Education Commons^™

A Comparative Analysis Of Applied Behavior Analysis And The Montessori Method, Emily Webb

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The Montessori method is a multi-sensory curriculum design based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s observations of the positive outcomes a multi-sensory educational approach had when working with children with disabilities; however, there is little empirical data to support the outcomes of using the Montessori method to teach children with disabilities. Despite the limited amount of quantitative research on the Montessori method and early childhood special education, studies suggest Montessori educators are open to professional development on working with children with disabilities and are willing to implement other methods to provide support for those children while still maintaining the integrity of the …

Reclaiming Power. Activating Black Middle-Class Mother Engagement In The Committee On Special Education, Kellie M. Ramsey

Theses and Dissertations

From conversations in school hallways, to SEPTA meetings, to parking lots and church benches, Black middle-class parents have engaged in talk of disillusionment with the IEP development process for their special needs child. Previous literature has provided limited insight into the navigational capital of Black middle-class parents in the special education system. This author interviewed Black middle-class parents who felt overwhelmed by the IEP development process and came to utilize their cultural capital (Yosso, 2005) to overcome systemic barriers to their active engagement in the CSE (Ladson-Billings, 1995) and to explore opportunities they have had for positive interactions. Findings of …

Co-Teaching: An Influence On Teacher Growth Mindset And Student Academic Achievement, Lori Goldstein

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is an instructional strategy for pairing special education and general education teachers to provide specially designed instruction to students with disabilities in general education settings. Instructional coaching is a professional development model that can provide co-teachers with additional strategies to effectively educate special and general education students in their classes. This type of professional development can also influence co-teacher perceptions and mindsets about co-teaching. This study examined the relationships between co-teacher instructional coaching and co-teacher growth mindsets. This mixed methods study, utilizing an explanatory sequential design, analyzed the relationship between instructional coaching and co-teacher perceptions of growth mindset. Special …

Comparing 1:1 And Small-Group Instruction With Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Danyel Hen

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate alternative and effective forms of instruction for young students with autism spectrum disorder. The researcher examined and compared the difference in the instructional formats of 1:1 discrete trial teaching and small-group discrete trial teaching. Targets were chosen in receptive language and preacademic concepts, and differences were compared based on skill acquisition, speed of acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of skills. The participants engaged in the 8-week intervention phase of the study by following an alternating treatments design schedule during their designated center time rotations in the classroom. All participants engaged in 1:1 discrete trial …

Social Emotional Learning For Latinx High School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Jennifer Lynn Tucker Mottes

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Social, emotional, and academic skills are essential to success in school, the workplace, our homes, and our communities, allowing individuals to contribute successfully and meaningfully to our society (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011; Jones & Kahn, 2017). The labor market acknowledges the importance of these skills as well, actively seeking employees who have the necessary skills to manage their emotions, collaborate with peers, and persist through challenges (Jones & Kahn, 2017). Researchers have established a link between the implementation of social emotional learning programs in schools and positive social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes for those students as …

Effects Of Video Modeling With Voice-Over Narration Versus No Voice-Over Narration, Kennedy Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

In the current study, the effects of video modeling with voice-over narration (VMW) was compared to the effects of video modeling with no voice-over narration (VMN) when learning the acquisition of a vocational skill. Four high-school students within a public school who spent most of their school day in a special education classroom participated in the study. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the VMW and VMN conditions and then a best alone condition was conducted for each participant that used the video modeling procedure that demonstrated superiority during the comparison. A modification of the inclusion of …

Restraining The Disabled: A Program Evaluation Of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention In The Educational Setting, Taner Jarrett

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Students with disabilities are 200% more likely to be restrained by school personnel compared to nondisabled peers (Katsiyannis et al., 2020). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (NVCI) in de-escalating the risk behavior of children with disabilities from exceptional children (EC) teacher perspectives. This study was a mixed method program evaluation of the Crisis Prevention Institute NVCI program using Daniel Stufflebeam’s (1968) Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) evaluation framework. The setting for this study was a large suburban school district in the piedmont region of North Carolina. The sample included 15 NVCI- …

Special Educators’ Experiences With Professional Development And Implementation Support In Using Digital Social Stories For Students With Autism, Simbi Mignon Animashaun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with autism need social skills to succeed academically, which can be fostered with the use of digital social stories (DSSs). While many special educators are expected to use DSSs to teach social skills because of increased elementary autism diagnoses, a significant number of DSS users are unprepared. The problem addressed in this qualitative project study was that special educators were not receiving adequate professional development and implementation support to use DSSs to teach autism-related social skills. The purpose of this research was to explore the special educators’ experiences with professional development and implementation support. The concerns-based adoption model and …

Equitable Access To The Career And Technical Education Graduation Pathway For Students Receiving Special Education Services, Mike Snow

WWU Graduate School Collection

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the access of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduation pathway for students who receive special education services in a selected school district. Analyzing the course taking of three cohorts of high school students, who had individualized education plans, involved a deep dive into each one of their transcripts. This type of analysis enabled me to compare and contrast the course taking between students served in special education who lost an elective opportunity to receive additional IEP services to those who did not. Did the students who lost an elective …

Special Educators’ Experiences With Professional Development And Implementation Support In Using Digital Social Stories For Students With Autism, Simbi Mignon Animashaun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with autism need social skills to succeed academically, which can be fostered with the use of digital social stories (DSSs). While many special educators are expected to use DSSs to teach social skills because of increased elementary autism diagnoses, a significant number of DSS users are unprepared. The problem addressed in this qualitative project study was that special educators were not receiving adequate professional development and implementation support to use DSSs to teach autism-related social skills. The purpose of this research was to explore the special educators’ experiences with professional development and implementation support. The concerns-based adoption model and …

Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Self-Determination Supports In Inclusion Classrooms, Suzanne Tiffany-Salogub

Theses and Dissertations

The outcomes presented in this dissertation were motivated by a scarcity of research that explores self-determination practices explicitly within inclusive classrooms. Three overarching goals motivated my research. The first was to understand what inclusion teachers know and do in relation to self-determination (Chapter 2). The second was to understand how their practices align with existing knowledge about self-determination in the field (Chapter 3). Finally, I sought to create an accessible, research-based tool tailored to inclusion teachers who seek to support their students in developing self-determination skills (Chapter 4). To achieve these goals, I designed an investigation using a case-study design …

Education On Boyer 4th Newsletter - December 2022, Tina Keller

Education Student Scholarship

"Education on Boyer 4th" is the newsletter for the Messiah University Department of Education. The newsletter consists of articles written by faculty, profiles highlighting faculty, current students, and alumni, "Photos from the Field," a student devotional, and more! The newsletter is put out monthly.

• Math manipulatives and cultural responsiveness
• eSTEAM Saturday
• Guest Speaker, Michele Struss
• Polar Party
• Alumni profile, Amanda Maye Kirk

Teaching Students With Maladaptive Behaviors In Special Education, Giselle Valdez Tejeda

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Thousands of students engage in maladaptive behaviors in Special Education classrooms throughout the world every single day. It is very important for parents and others related to the field to know and get an understanding of how teachers teach students effectively according to their functional skills and understanding. This senior capstone examines how teachers teach students with maladaptive behaviors in Special Education. Through the use of literature review and interviews with three specialists in Special Education, the findings reveal that by finding ways to keep their maladaptive behaviors to interfere with their learning is by providing one-to-one support in classroom …

Special Education Teachers’ Self-Efficacy During The Times Of A Global Pandemic, Vanessa G. Leal

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative dissertation aims to describe and compare the perception of special education teachers' self-efficacy amid the COVID-19 pandemic using the practice of distance and their self-efficacy pre-pandemic using face-to-face instruction and describe the perceived valuable supports teachers received from educational leaders during the pandemic and considered valuable. The study population includes special education teachers teaching in inclusive settings before and during the pandemic in grades 6–12 in districts located in South Texas. The current study's data was analyzed using a two-way factorial analysis of variance, with both factors including repeated measures within subjects (2 x 3). A descriptive statistical …

Education On Boyer 4th Newsletter - November 2022, Tina Keller

Education Student Scholarship

"Education on Boyer 4th" is the newsletter for the Messiah University Department of Education. The newsletter consists of articles written by faculty, profiles highlighting faculty, current students, and alumni, "Photos from the Field," a student devotional, and more! The newsletter is put out monthly.

• Emily Nell shares about her experiences teaching Native Americans as we observed Indigenous Peoples' Day.
• Technology in the Classroom
• Trevor Swartz Senior Presentation (December 2022 Special Education certification)

Education On Boyer 4th Newsletter - October 2022, Tina Keller

Education Student Scholarship

Monthly updates from the Education Department of Messiah University

• Message from the Chair
• Departmental Honors with Trevor Swartz
• Devotional by Elena Stonge
• What Picturebook Marginalia Say about Children’s Earliest Independent Reader Text-Place Experiences by: Dr. Sarah Fischer
• Spotlight on Dr. Mfum-Mensah
• Spotlight on Professor Temple
• Why I teach? by Dr. Carol Buckley

What Keeps Teachers Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder Teaching?, Kimberley Rodriguez

All NMU Master's Theses

Currently, staff shortages exist in all areas of education. In the field of special education, there are sub-groups of teachers and classrooms, each with unique challenges. This study explores the experiences of teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) disability in order to identify important retention factors specific to them. In this qualitative, phenomenological study, the researcher conducted four, one-on-one interviews to discover the district-related factors shared by teachers of students with ASD when considering staying or leaving their current position. Interview responses were categorized into the four themes critical to teacher retention according to the four capital theory …

Disrupting Inequitable Practices In Special Education: Privileging Student And Family Voices, Armineh E. Hallaran

Theses and Dissertations

Black, Latinx, and other minoritized students have long been overrepresented in the high-incidence, subjective, disability classifications including Learning Disability, Speech and Language Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Intellectual Impairment. Special education places these students on trajectories that deny them access to quality education and the same postschool outcomes and opportunities as their nondisabled peers. Using Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), and grounded theory analysis this study foregrounds the voices of minoritized middle school students receiving special education under high-incidence classifications. DisCrit allowed for an investigation of how student’s intersecting marginalized identities impacted their experiences as special education students. Further, Education Journey …

Perspectives Of Students With Asd And Their Parents: What Does It Truly Mean To Be Included?, Keara M. Browne

Theses and Dissertations

Though there are a number of practices identified by researchers and other professionals as inclusive, the question remains about whether the students themselves truly feel included. There has been limited research surrounding specific experiences in inclusive classrooms that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceive to be facilitators and barriers to being included in general education and co-teaching settings. The purpose of this study was to inform educational policies and school practices surrounding the inclusion of students with ASD in general education and co-teaching settings by analyzing the perceptions of students with ASD and their parents to determine what it …

An Examination Of The Working Relationships Between General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, And Paraprofessionals In General Education Settings, Rita Page Hosay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide an examination of the relationships between general education teachers, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals and the influences of these relationships on students with disabilities. This study was conducted through the process of semi-structured interviews with general education teachers, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals working in two Tennessee school districts. The researcher found that communication practices, training, perspectives, time, role expectations, development of partnerships, and the creation of supportive environments affect the development of working relationships among special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and general education teachers. The researcher found that these relationships influence the …

Predictors Of Special Education Inequity In Rural Rocky Mountain West Schools, Jac'lyn Bera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current research focusing on disproportionality and equity in schools focuses on the urban environment, resulting in a significant gap in our understanding of the challenges of rural schools. For rural, racially and ethnically minoritized (R/EM) students who have disabilities, this research is largely unavailable or minimal, and negatively affects our understanding of rural needs, barriers, and successes for this historically underserved population. There is even less research focused specifically on rural students in the Rocky Mountain West (RMW) region of the United States. Understanding these factors serves as a critical area of research, and is the focus of this study. …

Phenomenological Study Of Positive Coteaching Dyads Perceptions Of Their Coteaching Relationship, Ashley Weber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how coteaching dyads perceive their coteaching relationships including how they implemented coteaching and how their school leaders supported them. Participants in this study were located in one county school system in East Tennessee. Data was collected through an online survey distributed to 40 teachers, of whom 28 responded. Then data was collected through in person one-on-one interviews. Coteachers who participated in the interview process all rated themselves high on the Coteaching Rating Scale. The overarching research question was What makes coteaching relationships effective? Three research questions were analyzed. From the data, …

Best Practices For Inclusion Of Special Education Students In Elementary Classrooms, Stephanie Leedahl

Graduate Teacher Education

Inclusion in elementary education has been gaining momentum in research and implementation over the past two to three decades. Best practices are becoming more well documented and research is mounting surrounding the benefits of inclusionary practices in elementary classrooms. Several themes surrounding inclusion have become evident as necessary for understanding inclusion such as classroom community, nonexamples of inclusion, relationships, student choice, and teacher training. In order to best support young students with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds, educators must first understand what inclusion is and is not. Then teachers can better implement inclusionary practices in their classrooms to …

Conceptualization And Operationalization Of College Readiness For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Study With Transition Stakeholders, Jordan A. Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations

The poor success rates of students with learning disabilities transitioning to postsecondary education signal that special education transition services, as currently delivered, are failing to prepare students adequately for the demands and expectations they face in college. To date, transition research has provided limited guidance for IEP team members and other stakeholders charged with preparing students with learning disabilities for success in higher education. Furthermore, existing literature is nearly silent on the process of postsecondary education transition service decision-making, and team member understanding of college readiness. I use constructivist grounded theory and semi-structured interviews to explore the question, “How do …

Perspectives Of Students With Intellectual And/Or Developmental Disability In College Inclusion Programs On Their Preparation For Working In Competitive Integrated Employment, Eva R. Blixseth

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a history of being isolated, marginalized, and excluded from employment that is competitive and integrated. Policy makers, disability advocates, and self-advocates have made efforts to center inclusive education and employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disability. Employment is a valuable outcome for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities exiting college inclusion programs (Lee & Colleagues, 2022). However, from 2017 through 2021, not all students with intellectual and/or intellectual disability exiting college inclusion programs were employed. This is concerning as O'Brien et al. (2019) pointed out students' primary goal for completing college inclusion programs …

Augmentative And Alternative Communication Devices And Their Effectiveness As Elements Of Early Intervention, Alyssa Kunkel

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Abstract not required.

Self-Advocacy Perceptions Of Special Education Students In The General Education Setting, Ann Anderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Self-advocacy is an important skill that all students should learn. It plays a vital role in many aspects of life at home, in school, in the community, and at work. This is especially important for special education students who have more challenges than their peers. It begins by improving communication with teachers, giving students the confidence to voice their needs, and acquiring appropriate modifications and accommodations that allow them to show their true abilities and reach their full academic potential. Students that are able to self-advocate are more likely to be more successful in school as well as later on …

Assessing Perceptions Of Disability Knowledge Of Campus Police At Inclusive Universities, Hannah Shultz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of knowledge of campus police on intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including autism, in inclusive college programs. A survey was sent to both campus police and representatives of 50 inclusive higher education programs across the United States. These questions involved perceptions of campus police knowledge, training, and the safety of students with I/DD.

Discourses Surrounding Specific Learning Disability In Reading: An Exploration Across Special Education Policies, Martha M. Briseno

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with disabilities have been subjected to deficit models that have led to unfair treatment, exclusion, and an unfitting education for years. Historical factors have informed policies toward the educational treatment and rights of individuals with disabilities in the United States since the 1600s. Before the enactment of The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975, it was common practice for children with disabilities to be segregated, excluded, and given an unsuitable education in comparison to their nondisabled counterparts. Throughout history, the language used in legislation and educational documents have compartmentalized students with disabilities based on …

Investigating The Collaboration Of Teachers Of Students With Disabilities And Teaching Assistants In The Classroom, Sa-Qwona S. Clark

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative dissertation study examined the complex dynamics and structures (i.e., people and/or explicit/implicit classroom-, school-, and district-wide behaviors and practices and school-wide structures) that influence collaboration between teachers of students with disabilities (TOSD) and teaching assistants (TAs). Specifically, I wanted to learn: (1) What are the complex dynamics (i.e., people and/or explicit/implicit classroom-, school-, and district-wide behaviors and practices and school-wide structures) that interact to influence collaboration between teachers and teaching assistants? (1a) What role does each participant stakeholder (i.e., teacher, teaching assistant, and principal) play in those complex dynamics? (1b) How do participants develop their understandings about the …