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Full-Text Articles in Education

Special Education Leadership Practices That Support Postsecondary Transition Service Delivery For Students With Severe Disabilities, Laurel A. Peltier Nov 2015

Special Education Leadership Practices That Support Postsecondary Transition Service Delivery For Students With Severe Disabilities, Laurel A. Peltier

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT SPECIAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT POSTSECONDARY AND TRANSITION SERVICE DELIVERY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES SEPTEMBER 2015 LAUREL A. PELTIER, B.A., GORDON COLLEGE, WENHAM M.A., UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, KINGSTON C.A.G.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by Dr. Mary Lynn Boscardin In the past decade, researchers have made new forays into understanding educational leadership and the connections between leadership practices and outcomes for students. While evidence-based leadership practices at the building and district level are critical to the success of students in general and special education settings as a whole, the need for …


Male Gender Disparity Gap: Does Gender Impact Education, Laura D. Smith Oct 2015

Male Gender Disparity Gap: Does Gender Impact Education, Laura D. Smith

EDL Sixth Year Theses

This case study focuses on male gender disparity in education and the large numbers of males referred and receiving special education services. The data indicates that females outperform males academically, and that the males behaviors impacts their academic success. The connection to males at a young age being placed in low ability reading groups based upon behaviors, and their motivation and academic achievement is affected negatively. The eighth grade students at a PK - 8th grade rural Connecticut school participated in this researcher’s case study. The case study looked at, how students perceived their education, and what role their education …


Falling Below The Line: Minimum Subgroup Size And Special Education Enrollment, Sivan Tuchman Aug 2015

Falling Below The Line: Minimum Subgroup Size And Special Education Enrollment, Sivan Tuchman

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought high-stakes accountability testing into every American public school with the goal of 100 percent proficiency for all students. Making annual yearly progress (AYP) toward this proficiency goal for the total student population as well as at-risk subgroups was required in order for schools to avoid possible sanctions, such as school restructuring. In implementing NCLB, states had flexibility to determine the minimum size of these subgroups as to provide statistical reliability and accountability for as many schools as possible. If a school did not meet the state’s minimum subgroup size, the …


How Foucault’S Panopticon Governs Special Education In California, Gail Angus, John M. Winslade May 2015

How Foucault’S Panopticon Governs Special Education In California, Gail Angus, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Special education laws in California function to create compliance by creating an environment of constant surveillance and monitoring from a range of perspectives. Even those who do the monitoring are themselves subject to this surveillance. This process is explained with reference to Bentham’s design of the panopticon and analyzed in relation to Foucault’s concept of governmentality. The intent here is to show how professionals’ and laypersons’ actions are governed by seeking to avoid being seen to behave incorrectly or getting caught behaving inappropriately. The governing of people’s lives is thus dispersed through professional decision-making and reporting. The intent of this …


Exploring Trends In Disproportionality Of Emotional Disturbance Classification After The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (Ideia), Ghirmay Alazar Mar 2015

Exploring Trends In Disproportionality Of Emotional Disturbance Classification After The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (Ideia), Ghirmay Alazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the trends of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education when compared to Caucasian special education students in emotional disturbance category as well as the trends in disproportionality of emotional disturbance classification after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). African American students in special education are disproportionately represented when compared to Caucasian special education students but uncertainty persists regarding the nature and the extent of the problem (Aud et al., 2010; Countinho & Oswald, 2002; Skiba et al., 2006, 2008). This study employed a mixed methods multiple …


Teachers' Perceptions Of The Impact Of Standardized Testing And Remediation On Students With Disabilities, Janie M. Mora Jan 2015

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Impact Of Standardized Testing And Remediation On Students With Disabilities, Janie M. Mora

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At ABCD High School, students with disabilities (SWDs) pass state-mandated English High School Assessments (HSA) at a lower rate than do their nondisabled peers, even with remediation. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of appropriate remediation for preparing SWDs for the English HSA. The theoretical foundation for the study was based on social constructivism with an emphasis on individual experiences. The 3 key research questions investigated how teachers perceive their role in the delivery of remediation, how they describe the remediation program, and what factors they say influence their ability to remediate SWDs effectively. Data were …


Transition Programming For Students With Learning Disabilities From High School To College, Christine H. Georgallis Jan 2015

Transition Programming For Students With Learning Disabilities From High School To College, Christine H. Georgallis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have shown the importance of effective transition services for students with learning disabilities entering college. Few studies, however, have explored the perceptions of students with learning disabilities going through the transition process while pursuing postsecondary options. To address that gap, this study analyzed how students with learning disabilities perceive the effectiveness of their secondary transition services and preparedness for college. The conceptual framework was based on Rogers's theories of learning, which suggest learning includes feelings and emotions as well as cognitive development. Education should promote the type of learning that leads to this personal growth and development. A phenomenological …


Stress Levels Of Parents Of Homeschooled Versus Public-Schooled Special Needs Children, Lorrance Ann Wehrmann Jan 2015

Stress Levels Of Parents Of Homeschooled Versus Public-Schooled Special Needs Children, Lorrance Ann Wehrmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although all families in the United States experience stress, families of children with special needs frequently experience prolonged periods of stress. Prolonged exposure to stressful circumstances increases their vulnerability to financial, physical, and social strain. With the continuing increase in the prevalence of children who have special needs, it is vital to examine the efficacy of different educational approaches on parental stress. It is unclear whether there are differences in stress levels for families of homeschooled versus public-schooled children with special needs. Using the family adjustment and adaptation response model, the purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was …


Classroom Management Practices For Male African American Students With Behavioral Disorders, Jamie Helton Hubbard Jan 2015

Classroom Management Practices For Male African American Students With Behavioral Disorders, Jamie Helton Hubbard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Male African American students with disabilities in a South Carolina school district have received a greater proportion of discipline referrals and exclusionary consequences than have other demographic groups. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to explore classroom management strategies that may reduce this disproportionality. The conceptual framework was Skinner's applied behavior theory, which states that to change behavior, the environment must be changed. The qualitative guiding question investigated teacher beliefs about best classroom management practices. The quantitative research questions were intended to provide a description of discipline preferences. Quantitative data were collected through the Behavior and Instructional …


Impact Of Professional Learning Community On Coteaching, Lalita Karpen Jan 2015

Impact Of Professional Learning Community On Coteaching, Lalita Karpen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A professional learning community (PLC) is designed to increase pedagogical knowledge and encourage collaboration amongst teachers. Many schools are using a variety of PLCs to increase collaboration and improve teaching and learning. The study school implemented a PLC, but collaboration and effective coteaching practice have not improved. Guided by social constructivism and social cognitive learning theories, the goal of this research was to explore coteachers' perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about the overall effectiveness of the PLC coteaching model to improve instructional strategies. A qualitative case study with semistructured interviews to collect data and a narrative analysis for reporting was utilized. …


Raising Texas State Biology Exam Achievement Scores For Students With Disabilities, Nancy Kay Larkin Jan 2015

Raising Texas State Biology Exam Achievement Scores For Students With Disabilities, Nancy Kay Larkin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The No Child Left Behind Act changed the way educators taught students with disabilities (SWD), as this population has now become part of all districts' annual yearly progress. The problem this qualitative study addressed was that many biology teachers in a Texas suburban district were not effectively implementing evidence-based strategies for SWD. The study's conceptual foundation was based on Vygotsky's cognitive development theory that students achieve at higher levels when working in their zone of proximal development with support from peers or adults. The guiding question was intended to determine what strategies biology teachers were using to provide this support …