Education Commons^™

Making All Students "Our" Students: Where To Start?, Frank E. Mullins Ph.D., Janice Murdock Ph.D., Phoebe A. Okungu Ph.D., Deann A. Lechtenberg Ph.D.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The collaborative team approach is an approach in which general education and special education teachers work together in a single classroom to provide instruction to all students. Neither teacher has more authority than the other.

Education should not be compartments in which one has a mindset of “my students” and “your students”. The mindset must be changed to “our students”. This change in mindsets must begin in pre-service programs in order to carry on to PreK-12 classrooms. As inclusion becomes more and more accepted in public education, educators must be taught strategies that will enable them to work collaboratively with …

Beyond Special And General Education As Identity Markers: The Development And Validation Of An Instrument To Measure Preservice Teachers’ Understanding Of The Effects Of Intersecting Sociocultural Identities, Mildred Boveda

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intersectionality can advance an understanding of the gap created by the lack of an integrated treatment of diversity in teacher preparation research. Intersectionality is a frame that explores the complexities of the interactions of markers of difference. It holds great potential as a concept for preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity because it can inform collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders and facilitate preservice teachers’ understanding of diverse learners. The researcher uses the term “intersectional competence” to describe preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity and how students, families, and colleagues have multiple sociocultural markers that intersect in nuanced and unique ways. In this …

A View Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jennifer Reynolds

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents of children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encounter many stressors beyond the typical parenting pressures that parents of children without disabilities face. Along with the additional challenges, parents of children with ASD face complex needs that differ from parents of children with other types of disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to consider the needs of parents (N = 10) with children with ASD served in a public school system in North Georgia through the framework of Maslow’s (1943) Theory of Human Motivation. A transcendental phenomenological design was used to provide a voice to parents of children …

The Over-Representation Of Hispanics In Special Education Programs In New Jersey, Alexandra Lynne Chey

Theses and Dissertations

The over-representation of Hispanics of Special Education programs has been a debate for years now. Over-representation happens when the percentage of minority students in special education programs is greater than in the school population as a whole. This study attempts to evaluate the causes and problems of the over-representation. There are a number of factors that could explain the disproportionality of this issue. This study identifies multiple factors that shape this problem. One of the factors that could be influencing this issue is poverty and low SES. This paper looks at the lowest SES county in New Jersey vs. the …

Effective Interventions For Improving Reading Accuracy And Fluency In Children With Dyslexia, Carlea A. Winkler

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

There are a vast number of instructional strategies for teaching students with dyslexia, but successful approaches all share a few key components including, a high degree of structure, intensive and explicit instruction, and a low student to teacher ratio. Additionally, most research-backed strategies fall into one of two categories: programs that target phonological awareness, and programs that target orthographic pattern recognition and morphology. Numerous studies on phonological awareness training and orthographic pattern recognition training have showed positive results. However, more research is needed to understand why some children fail to make significant gains even with intensive intervention, and what factors …

Inclusive Settings: Rti In The General Education Classroom, Brittany Graves

Honors Projects

The premise of this study was derived upon seeing a severe need for professional development in my current field work experience. I set out to determine a possible solution to the lack of cohesion among general and special educators evident in my local school district. This small town rural school is looking to expand RTI, and intervention technique, to decrease gaps in education for at risk students. With issues of cohesion and professional development evident, I collected and analyzed data in order to determine a way the school district can still incorporate and expand their Response to Intervention (RTI) practices. …

Litigious Experiences Among Teachers Of Special Education Students: A Phenomenological Study, Shannon Madara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore litigious experiences for special education teachers in South Central Pennsylvania. It was known that teachers are not typically required to have courses on school law, but they are required to abide by educational law. This study was guided by the following research question: How do special education teachers in South Central Pennsylvania describe their litigious experiences? It sought to fill a gap in the literature in the area of actual teacher experience with the problem of litigation. Background information was given to show why this issue was a current problem …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students With Learning Disabilities: Using Mixed Methods To Examine Effectiveness Of Special Education Coursework, Renée A. Greenfield, Megan Mackey, Gretchen Nelson

The Qualitative Report

As the number of K-12 students with learning disabilities educated in general education classrooms grow, it is essential to examine the preparation and perceptions of pre-service teachers (N=15) who will educate students with learning disabilities. Within the context of an undergraduate learning disabilities method course, this study examined how pre-service teachers perceived students with learning disabilities as well as the effectiveness of particular course experiences, including fieldwork with students with learning disabilities, video vignettes, lesson planning, assigned reading, and center-based instruction, in shifting perceptions. Using a convergent, mixed method design, teacher educators at a university in the northeast used surveys, …

Professional Development Data: A Review Of Action Research And Data Analysis And Its Implications For Special Education, Jennifer Lee Suppo

Journal of Research Initiatives

In today’s world of accountability and budgeting constraints, schools are examining how they get the most “bang for their buck” in the area of professional development experiences. Professional development has traditionally been used to keep teachers and administrators abreast of current teaching strategies. In using the traditional model of professional development, typically the school or district would have a speaker, who was knowledgeable on a random topic of education, come in and conduct a one-day seminar. More often than not, there was little accountability to this traditional model; little if any data was taken to see if the knowledge obtained …

The Bridges And Barriers Model Of Support For High-Functioning Students With Asd In Mainstream Schools, Wendy Holcombe, Margaret Plunkett

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

National statistics indicate the ongoing challenge of catering for the unique needs of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) within the context of inclusive education. Higher rates of difficulty and poorer outcomes are experienced by this cohort when compared to both the general population and others within the disability sector. The perspectives of educators from a variety of roles were examined to identify factors impacting upon the educational experience of high-functioning students with ASD to determine how they could be supported more effectively. Findings indicate despite extensive educational experience and considerable knowledge of ASD, many educators lack an understanding of …