Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Examining Social Capital And Its Role In Special Education Leadership, April K. Rist

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to analyze the relationships that existed between the special education leaders and other members of a district leadership team in order to measure their access to social capital. Quantitative data were collected using surveys of one school district’s leadership team and social network analysis (SNA) was used to visually analyze the connections between members of the team. Qualitative data were subsequently collected via semi-structured interviews of each of the 19 members of the leadership team. What types of ties do the special education administrators have to fellow administrators within district leadership teams? What …

Impact Of Reasonable Accommodations On Disabled Student–Veteran Higher Educational Achievement, Michael A. Buoniconti

Doctoral Dissertations

Objectives: The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the degree to which reasonable accommodations affected the educational achievement (graduation and GPA) of U.S. Student–Veterans with military service–connected disabilities and (b) to categorize the accommodations according to impact (positive, mixed, none, and negative). Research Design: Archival and survey data were used to investigate whether there was a relationship between U.S. Student-Veteran level of military service–connected disability, Student-Veteran utilization of reasonable accommodations support, and Student-Veteran higher educational achievement. Two variables (a) U.S. Student-Veteran military service–connected disability severity rating (both continuous and categorical) and (b) U.S. Student-Veteran utilization of reasonable accommodations …

The Impact Of Special Education Status And Text-To-Speech On Test-Taker Engagement, Maura O'Riordan

Doctoral Dissertations

If a student is not engaged during a test, their test score will not be an accurate representation of what they are capable of. This is a concern because of the possible negative impact on the validity of test score interpretations and decisions being made based on such test scores that are not in the best interest of the student. If this is negatively impacting an entire subgroup of students, such as special education students, differentially, there may be larger-scale impact. To date, limited research has examined the relationship between test-taker engagement and special education status. The purpose of this …

Accreditation Of Teaching And Research Universities In Afghanistan: A Policy Implementation Analysis, Sayed Javid Mussawy

Doctoral Dissertations

The quest for quality has encouraged many countries to establish quality assurance and accreditation models to sustain and improve quality. While some established their own procedures, a great majority of the countries including those in the developing world have adopted quality assurance policies developed in the Global North to respond to internationalization and to participate in the knowledge economy. However, most universities in developing countries lack adequate infrastructure to implement accreditation standards. Thus, investigating the implementation of accreditation policies in developing nations provides new insight into the opportunities and challenges posed by internationalization of quality assurance and accreditation. This study …

Expanding Access In Massachusetts: Inclusive Education For Students With Intellectual Developmental Disabilities And Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kerri Jarzabski

Reports and White Papers

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing higher education policymakers and advocates with an evidence base to address how to best serve students in light of the challenges facing higher education. This brief was authored by a University of Massachusetts Amherst student as a course assignment for EDUC 674B: Higher Education Policy and was reviewed for accuracy by Professor Ryan Wells.

Women In Sports Herstories Digital Choice Board, Robert W. Maloy, Torrey Trust, Brianna Hastry, Matt Seastrand, Jason Rivera

Digital Choice Boards and Interactive Learning Materials for Teachers and Students

This choice board invites students and teachers to:

• Create a timeline of gender equity in sports since the passage of Title IX in 1970.

• Develop a media campaign (videos, social media posts, ads) that highlights the history of female athletes in mixed gender sports.

• Design a mini-golf hole based on the achievements of one of the founder members of the LPGA (Ladies Pro Golf Association)

• And more ways to explore and learn women's sports herstories.

Go here to make your own Google Doc copy of this choice board to remix.

The Gendered, Racialized, & Dis/Abled Experiences Of Neurodivergent Black Women Graduate Students Across Higher Education, Kat Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations

Black women graduate students with dis/abilities; those identifying as neurodivergent are scarce in contemporary research. Throughout widespread disability studies, research, and the research on neurodiversity, this lack is consistent regarding minoritized race and gender groupings (Matthews, 2019; Strong et al., 2020). Larger neurodivergent, ADHD, and Autism conversations tend to skew toward White boys and men (Travers, 2018). The convergence of disability (race, gender, and place/space) as another marginalized community and diverse student population, is an additional gap in the literature, despite the benefits of DisCrit (Annamma et al., 2013). Black women graduate students with disabilities, specifically those identifying as neurodivergent …

Investigating Bilingual Aac Practices In Bilingual Communities, Johanna R. Salisbury

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates best practices for teaching and supporting bilingual augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users as they develop their communication skills. Although there are guidelines that inform best practices for teaching and supporting bilingual AAC users, there is very little information on what these practices look like. This thesis investigates the techniques and strategies that bilingual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who practice in Catalunya, a bilingual community in northeastern Spain, use to evaluate, teach, and support people who use pictogram-based AAC modalities to communicate.

To do this, six SLPs who practice in Catalunya participated in interviews regarding their practices when …

Examining Parents Who Are English Language Learners With Reading Difficulties: Their Experiences Of Their Diverse Children's Literacy Learning, Ellen Ho

Doctoral Dissertations

Insufficient parental support can cause English language learners (ELLs) with reading difficulties (RD) to drop out from school. Students with RD might result from genetic influences. Their parents who also have RD may be less involved in children's education. Understanding diverse parents' experiences can help promote their motivation of parent involvement. According to the previous studies, parent involvement is a major indicator of their children's academic achievements. Therefore, knowing the needs of ELL parents with RD can lead to identifying ways to support such parents, and eventually alleviate the national crisis of dropout rates for ELLs with/ without RD. However, …

The Dean’S Racial Justice Curriculum Challenge, S Civjan, Erin Baker, Samantha Wojda, Promise Mchenga, Nick Tooker, Esha Uddin, Hannah Wharton, Sophia Chang, Lia Ciemny, Jacqueline Thornton, Wayne Burleson, Paula Rees

Publications

This Work in Progress paper will present the College of Engineering Dean’s Racial Justice Curriculum Challenge. This challenge tasks all faculty in the college to use their engineering problem-solving skills to develop creative ways to incorporate issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice in every class we teach. The challenge was inspired by our students, who requested a greater connection between the technical content of classes and real world issues, in particular the role engineers play in either fostering inclusive solutions or contributing to the propagation of inequities. The intent is to engage faculty in the development of new …

Administrators Of General And Special Education Perceptions Of Leadership Practices For Supporting Inclusive Learning Environments For Students With Disabilities, Kimberly B. Cass

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze general education and special education administrators’ perceptions of leadership practices that support inclusivity of students with disabilities in local public school districts. This study compared inclusive leadership priorities between special education administration and elementary principals across a total of 11 districts. Utilizing Q-sort methodology, special education administrators and principals sorted 40 inclusive leadership statements. The research questions that guided this study were: 1) How are inclusive leadership practice statements ranked similarly and differently among participants? 2) How do participants describe rankings for most and least important inclusive leadership practice statements? …

Defining Inclusion: Surveying Educator Perceptions And Practices In Chile, Christina A. Bosch

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite earlier attempts to arrive at unified theories or conceptualizations, the international literature on inclusive education has increasingly documented the proliferation of operationalizations of inclusion in and even within single instances of policy, research, and practice, and called for further scholarly attention to such subjectivity. Specifically, there is a dearth of international research linking definitions to perceptions to practices within special and/or inclusive education, and findings on the efficacy of interventions to promote inclusive education practices in Spanish-speaking contexts or literature are similarly sparse. This study investigates how Latinx educators in K-12 schools conceptualize and practice inclusion with respect to …

Educators Perceptions Of Ebd, Inclusion, And Evidence-Based Practices, Andrea Larmon

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of education has been changing with regard to inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Not only are we seeing more students with disabilities being educated in public schools, but we are seeing students with more significant special education needs. Although schools are expected to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), many of the staff within the school, such as special education teachers, general education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and even administrators, aren’t sure how to provide the services and implement the strategies to allow the students …

Teacher Interactions, Teacher Bias And Child Behavioral Health, Ellen E. Edge

Doctoral Dissertations

TEACHER INTERACTIONS, TEACHER BIAS AND CHILD BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SEPTEMBER 2020 ELLEN ELLSBERG EDGE, BFA, THE COOPER UNION SCHOOL OF ART Post BA, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.ED, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph. D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Claire Hamilton This study utilized a mixed methods study design to gain a clearer understanding of the thoughts and feelings of Lead teachers in Head Start programs who work with children with perceived behavioral health challenges. Utilizing a semi-structured interview, 11 teachers employed in a New England Head Start program were asked about their views associated with child behavioral health, …

What Encourages College-Going Among Students With Disabilities? The Key Roles Of Messaging And Support, Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

Mapping The Ecology Of College-Going And Within-College Support For Students With Intellectual And Other Disabilities: An Introduction To The Project., Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

Disability Online: The Digital Lives And Navigation Strategies Of Young Adults With Disabilities, Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

Universal Design In Postsecondary Learning Outcomes Assessment, Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

Accessible, Equitable Research Design: Creating Instrumentation Inclusive Of Students With And Without Intellectual Disability, Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

How Many Students With Disabilities Are There? Measuring Disability On College Campuses, Center For Student Success Research

Reports and White Papers

No abstract provided.

Chilean Teachers Responses To And Understanding Of Student Interaction With Diverse Peers In The Classroom, Javier Martín Campos-Martínez

Doctoral Dissertations

Chile’s educational inequality has sparked intense debates in recent years (Cabalin & Bellei, 2013; Stromquist & Sanyal, 2013). While there is a wide consensus concerning the crucial role that teachers play in fostering inclusion in the classroom, research suggests that Chilean teachers, often without intent or awareness, reinforce exclusionary student interactions marked by social class and gender hierarchies (Carrasco, Zamora, & Castillo, 2015; SERNAM, 2009; Tijoux, 2013). Although teachers’ motivation and concern for questions related to exclusion and inclusion in education are spreading, navigating exclusionary dynamics can be particularly challenging especially since teachers’ initial and continuing professional education seldom addresses …

Supporting Diverse Learners In Stem, Joshua Pearson

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

After first issuing 1:1 iPads, Chromebooks and laptops, many k-12 schools are now implementing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programs that provide more choice for educators and learners. Some are “Going Google” with Chromebooks and G Suite, while others are using iPads and tablets. How do you support diverse learners on all devices, using free and low cost Apps and Assistive Technology (AT) solutions? These AT (Assistive Technology) solutions (many of which are free or low cost) personalize the educational experience, as well as engage and include ALL learners in a Universally Designed environment across the curriculum. AT has the …

Stem Pipeline For Students With Disabilities: From High School To Intentions To Major In Stem, Joshua Bittinger

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major declaration intentions of students with disabilities as they graduated high school and entered college. I used data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) because data collection began in high school and followed students into college, facilitating research focusing on access. Before investigating major declaration intentions, I critiqued the definition and measurement of disability in the HSLS:09, drawing from survey research methods literature. The two subsequent analyses focused on psychological and structural components, respectively. My focus on psychological components drew from Eccles and colleagues’ (1983) expectancy-value framework. …

Massachusetts School Discipline Policy Change: Exclusion, Alternatives, And Inequality In Public District And Charter Schools, Aster Richardson

School of Public Policy Capstones

School discipline reform is of growing interest to policymakers as ongoing research reveals the negative effects of current school discipline policies. In the U.S., the most popular models of school discipline use exclusionary practice, which includes suspension and expulsion. Studies have shown that exclusionary discipline contributes to undesired social outcomes such as poor academic performance, school drop out, unemployment, and even incarceration. Additionally, exclusionary discipline and its negative consequences disproportionately affect racial minorities and other vulnerable groups of students. Reform of current state policy is a necessary first step toward implementing alternative discipline practice in schools. In 2012 Massachusetts legislature …

Disability In Postsecondary Stem Learning Environments: What Faculty Focus Groups Reveal About Definitions And Obstacles To Effective Support, Genia Bettencourt, Ezekiel Kimball, Ryan S. Wells

Published Work

Students with disabilities lag behind their peers without disabilities in success outcomes related to access to, persistence within, and completion of postsecondary degree programs (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2017). Faculty play a key role in shaping student success. To date, however, most of the work exploring faculty attitudes and behaviors has drawn from a broad sample (e.g., Buchanan, Charles, Rigler, & Hart, 2010; Kraska, 2003; Jensen, McCray, Krampe, & Cooper, 2004; Rao & Gartin, 2003), with only limited exploration of the attitudes and behaviors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] faculty (e.g., Milligan, 2010; Moon, Utschig, Todd, …

Inclusion Of Students With Learning And Behavior Problems: Knowledge, Attitudes, And Inclusive Practices In Turkey, Hanife Ece Ugurlu

Doctoral Dissertations

Inclusive education has become one of the primary goals of education policy across the world in order to achieve education for all. However, there have been various interpretations with respect to what constitutes inclusive education. In addition, limited research exists on teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and competencies related to inclusive education and students with special needs. The purpose of preliminary research in this study was to validate the Turkish version of the International Survey of Inclusion. The purpose of the second study was to examine Turkish teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, and skills about inclusion of students with diverse learning and behavioral needs. …

Experiences Of Religious Minorities In Public High Schools In The Pioneer Valley: The Case Of Jehovah's Witnesses, Foster Kamanga

Master's Capstone Projects

This study was undertaken to explore the perceptions of adult Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) about the ways in which JWs balance the tension between their religious beliefs and public school activities in the Pioneer Valley.

The researcher collected data from seven in-depth interviews with one teacher, five witness former students and one adult, one focus group discussion with six mothers, participant observation and document reviews. Data collection (with interviews lasting from 50-70 minutes) took place during the summer of 2015 in Amherst.

Familial socialization, church-based dramas and speeches and bible studies prepare Witnesses children on how to behave or respond to …

Student Affairs Professionals Supporting Students With Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Model, Ezekiel Kimball, Annemarie Vaccaro, Nadia Vargas

Published Work

In an action-based grounded theory project, the authors collected data from 31 student affairs professionals. During seven focus groups, practitioners described feeling unknowledgeable about disability law, accommodations, and diagnoses. However, they drew upon their core values and transferrable skills to support individual students. Participants wanted to move beyond "small wins" with individual students to campus-wide inclusion. To achieve this goal, they engaged in self-directed learning, collaboration, and proactive strategies. An emergent model is presented.

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 …

Researching Students With Disabilities: The Importance Of Critical Perspectives, Annemarie Vaccaro, Ezekiel Kimball, Ryan S. Wells, Benjamin J. Ostiguy-Finneran

Published Work

In this chapter, the authors critically review the current state of quantitative research on college students with disabilities and examine the exclusion of this marginalized population from much of our research. They propose ways to conduct research that more fully accounts for this diverse and important college population. The authors argue that critical quantitative research will produce more thorough knowledge and, in turn, policies and practices that will lead to more equitable college outcomes for students with disabilities.