Education Commons^™

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 …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Diffusion Of Special Education Knowledge Within A School District, Martha H. Von Mering

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships that existed between the district-level special education leadership team and two elementary schools. The study used social network analysis (SNA) as the primary methodological and analytic approach to reveal the structural dimensions of the advice giving/receiving networks within the schools to delve more deeply into network relationships, collaboration, and knowledge impact. By mapping the existing network relationships through the lens of network centralization, reciprocity, and density, the study sought to analyze what, if any, link existed between the network properties and the extent to which leadership was distributed. The …

Special Education And Massachusetts Charter Schools: Examining Issues And Practices Associated With Enrollment, Placement And Compliance, Jennifer C. Baribeau

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last ten years, charter schools have become a viable choice for parent’s seeking an alternative to traditional public schools. However, research shows this is not the case for students with disabilities. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine special education in charter schools and traditional public schools located in Massachusetts. I examined three key areas specific to special education; enrollment, placement and compliance, to determine if differences exist between charter schools and traditional public schools located in the state. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences between Massachusetts charter schools and public schools with respect to …

Augmented Reality On Mobile Devices To Improve The Academic Achievement And Independence Of Students With Disabilities, Donald Douglas Mcmahon

Doctoral Dissertations

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital information on a live view of the physical world to create a blended experience. AR can provide unique experiences and opportunities to learn and interact with information in the physical world (Craig, 2013). The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate uses of AR on mobile devices to improve the academic and functional skills of students with disabilities.

The first chapter is a literature review providing a clear understanding of AR and its connections with existing learning theories and evidence-based practices that are relevant for meeting the needs of individuals with …

Effective Reading Interventions For Spanish-Speaking English Learners With Reading Disabilities, English Learners Who Struggle With Reading, Or Both: A Meta-Analysis Of Second Through Fifth Grades, David Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis synthesized research on effective instructional practices and strategies in second through fifth grade for Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) who have reading disabilities and English Learners who struggle with reading. The central research problem is the dearth of research addressing literacy instruction for ELs with reading disabilities, making identification of effective reading interventions difficult. The inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis resulted in 15 quasi-experimental or single-subject empirical research studies that used reading interventions to improve the reading comprehension performance of ELs. The overall average effect size for the meta-analysis, not based on homogenous studies, was 1.15. When outliers were …

An Investigation Of Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of A Systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop For Increasing Social Skills, Natalie Christina Nussli

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes how a systematic 7-Step Virtual Worlds Teacher Training Workshop promoting inquiry, experiential learning, and sociocultural theory guided the enculturation of 18 special education teachers into three-dimensional virtual worlds. The main purpose was to enable these teachers to make informed decisions about the usability of virtual worlds for students with social skills challenges, such as students with autism. Mixed-methods data analysis and triangulation were based on the analysis of seven instruments. Six of the seven steps of the intervention received high ratings indicating its viability for teachers' professional development opportunities