measuring Self-Efficacy Of Elementary General Education Teachers Serving English Language Learners With And Without Disabilities, Stacey L. Mccrath-Smith

Education Dissertations

The K-12 student population across the United States has experienced a growth of students whose native language is not English (Piazza et al., 2020). These culturally, linguistically diverse students, also known as English Learners (ELs), are placed in classrooms of teachers who lack the training necessary to effectively serve language and content learning needs (Ortiz & Robertson, 2018). A model that has been routinely used to provide teachers with an instructional framework to address the needs of ELs, is the sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP) (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2017). This study sought to develop a valid and reliable tool, …

Effective Teaching Of Embedded Phonics Instruction In A Middle School Special Education Resource Room, Amanda Nichols

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone addresses a gap in middle school instruction for students identified for special education services in reading. In Minnesota’s state standards, phonics instruction is only required through 5th grade (Minnesota Department of Education, 2011). However, students in middle school and beyond still may be learning to read past 5th grade. This research question is: What is the most effective way to integrate phonics instruction into reading lessons in a middle school, resource room special education classroom? This paper introduces what phonics is, the reason phonics should be integrated into reading instruction, a framework for embedded phonics, a description of …

The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences In A Special Education Music Classroom, Daniel Passadino

Masters Theses

Special education students involved in music classes currently face a lack of inclusivity. Various methods have been used to promote inclusivity in the music classroom. This paper focuses on how Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory promotes inclusivity in the special education music classroom. The multiple intelligence theory streamlines a special education music curriculum by highlighting each child’s strongest intelligence. To assess a child’s intelligences, they must participate in music-related tests. The tests include mini lessons which cater to the multiple intelligences. For example, when children are taught using visuals, some will not be able to learn as effectively if they …

Eds 709 Syllabus Fall 2021, Harriet Fayne

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for EDS 709, a course focused on curriculum and instruction for candidates in Childhood Special Education. Of special note is the "renewable" assignment (write a contextually sensitive decodable or read-aloud children's book that can be used in your classroom).

The Effects Of A Treatment Package Of Video Self-Modeling And Phrase Drill Intervention On Improving The Reading Fluency In Students With Asd, Maha Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the incidence rate of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia appears to increase, the need for evidence-based reading interventions that focus on the reading development of students with ASD increases. Reading fluency has been identified as a critical component of reading development and has been consistently linked with reading proficiency. Interventions to promote reading fluency in schools in Saudi Arabia have focused on promoting the literacy attainment of typically developed students, disregarding students with disabilities. In this study, a treatment package of video-self modeling and phrase drill has been used to improve the students reading fluency …

Developing Instructional Methods In Science Class For Students With Learning Disabilities, Hoonseok Oh

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Not required

Effective Social Skills Curriculum For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders That Focuses On Skill Generalization Across Settings, Jessica Waterstreet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Finding creative and engaging ways to effectively teach social skills to students with emotional and behavioral disorders is a common goal for many special education teachers. Additionally, finding ways to increase the generalization of these skills across setting and post-high school, is another important goal area that student teams work to address as they develop meaningful transition plans. This capstone project answers the question, what specific research based practices can be used in the development of a curriculum that focuses on both social skill acquisition and generalization across settings? This capstone project includes a six week unit that focuses on …

High School Teachers' Experiences In Addressing The Challenges Of Written Expression Among Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kevin James Hasinger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe high school special education teachers’ experiences in teaching written expression to students with autism spectrum disorder in Parker County School District, located near the mid-eastern seaboard of the United States. At the onset of the study, written expression instruction was defined as instruction that facilitates the expression of feelings, thoughts, and ideas on paper to convey meaning to and/or persuade the reader (Flowers & Hayes, 1981). The theory guiding this study was Flower and Hayes’ (1981) cognitive process theory of writing which defined three essential elements of writing: the task …

The Impacts Of An Online Planning Tool On Online Co-Teaching Practices During A Pandemic, Jeffrey Todd Harrell

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teachers at three Atlanta area schools are not providing the appropriate instruction to students with disabilities in the co-teaching setting due to the lack of collaboration in planning and teaching. The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of the use of Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) as an online planning tool on the practices and responsibilities of general and special education co-teachers in the online co-teaching setting along with exploring teachers’ perceptions of the use of this online planning tool during a pandemic at three Atlanta area schools to make recommendations for its future use.

The study …

Discipline Disproportionality Of Black Students With Disabilities: Principals' Perspectives, Wanda L. Van Dyke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the problem of practice found in discipline disproportionality of Black students with disabilities in an urban school district with a majority Black student and teacher population. Through personal interviews with building level administrators, data was gained to determine common themes that impact discipline disproportionality of Black students with disabilities. A qualitative inquiry approach, in the form of a case study was used to determine principals’ perspectives about factors that may impact discipline disproportionality. Student disciplinary records were examined to verify disproportionality and investigate patterns and categories related to students with and without …

Finding Fit In The Science Classroom: Applying Self-Determination Theory To Twice-Exceptional Students, John Burrell

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

In line with self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and Deci, 2017), this thesis explored how practices employed in a classroom between November 2020 through January 2021 affected satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Thirteen twice-exceptional students (gifted and learning disabled) between grades 4-10 participated in this mixed-methods study at an independent school in the upper midwest. Additionally, four of the thirteen students were selected as case studies to be interviewed and observed throughout the study period. This study explored how the implementation of needs-supportive practices, along with COVID-19 mitigation strategies (including distance-learning), affected …

Minnesota School Forest Program: An Evaluation And Exploration Of Implementations, Madisson Weier

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources School Forest Program through answering the following questions: what are the strengths and limitations of the School Forest Program; What are the impacts of individual teacher objectives on the utilization and implementation of the School Forest Program? These questions were investigated using data collected from a survey sent to School Forest Coordinators as well as a data request to the Department of Natural Resources. This study found that participants in the School Forest Program feel that their School Forests add many positive benefits to their classrooms …

Mothers Of Students With A Disability: A Phenomenological Study Of Experiences With School Discipline, Mary Jane Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand what school discipline means to mothers of students with a disability at various school districts in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. School discipline was defined as the policies and procedures schools use to manage student behavior. This study was supported by Oliver’s social model theory, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. The purpose of data collection in this qualitative, transcendental phenomenological study was to gather data so an empirical analysis could be completed of how mothers of students with a disability define school discipline. Interviews, focus groups, and …

Meeting Their Needs: The Algebraic Knowledge And Instructional Preferences Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Kayla Neill

Theses and Dissertations

Students with a learning disability (LD) are experts in their lived experiences within the classroom. Yet, little is known about the ways in which students with LD perceive their instruction in mathematics and whether this instruction meets their learning needs. Similarly, the mathematical thinking and content knowledge of students with LD is often excluded from the literature, particularly concerning algebraic concepts. Six high school students with LD from a large urban school district in the northeast United States participated in this two-part study. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore participants’ perceptions about their instruction within Integrated Co-Taught (ICT) mathematics classes. …

Implementation Of Social Emotional Skills To Students With A Developmental Delays During A Pandemic, Monica Beier

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

With increasing pressure on preschool programs and families to ensure students are ready for kindergarten, teaching pre-academic skills have gained increased attention. However, mastery of social-emotional skills is also imperative to kindergarten readiness. As with all skill areas, students enroll in preschool programs with a varying degree of competence in their social-emotional skill level. Programs must adapt their approaches to teaching social-emotional skills and responding to problem behaviors in order to reach all learners. However, not all early childhood staff are prepared to address these growing areas of need. A large portion of research supports the implementation of evidence-based interventions …

Technology As A Tool For Support: Classroom Teachers And Resource Specialists In Collaboration And Communication Practices, Mackenzie Jones

Education | Master's Theses

Classroom teachers and resource specialists face hectic schedules that include supporting students and meeting the core curriculum standards. In order to support students with disabilities in the classroom, collaboration between classroom teachers and resource specialists is essential. With busy schedules and increasing demands that teachers face, there is an urgent need to support teachers with effective systems of collaboration. This research focuses on the problem of unorganized and ineffective systems of support, which teachers face when trying to collaborate and communicate with their colleagues. While many prior studies address the significance of providing time for educators to collaborate in the …

The Correlation Between Student Self-Advocacy And Postsecondary Success, Kaleigh Tarabek

Honors Theses

This project incorporated ideas of a previous study that examined the effects of self-advocacy and conflict resolution training modules on the ability of four high school seniors with mild disabilities to ask for their accommodations (Holzberg, et al.,. 2019). The survey I will be using: Self-Determination/Self-Advocacy Checklist, from the transition planning inventory, will be used for the pre and post assessment in order to measure the increase from student indicated don’t knows to yes. I will be compiling student data using student surveys. I will reflect and analyze survey responses as my sample size and student demographics will be different. …