Education Commons^™

Local Student Activist Participates In Portland Ice Protests, Leela Stockley

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

In mid-October, it was announced by the city of Portland, Maine that the city would be opening an office to house United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The new office will be located on the fourth floor of One City Center, and officials say that the office will be actively focusing on crimes related to human trafficking, child exploitation, transnational drug trafficking and transnational terrorism rather than illegal immigration and deportation efforts.

Diversity & Inclusion Update – Fall 2019, Office Of Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity & Inclusion Update

This Fall 2019 newsletter discusses ongoing campus initiatives to facilitate diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. Topics discussed include the newly introduced Presidential Student Advisory Group, the First Scholars program for first generation students, the new ability to self-select pronouns for class rosters, and the creation of Hera's Closet.

Revalidating An Instrument To Gain Insights Into Changing Attitudes Towards Teaching All Students, Jess L. Gregory, Lori A. Noto

NERA Conference Proceedings 2019

The educational landscape has changed and with it the expectations for general education teachers. Teachers must meet students’ increasingly diverse and complex educational needs. The paper explores the role of ego as one of many possible reasons the ATTAS-mm instrument measures attitudes differently now from its original validation study in 2012.

Building An Inclusive Library Through Staff Accessibility Training, K.T. L. Vaughan

Libraries

Libraries provide a needed third place for students to engage with their peers and faculty, both academically and socially. Staff behavior, knowledge, and skills in providing an accessible and inclusive environment are key to helping students with disabilities feel that they belong in the libraries. This makes training in disability and accessibility awareness a necessary component of the overall program for the library. This study assessed a locally-developed, online training program for staff of all levels that was intended to improve staff knowledge and skills in disability etiquette, library services and spaces that support people with disabilities, and the policies …

The Prevalence And Importance Of Ethnic Diversity In Children’S Literature, Rose Schewe

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the complicated past of ethnic censorship, ethnic diversity has a prominent role in children’s literature published in the United States because diversity is accurately representative of the culture in which today’s young readers live. Children’s literature has advanced in terms of ethnic diversity in recent decades, but obstacles that prevent the stories of various minority groups from being told continue to exist. In order for all children to feel properly included in the literary world, children must be given the opportunity to see both people who are different from them as well as people who bear similarities to themselves …

A Comparison Of Eighth Grade General Education Students’ Ela Scores In Co-Teaching And Regular Classrooms, Deborah Cecilia Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This causal comparative, ex post facto quantitative study compared the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts (ELA) scores of 8th-grade general education students taught in a co-teaching classroom compared with scores of students taught in a regular classroom. The research focused on a comparison of the academic performance of two groups on statewide standardized assessments in ELA over 2 consecutive years, 2017 and 2018. The study contributes to the limited research regarding student achievement of general education students in co-teaching classrooms. This study was based on Vygotsky’s social development theory. The research questions examined the differences in the academic performance of …

Equipping Special Needs Ministries In The Church And/Or School, Leah Van Tol

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Inclusion of children, teens, and adults with various disabilities within religious settings, private schools, and church is less common than that of a public school or work environment. Inclusion reaches far beyond just invitations to events or places, it requires physical adaptations, attitude changes, and/or environmental changes. This review of literature provides a leader or educator with relevant research as well as how to start an inclusive religious program. It discusses how to include these individuals within the church setting as well as what the role of said leader or educator could or should be. It also provides numerous teaching …

Benefits And Disadvantages Of Inclusion In An Elementary School Setting, Christina Sieber

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Students who receive special education services must be educated in the least restrictive setting. Inclusion in the general education classroom for students with special needs has become a controversial topic among educators and parents. The purpose of this literature review is to determine the benefits and disadvantages of an inclusive educational placement for elementary students with significant special needs. After an examination of the literature on inclusion, data will be shared to determine the possible benefits and disadvantages of a fully inclusive placement for students with significant special needs. The literature review will also provide an analysis of the research …

Addressing The Needs Of High School English Learners Through Inclusion In General Education Classrooms: A Descriptive Case Study Of A Midwestern Metropolitan Public School District, Amanda Levos

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

English Learners (EL) and those students’ redesignated language proficient, or more accurately described as emergent bilingual or multilingual learners; make up a significant subset of the student population of high schools throughout the country. ELs may be vulnerable to academic failure in core academic subject areas due to limited language proficiency and potential gaps in formal education. Every school district creates a continuum of services to educate students at various levels of English language acquisition, which more than likely will include inclusion in the general education classroom. The challenge for districts is ensuring that general education teachers have the knowledge, …

Addressing The Needs Of Middle School English Learners Through Inclusion In General Education Classrooms: A Case Study Of A Midwestern Metropolitan Public School District, Mary Krista Schneider

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A significant shift in student demographics in United States public schools has summoned the attention and action of public school educators to address the needs of English learners (ELs) who are required to meet the same academic standards as their English-speaking peers. Across the nation, school administrators, teachers, and other education specialists face challenges in fully meeting the academic demands of ELs, especially when including the students in general education classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to examine the implementation of inclusive practices, or specific instructional and academic supports that teachers provide to ELs, in middle …

Inclusion Of The Economically Backward Students: Scope And Tenet Of Indian School Libraries, Sarthak Chakraborty, Sabuj Kumar Chaudhuri

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study aims to find out how far a school library can contribute in the issue of inclusion of the economically backward class students. Meanwhile the author has opined three major issues: Economical, Psychological and Societal as the reasons behind the school dropouts in India; while theoretical analyses have unveiled that the school library has enough scope and potential to reduce the dropout rate by offering several innovative approaches. Further, the author has investigated the reality and forwarded ten unique approaches (broadly classified into Library beyond school, Increase the reading habit and Empowerment of the student) which could …

How Inclusion Affects Students In The Ela Classroom, Nicole K. Jones

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this literature review is to examine literature based on the following question: What are the effects on the academic achievement of inclusion on regular education students, those without Individualized Education Plans or special education needs in the English Language Arts classroom? After examining and reviewing the literature on this topic, the data will be shared and used to determine if there is adequate research available and whether that research provides enough information to apply inclusion to current practice.

Teacher Perceptions Of Their Ability To Teach In Inclusive Classrooms, Matthew T. Vancleef

Education: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The number of students with special needs participating in general education classrooms has increased dramatically in the past two decades. Despite this growth, colleges and universities across the United States still neglect to teach general education teacher candidates about inclusive practices for their respective content areas. Inclusive practices in education refer to those which seek to include students with special needs – mild or profound – in the general education classroom, curriculum, and experience. Inclusive practices are required by federal law. As a result, a master’s research project was developed wherein general education teachers at a south-central Pennsylvania middle school …

The Power Of Creation: Critical Imagination In The Honors Classroom, Jennie Woodard

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

The article examines how to incorporate issues of social justice and diversity in the honors classroom through critical imagination. Inclusion and diversity are among the five strategic pillars of honors education, but the challenge is to create space for social justice as an academic inquiry. This article describes an honors project where students were tasked to come up with their own concept for a television show, using their imagination to bridge gaps in representations on television. Critical imagination allowed the students to move beyond analyzing television in its current state and conceptualize what more inclusive television could look like in …

Diversity & Inclusion Update - Spring 2019, Office Of Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity & Inclusion Update

The Spring 2019 newsletter discusses ongoing campus initiatives to facilitate diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. Topics discussed include: The First Generation Campaign; the growth of Latinx house; faculty training around diversity and inclusion in teaching; the Trustee-led advisory group on the new campus renaming policy; the development of "Breathe Gettysburg"; the continued development of "Our Voices", which will be replacing the Vagina Monologues; as well as continuing to address concerns from the Campus Climate Study.

The Impact Of Co-Teaching On Mathematics Achievement Of Middle School General Education Students, Jarrod Bingham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

To accommodate the presence of special education students in general education classrooms, many schools have implemented collaborative teaching or co-teaching, a model in which two or more teachers share responsibility for a group of students. While myriad research has demonstrated that this model benefits special education students, very little researchers have examined the effect of co-teaching upon the general education student, who often outnumber the special education students. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to investigate co-teaching’s impact upon the mathematic achievement of general education students. The independent variable in this study was students’ placement into either a) …

A Comparative Study Of Special Education Teachers’ Inclusion Perceptions: The Role Of Certification Routes, Dannette Taylor Estes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A primary goal of education is to increase student achievement. Many school districts are addressing increased student achievement by hiring and retaining effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness and student achievement are both influenced by teacher perception. Teachers with positive perceptions have been shown to contribute to increased student achievement and are perceived to be effective educators. Special education teachers hold both positive and negative perceptions about inclusion. In addition to varied perceptions of inclusion, teachers have taken different routes to obtain special education teacher certification. The purpose of this causal-comparative, quantitative study was to determine whether a statistically significant difference exists …

Equity In Stem: Utilizing Student Experience To Better Inform Policy And Practice, Natasha Hessami

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

As women and people of color continue to pursue higher education and other advanced degrees, the STEM field consistently lags behind in diverse representation and leadership. There is a critical need to address the structural barriers marginalized groups face to accessing and succeeding in STEM and invest both time and money into innovative student-centered solutions. This project outlines the development of the CSE Student Ambassador program and implementation recommendations, the development and presentation of seminars focused on equity in the Biology and Chemistry departments, and general recommendations for faculty to make classroom and lab spaces more inclusive.

Book It, Bullies: Using Children's Literature To Address Bullying In The Classroom, Kamryn Gottier

Senior Honors Theses

Bullying is an ever-present issue rampant in schools and society today. It is incredibly eye-opening to consider the striking rates, harmful effects, and possible coping mechanisms associated with bullying. When considering this heavy topic from an educator’s point of view, it is critical that children’s literature be discussed as a powerful weapon to combat bullying. Educators should utilize literature to address bullying and initiate discussions concerning this challenging subject within their classes; prepare their students for being in an inclusion classroom among peers with and without disabilities; inform their students about disabilities that some of their classmates may be diagnosed …

Prek Special Education Inclusion Practices In Maine: An Exploratory Study Of Three Districts, Janet C. Fairman, Amy F. Johnson

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

The question of how to best meet the social and emotional needs of PreK students in Maine has been a legislative focus in recent years, including two attempts to convene legislative task forces to restructure the provision of special education services for children aged 3 to 5. This Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) study sought to address the research gap on PreK special education inclusion. Specifically, this study sought to learn more about current practices and views regarding the inclusion of special education students in public PreK programs, what challenges schools and teachers face in serving these children, and …

‘It’S A Challenge’: Post Primary Physical Education Teachers’ Experiences Of And Perspectives On Inclusive Practice With Students With Disabilities, Ona Mcgrath, Susan Crawford, Dan O'Sullivan

Publications

Internationally, several studies have indicated insufficient emphasis on the theory and practice of inclusion in relation to disability, in both initial teacher education and continuing professional development programmes for Physical Education (PE) teachers. This has resulted in some negative attitudes and perceived lack of competency among teachers in relation to inclusive practices in PE. There is a lack of in-depth studies in this regard from an Irish perspective. This current study sought to explore seven PE teachers’ experiences and perspectives in relation to the inclusion of students with disabilities in four post primary schools using a multiple case study design. …

A Comparison Of Sampling Approaches For Monitoring Schoolwide Inclusion Program Fidelity, Hank S. Bohanon, Meng-Jia Wu

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Including students with disabilities requires schoolwide interventions that are implemented with fidelity (adherence). Collection of fidelity data may become problematic when multiple evidence-based treatments exist in one setting. To address concerns around efficiency of data collection, this study hypothesized that the three sampling approaches (proportional, consensus, stratified random) provided similar levels of agreement with an expert rater, thus warranting the differentiation in their applications based on the needs of the evaluators. Three high schools were randomly assigned to one of three sampling approaches (i.e., proportional, consensus, stratified random) to complete a fidelity measure for the implementation of a schoolwide inclusion …

A Comparison Of Sampling Approaches For Monitoring Schoolwide Inclusion Program Fidelity, Hank Bohanon, Meng-Jia Wu

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Including students with disabilities requires schoolwide interventions that are implemented with fidelity (adherence). Collection of fidelity data may become problematic when multiple evidence-based treatments exist in one setting. To address concerns around efficiency of data collection, this study hypothesized that the three sampling approaches (proportional, consensus, stratified random) provided similar levels of agreement with an expert rater, thus warranting the differentiation in their applications based on the needs of the evaluators. Three high schools were randomly assigned to one of three sampling approaches (i.e., proportional, consensus, stratified random) to complete a fidelity measure for the implementation of a schoolwide inclusion …

The History Of Latino Students At The University Of Kentucky, 1865-2019, Daniela Gamez Salgado

Oswald Research and Creativity Competition

The purpose of this research project, prompted by the Office for Institutional Diversity, was to comprehensively collect the first draft of the history of Latino students at the University of Kentucky from 1865 through 2019. Digital and physical archival research, participant observation, and interviews were conducted in the process of understanding and analyzing the evolution of this historically underserved community. The extensive implications of this collection will serve as a formalized foundation that will further indicate the changing needs of the Latino community on campus. This collection of history also legitimizes the experiences of students of Latin American descent at …

Dewitt Wallace Library Annual Report 2018-2019, Teresa Fishel, Aaron Albertson, Jacquelyn F. Betsworth, Christina Buckles, Trisha Burr, Dave Collins, Angi Faiks, Beth Hillemann, Katy Gabrio, Ellen Holt-Werle, Connie Karlen, Virginia Moran, Louann Terveer, Michael Vieaux

Annual Report - DeWitt Wallace Library

Summary of Macalester's DeWitt Wallace Library activities for 2018-2019.

Theme: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Creating A Task-Analysis For Teaching Emergent Literacy Skills To Students With Autism, Joshua N. Baker, Christopher Rivera, Stephanie M. Devine, Lee Mason

Department of Elementary and Special Education Faculty Publications

This article provides six fundamental steps for using a task analysis to teach emergent literacy skills to young learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Compared to general education peers, students with ASD score lower on reading measures and often have difficulty acquiring literacy skills via the instruction methods used in typical classrooms. An effective instructional technique for many students with ASD is systematic instruction via task analysis. Task analysis may be a useful tool for teachers of students with ASD to build literacy skills by aligning instruction in missing skills to the curriculum standards. The steps to consider when using …

Managing Informal Sport Participation: Tensions And Opportunities, Ruth Jeanes, Ramón Spaaij, Dawn Penney, Justen O’Connor

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article critically examines the role of informal sport within attempts to increase sport participation. Informal sport is a contested concept that government and non-government agencies are grappling with. In this article, the focus is on participation that is self-organised and not club based. The research reported reflects that at present, policy makers and practitioners have not seriously considered how informal sport may be positioned as a central facet in efforts to respond to participation objectives and associated health and social policy agendas. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders responsible for promoting community sport participation in Victoria, Australia, the authors …