Education Commons^™

The Paraprofessional Conundrum: Why We Need Alternative Support Strategies, Michael F. Giangreco, Stephen M. Broer Psyd

College of Education and Social Services Faculty Publications

This four-page article describes a conundrum facing schools utilizing paraprofessionals to support students receiving special education. It considers three factors: (a) asked to engage in teacher-type instructional roles, (b) trained and supervised for teacher-type instructional roles, and (c) compensation commensurate with teacher-type instructional roles across six combinations. Regardless of whether or not the factors are present or not it often leads to series of undesirable outcomes. The article suggest a series of alternatives.

An Instructional Manual For Implementation Of Voice Recognition (Vr) In Written Communication, Lori Odagiri

All Graduate Projects

This project investigated the use of voice recognition for written communication. The literature review revealed a lack of research in using voice recognition with individuals with disabilities. An instructional manual consisting of a step-by-step process to guide students through the general training process and teaching students the additional features of the program to promote independent use of Dragon Naturally Speaking Version 5 for written communication. Field tests were completed with 3 students, two with physical disabilities and one with a learning disability.

Over-Representation Of African-American Students In Special Education: The Role Of A Developmental Framework In Shaping Teachers' Interpretations Of African-American Students' Behavior, Valerie Maholmes, Fay E. Brown

Trotter Review

The authors draw on the findings of gestalt psychology to demonstrate how teachers' views of African American learning styles and behavior can determine whether these will be pathologized or supported by the educational system. The disproportionately large numbers of African American youth incorrectly assigned to special education courses indicate a lack of clarity in disability criteria and indicate also the use of a "deficit model" or perceptual lens through which teachers assign negative meanings to the behavior of African American students. Case examples of language used by teachers in describing randomly selected students illustrate teachers' deficit-based focus on student behavior …

Identifying Gifted African-American Students: A Case Study Of A Louisiana School System, Donna Lynn Sutton

Doctoral Dissertations

In 1995, the Office for Civil Rights conducted a compliance review of the Bayou Parish School System (a pseudonym) in Louisiana. The review revealed a statistically significant underrepresentation of African-American students in the Bayou Parish gifted program. This case study examined how African-American representation in a gifted program may be increased through the use of research-based interventions implemented by the Office for Civil Rights.

The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data. Documents from the Office for Civil Rights and the Louisiana Department of Education were examined to: (a) show patterns of African-American and nonminority …

The Level Of Involvement Of Georgia's Principals In Providing Inclusive Special Education Services, Marie Penkunas Klofenstine

Legacy ETDs

Increased responsibility of principals for all programs, including special education, comes at a time when administrative training provides minimal information on special education programs (Malloy 1996). Even though the trend in Georgia toward more inclusive practices has resulted in a call for major changes in teacher education programs, there have been little changes requiring principals to be competent, knowledgeable, or to take coursework related to special education administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of involvement of Georgia's school principals in special education service delivery in their schools. The dependent variables were three specific categories related …

Academic Gains Of Students With Special Needs In An Independent Religious School, Ivanka Saric

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The number of children who are performing poorly in school-wide tests seems to be increasing in an independent religious school in the metropolitan area. Several children have been identified "at risk" or having special needs but they seem to show little if any improvement as they get promoted to higher grades. The study investigated the instructional and assessment strategies that upper primary school teachers were using in their classrooms to improve the academic and social skills of children defined as having special needs. Teachers' perceptions were examined to determine whether there had been any observable increases in the academic performance …