Accessibility Commons^™

Perceptions Regarding Service/Volunteerism In Postsecondary Education With Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Coraliz Martinez

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the perceptions postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities have on the topic of service learning and volunteerism. The goal is to analyze college programs in the Southeast portion of the United States to determine if this topic is incorporated into their curriculum and analyze their perception of the topic. Twenty-six staff members from different postsecondary education programs completed a questionnaire that analyzed their program as a whole. The data indicates that the programs that incorporate service/volunteerism within their program prioritize service/volunteerism and state it has made a positive impact on …

Reaching Consensus On The Future Direction Of A Resource Center Within A Ucedd: A Quality Improvement Delphi Project, Emily J. Hickey Phd, Amy D. Whitehead Mpa, Rachel Weingarten Bs, Leann Smith Dawalt Phd

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families need access to timely, quality information and assistance about relevant services and supports. Despite statewide systems of information and assistance for this population, there is a need for “in-the-moment” assistance for individuals and family members who participate in on-site research, training and or service delivery at the Waisman Center. The aim of this quality improvement project was to clarify the role of an internal Resource Center so as to align with the staff resources available and not duplicate statewide systems of support.

The Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison the …

Case Study: The Impact Of Emerging Technologies On Cybersecurity Education And Workforces, Austin Cusak

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

A qualitative case study focused on understanding what steps are needed to prepare the cybersecurity workforces of 2026-2028 to work with and against emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Conducted through a workshop held in two parts at a cybersecurity education conference, findings came both from a semi-structured interview with a panel of experts as well as small workgroups of professionals answering seven scenario-based questions. Data was thematically analyzed, with major findings emerging about the need to refocus cybersecurity STEM at the middle school level with problem-based learning, the disconnects between workforce operations and cybersecurity operators, the …

Accessibility Of Blended Learning For Special Needs Students In Higher Education, Reem Yaseen Al-Sulaimani

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the experiences of visually impaired students and their faculty members with blended learning at University X. Qualitative research methods were employed to gather data through interviews with six visually impaired students and six professors. The study analyzed the data using two frameworks, Universal Design of Learning (UDL) and Community of Inquiry (CoI). The findings indicate that the course design, personalization of accessibility, social inclusion and classroom dynamics, university support and resources, and technology accessibility and digital literacy have an impact on the experiences of visually impaired students and their professors. The study provides recommendations for improving the …

Beyond Certification: Innovative Strategies To Tackle The Teacher Shortage, Abbigail Lp Morris

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

This article challenges educational leaders to look beyond alternative routes for teaching certification and more towards an increased collaboration between districts and universities to help alleviate the teacher shortage issue in Kentucky. It specifically highlights the works of Omaha Public School District and the University of Nebraska Omaha as a model for proactive teacher pipeline.

Improving Communication Access With Deaf People Through Nursing Simulation: A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration, Jamie L. Mccartney Ph.D., Tracy Gidden, Jennifer Biggs, Kathy Geething, Karl Kosko Ph.D.

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Baccalaureate nursing and sign language interpreting students participated in a pediatric discharge simulation with a deaf person playing the role of the baby’s parent. At the conclusion of the simulation, participants were emailed a consent letter and a link to a 17-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, whereby nonparametric statistics were calculated to examine Likert-scale items. A Mann-Whitney test statistic was calculated, instead of an independent samples t-test, given the smaller sample in the current study (n = 26). A question was posed to participants that evaluated their self-perception of the effectiveness of …

“Handicap Removed”: An Alternative Path To The Social Model, Craig M. Rustici

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

This article identifies an expression of a social model of disability in a 1966 film promoting Hofstra University’s Program for the Higher Education of the Handicapped and traces that model back to books published by the pioneering rehabilitation physician Henry H. Kessler in 1935 and 1947, decades before the UPIAS (Union of the Physically Impaired against Segregation) Fundamental Principles of Disability (1976). In light of Kessler’s articulation of social and minority models, identification of contrasting religious, charity and medical models, and discussion of disability stigma, this article reassesses Ruth O’Brien’s critique, in Crippled Justice (2001), of Kessler and the twentieth-century …

Neurodivergent College Students And Therapy Dogs In Higher Education, Georgia Jean Majka

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine neurodivergent students in higher education and their experience with The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program at Rowan University to investigate whether therapy dogs reduce anxiety levels and provide relaxation. In addition, this study provides recommendations for The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy program at Rowan University to promote the program and its purpose on campus. These resources are important when discussing the neurodivergent student population in higher education, which this research study discusses, based on previous research and the results found from this quantitative approach. This study also makes recommendations for Rowan University …

We Are Stronger Together: Faculty Reflections On Competency-Based High School Completion For Adults In Washington State, Elizabeth J. Flanagan

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

Situated in Washington State during the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic, this qualitative, insider-practitioner study examined the instructional context of four instructors engaged in a competency-based, high school completion for adults faculty praxis on community and technical college campuses through a state-supported program called High School+ (HS+). Guided by three areas of inquiry, this research sought to (1) explore how HS+ faculty describe their instructional praxis in the context of personal identity; (2) probe the cultural, structural, and administrative challenges HS+ faculty face when enacting competency-based instruction on community and technical college campuses oriented toward seat-time models of instruction; …

The Barriers Teachers Face When Implementing The Universal Design For Learning Framework, Dana Dacus-Hare

Master of Science in Education | Master's Theses

There are multiple barriers to learning that students face. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for teaching and learning that gives all students an equal opportunity to succeed. While many studies address the hurdles teachers face when implementing the UDL framework, there is a gap in the research about the support systems that can minimize those barriers for teachers. There is also a lack of existing studies about the additional frameworks that can work in connection with UDL to meet the needs of diverse learners. Using UDL and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) together provides a framework that traditional …

Emerging As A Scholar-Advocate Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Isabelle Hoagland

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2022 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island)

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Equalizing Postsecondary Transition For At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services: A Chance To Succeed, Karla R. Sanchez

Dissertations

Postsecondary transition can be difficult for At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services (APYRSES). Special educators supporting postsecondary transition often manifest traditional and institutionalized forms of oppressive education while dismissing collective values and beliefs.

This qualitative case study examined the beliefs and attitudes shared by three special education teachers after being introduced to a justice-focused, humanizing intervention to facilitate postsecondary transition for APYRSES. The conceptualized intervention was grounded in liberatory educational frameworks and drew from critical, culturally affirming, sustaining, and humanizing theories that foster cultural reciprocity, self-determination skills, and antiracist social–emotional justice learning to afford opportunities for APYRSES to succeed. The …

Active Imagination, Wellbeing And Ways Of Seeing: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Experiences Of Adult Learners With Visual Impairments, Steinberg Henry

Educational Studies Dissertations

Six female and two male adult learners who became blind between the ages of 20 and 75 years participated in this study conducted by a blind researcher. The purposely sampled eight were interviewed virtually by way of Zoom. In combination with Johnny Saldana’s work on codes, this study used the NVivo framework for determining structuring categories, selecting node themes, code frameworks and final codes from the first interview. 291 codes were clustered under 26 node themes. NVivo’s word frequency search and Word Tree were applied to clarify and lend a number value to participants’ codes. The second interview, administered after …

Effects Of State-Level Funding Systems On Identification Rates Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Michelle Powers, Brad Uhing

The Advocate

Identification rates of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been increasing since the year 2000, while federal special education funding has remained stagnant. Researchers gathered data from states related to individual state funding systems, per pupil spending and identification rates of students with ASD to determine if state spending or special education funding methods affected identification rates of students with ASD. While specific funding methodology did not predict rates of identification or PPS, a correlational analysis of individual state PPS and ASD identification rates did have significant results. Spending amounts per pupil corresponded to rates of identification for ASD.

Occupation-Based Social Skills Training Program With Animal-Assisted Therapy For Individuals With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/Dd), Jason Sebastian, Karen Park

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This presentation describes the development and implementation of an occupation-based social skills training program with Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and the implications for occupational therapy after program implementation.

Teaching Social-Emotional Learning (Sel) In A Pandemic, Charley Todd, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

Journal of Practitioner Research

Teaching Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has become increasingly more common in the American school system, and many districts have adopted curricula or strategies to promote its usage. Research has continued to show that students receive various short- and long-term benefits when SEL is taught in the classroom. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how SEL instruction was given, and the implications are far-reaching. The purpose of this study is to describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on how SEL was taught. In addition, the study identifies challenges and possible solutions to ensure that SEL is taught during incredibly challenging …

Teaching Problem-Solving Skills As A Soft Skill For Employment To Individuals With Autism And Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Using Video Modelling In A Virtual Learning Environment, Cliff Oliech

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Autism (ASD) and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) exhibit poor post-secondary education employment outcomes compared to their disabled and non-disabled peers (Shattuck et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2015). In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic school closures, students with ASD and/or IDD in post-secondary transition programs may have lost crucial instruction time, possibly putting them at risk for unemployment and underemployment. Consequently, this research study sought to establish through multiple-baselines across participants design how effective VM can be in teaching problem-solving skills as a soft skill for employment to post-secondary transition education students with ASD and/or IDD …

The Effects Of Peers For Young Adults On Anxiety And Quality Of Life For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alysha Cecile Dagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills deficits as well as comorbid anxiety are two characteristics commonly experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1 (ASD-1; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics are also both contributors to a lower quality of life for young adults (Smith et al., 2019). The current study aimed to identify how the quality of life and anxiety are affected by social skills intervention, specifically the PEERS® for Young Adults program (Laugeson, 2017). PEERS® for Young Adults is an evidence-based social skills intervention intended to support individuals with ASD-1 (Laugeson, 2017). Prior research has demonstrated its success in both …