Disability Law Commons^™

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Accessibility Of Medical School To Students With Physical Disabilities, Shelby A. Cowan

Senior Theses

This thesis is an exploration of perceived and institutional barriers to matriculation into medical school for students with physical disabilities. Factors such as the lived admissions experience, available accommodations and supportive resources, and legal considerations surrounding a student's disclosure of their disability are examined; however, future work is needed to better access this population of students and empower them to become physicians and use their unique perspective to benefit patients.

Inclusion For Students With Intellectual Disabilities: A Philosophical Reconstruction Of The Student To Expand Access And Its Benefits, Derek Thomas Myles Daskalakes

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation attempts a philosophical rethinking of the concept of the student in educationally relevant disability law for the sake of expanding access to general education settings for students with intellectual disabilities (ID), without committing to the approach known as full inclusion. I show that students with ID receive significantly less access to general education settings in comparison to other student populations, and that empirical studies show this to be harmful to their learning and developmental outcomes. Discussion of this problem in the inclusion literature assumes one of two positions that separately support either maintaining the status quo regarding the …

Perceptions Of Special Education Supports By School Administrators, Eric P. Oxford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study analyzed the perceptions of special education supports by school administrators. Specifically, this research discussed comparative findings of perceptions of special education supports between building principals and building-based special education team chairpersons in one Massachusetts public school district. The findings are grounded in the district’s inclusive philosophy and its capability to ensure that all students are provided educational opportunities in the least restrictive educational environment. The problem studied was that many students with disabilities who are unable to find academic success within an inclusive academic environment are typically transitioned into a more restrictive—or substantially separate—alternative education setting. It …