Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Accessibility Services And Support In Small And Rural Academic Libraries, Robert M. Amerson, Deborah Tritt Harmon

The Southeastern Librarian

This exploratory study examines how small and rural academic libraries support students with disabilities. While grounded in a professional commitment to equitable service, these libraries often face challenges, such as limited staff, aging infrastructure, and stagnant funding. Survey results from 38 librarians reveal a strong dedication to accessibility, despite institutional constraints. Respondents identified barriers, such as insufficient training, inadequate resources, and minimal collaboration with campus disability offices. However, many also reported implementing personalized, student-centered services and cited the advantages of flexibility and close student relationships in small academic settings. The findings underscore the need for tailored support, increased training opportunities, …

Teaching Kitchen Safety Using A Modified Coach In The Kitchen Curriculum Paired With Behavioral Skills Training Procedure With Young Adults With High Functioning Autism, Ryan Michael Groeneweg

Dissertations and Theses

Few intervention studies address the needs of young adults with high‑functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they transition toward adulthood. This study used a single‑subject multiple‑baseline design across participants and skills to evaluate the effects of a modified Coach in the Kitchen curriculum paired with Behavioral Skills Training (BST) on the acquisition of kitchen safety behaviors. Three adults with high‑functioning autism were taught task‑analyzed steps for safe use of a kitchen peeler, knife, and hot liquids. Instruction incorporated modeling, rehearsal, feedback, prompting, and strategies for generalization and maintenance. Performance was measured as the percentage of safety steps correctly completed during …

The Broken Promise Of The Idea: How Delays And Disparities Undermine Special Education Rights, Silvia C. Montiel Morales

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted to guarantee children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education. In practice, that promise is too often broken. Students, especially those from low-income families and communities of color, wait months or years for evaluations, attend underfunded schools that lack qualified staff, and face systemic barriers to enforcing their rights. Meanwhile, families with resources can sidestep delays through private testing, attorneys, and advocacy, leaving others behind. This Note examines how systemic delays, underfunding, and inequities in special education services undermine children’s rights under the statute. It argues that these …

(In)Visible Diverse Gender And Sexual Identities Of Pre-Service Teachers: Disclosure, Emotional Labour And Safety Work Within Initial Teacher Education(In)Visible Diverse Gender And Sexual Identities Of Pre-Service Teachers: Disclosure, Emotional Labour And Safety Work Within Initial Teacher Education, Saul A. Karnovsky, Matthew J. Phillips, Breeanna Melville

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australia is currently facing a significant teacher attrition crisis, with early career educators increasingly leaving the profession due to burnout, demoralisation, and adverse working conditions. This issue is exacerbated for teachers of diverse genders and sexualities (DGS), who encounter heightened levels of discrimination, exclusion, and mental health challenges within educational institutions. Despite broader societal progress, Australian schools and universities remain sites of persistent queerphobia, contributing to unsafe and unsupportive environments for DGS individuals. This article focuses on pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled in initial teacher education (ITE) programs. The study addresses an important gap in the literature by exploring how emotional …

Reading Between The Lines: Representations Of Dyslexia In Young Adult Literature, Carli B. Gauvin

Honors Theses and Capstones

While dyslexia affects upwards of 20% of the population, this learning disability is not commonly brought up in young adult literature. This lack of representation negatively impacts those with dyslexia, who often fail to find themselves in the books they read, and readers in general, who are given fewer opportunities to gain insight into the learning disability. Young adult books that do discuss dyslexia can be at risk of portraying the learning disability in an unfavorable light, which can make dyslexic readers feel undervalued in society and can introduce misconceptions about dyslexia to all readers. It is crucial to analyze …

Guide To Life After High School For Neurodiverse Students, Niki Elliott Ph.D., Sylvia Mac

Inclusion in Postsecondary Education

Many neurodiverse students arrive at the next chapter of their lives carrying more information about what is difficult for them than what makes them extraordinary. This guide is about knowing your brain deeply, understanding what you need, and building a life after high school that actually works for you. Whether you are heading to a four-year university, a community college, a trade or vocational program, or a certification pathway, your neurotype is an asset. This is your opportunity to design a life around your strengths.

Guide For Parents Of Neurodiverse Students Entering Life After High School, Niki Elliott Ph.D., Sylvia Mac

Inclusion in Postsecondary Education

Sending your student into the next chapter is a big moment, for them and for you. This guide gives you the practical information you need: what changes legally and structurally once your student turns 18, how the accommodation process works in postsecondary settings, what you can do now to set your student up for success, and how to stay genuinely connected and supportive through the transition. Whether your student is heading to a four-year university, a community college, a trade or vocational program, or a certification pathway, the information here applies.

Guide To Matching Accommodations To Support Neurotypes, Niki Elliott Ph.D., Sylvia Mac

Inclusion in Postsecondary Education

Understanding which accommodations match your specific neurotype is one of the most powerful tools you have. This guide helps you connect each area of executive functioning to the accommodations you can ask for and the strategies and tools you can use yourself.

Teachers' Perspectives On Inclusive Education For Children With Special Needs, Abakah Francis, Ava-Gay Annakaye Morgan, Emmanuel Ogheneovo Sodje, Francis Dugbartey, Gabriel Lagbel, Okezie Chika Chibundu

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Inclusive education is widely recognized as a key approach to ensuring equitable access to quality education for children with special needs, requiring teachers to possess adequate knowledge, skills, and supportive resources. In the Nigerian context, particularly in private schools, gaps in teacher training, limited resources, and insufficient institutional support continue to hinder the effective implementation of inclusive education practices. This study investigates teachers' perspectives on inclusive education for children with special needs in Nigerian private schools. The primary purpose is to assess teachers' understanding of inclusive education, their familiarity with effective teaching strategies, and their preparedness to implement inclusive practices. …

(Trans*)Gressing Discourse: Producing And Disrupting Normativity In Education For Trans* Students With Dis/Abilities, Meagan Meredith

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigates how political rhetoric, education policy, and educational community member discourse construct, circulate, and contest meanings about trans*ness and dis/ability in K-12 public schools. In doing so, the study examines how meanings about normativity are discursively produced and disrupted for students living at this specific intersection. Grounded in a trans* methodology, this study performs a critical discourse analysis through a rhizomatic reading of policy texts, political rhetoric, and publicly available stakeholder discourse. This work responds to a gap in the literature that fails to understand the complexities experienced by trans* students with dis/abilities, particularly in hostile school climates. …

An Exploration Of Academic Help-Seeking Among Postsecondary Students: Differences By Gender And Ethnicity, Stephanie Greenquist-Marlett, Linda Bol, Claire Consadine, Courtney Hill

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Students often struggle to employ effective learning and study strategies in postsecondary settings that challenge their academic success. These struggles can be amplified depending on student characteristics like gender and ethnicity. One way to improve their success is an awareness they may need help and how to most productively use this help. We sought to understand students’ patterns of help-seeking behaviors as well as whether these patterns differed by gender and ethnicity. The researcher-developed Academic Help-Seeking Inventory (AHSI) was designed to measure academic help-seeking. Participants were 249 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at two East Coast public universities. An exploratory …

Using Ai-Generated Multimedia To Teach Leisure Choice Making, Charles Thull

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This learning representation introduces an AI-developed, multimedia assessment for identifying leisure preferences among middle school students with developmental disabilities. Grounded in instructional design, ecological systems, and multimedia learning theories, the activity integrates ChatGPT, InVideo AI, Sora, DALL·E, and Gemini to create guided-choice visuals, short videos, and a structured, teacher-facilitated paired-choice activity using visual prompts across home, school, and community interest contexts. The technology-developed design fosters engagement, accessibility, and self-expression as students participate in a structured, teacher-facilitated paired-choice activity. Outcomes include enhanced student voice in leisure planning, increased self-awareness, and the identification of potential leisure interests. Assessments include student responses to …

Basc-3 Adolescent Version For American Indian / Alaska Native (Ai/An) Adolescents With Learning Difficulties: Identifying Comorbidities, Benjamin L. Shannon

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Deficiencies in cultural sensitivity among popular psychological assessment instruments can have significant consequences for diverse test takers, leading to inaccurate diagnosis, treatment planning, and intervention. The present study aimed to explore possible differences in mean raw scale scores between an AI/AN adolescent sample and BASC-3 SRP-A and TRS-A normative sample data, as well as to establish preliminary evidence to suggest an increased prevalence of social/emotional dysfunction for AI/AN adolescents diagnosed with multiple specific learning disabilities (SLDs). Archival BASC-3 SRP-A and TRS-A data, collected from students and teachers at a residential school for American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents from …

Broaching The Intersectionality Of Race And Disability In School Counseling, Aaron Albright, Emily Goodman-Scott, Jenna Alvarez, Rawn Boulden

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Students of color with disabilities experience compounded inequities. This conceptual article details these compounded inequities. The authors provide a review of the literature related to inequities in education, culturally affirming antiracist school counseling, intersectionality, and broaching. Next, the authors provide a rationale for implementing Day-Vines and colleagues’ multidimensional model of broaching behaviors (MMBB) in school counseling with students of color with disabilities. Then, the authors use the MMBB heuristic to conceptualize practical guidelines for school counselors to engage in direct broaching with their students. These guidelines are tabulated with a description of the four broaching dimensions and their aim within …

Intersectionality Of Race And Disability: The School Counselors' Role In Policy Reformation, Jenna M. Alvarez, Rachel Saunders, Vanessa Sinclair, Stephanie Smith-Durkin, Emily Goodman-Scott

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The United States K-12 education system is riddled with inequities within the intersection of race and disabilities; relatedly, the school counseling literature also demonstrates a similar gap in the literature. As a result, through three case illustrations highlighting the unique experiences of historically marginalized students of color with disabilities, we illustrate the multiplex intersection of race and disability and how a school counselor can utilize leadership, advocacy, and social justice for systemic change. Further, the three cases are structured through the ADDRESSING framework, to systematically consider the complexities of identity, overlapping cultural influences, and the connections to practice (Hays, 2022). …

Confidence In Action: A Qualitative Inquiry Into Teachers' Perceived Abilities In Implementing Instructional Technology, Latorri West

Theses and Dissertations

Education is evolving through the integration of academic content and technology to support student success. Despite significant investments in educational technology, challenges persist in effective implementation, particularly in rural contexts where resources and support may be limited. Using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, the researcher investigated teachers’ perceptions of implementing the i-Ready adaptive learning platform in a rural Georgia school district. i-Ready, an adaptive diagnostic and instructional tool for reading and mathematics used by more than 25% of U.S. schools, represents a widely adopted educational technology that requires specific technical, pedagogical, and content knowledge for successful implementation.

The …

Empowering Pre-Service Ecse Teachers Through Ai Simulation: Strengthening Family-Centered Iep Facilitation, Jody L. Shong

Essays in Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping instructional practice across educational contexts, yet its role in preparing early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers for complex relational work remains underexplored. Facilitating Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings requires educators to integrate legal knowledge, developmental data, interdisciplinary collaboration, and family priorities within emotionally nuanced conversations. Many pre-service teachers enter the profession without structured opportunities to rehearse these responsibilities.

This article argues that AI-supported simulation represents a practical and equity-oriented approach to strengthening teacher preparation. Grounded in family–professional partnership theory, anti-bias education, and practice-based pedagogy, this manuscript examines how simulation can support relational competence while …

“Don’T Let Your Disability Be Your Weakness, Let It Be Your Greatest Strength”: A Phenomenological Study Of Nursing Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Randa Melms

Dissertations of Practice

This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of nursing students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) as they navigated nursing education and the clinical learning environment. Using critical disability theory (CDT) as a guiding framework, the study explored how participants understood, negotiated, and redefined their identities within a profession historically shaped by hearing norms. Four essential themes emerged: reframing disability as expertise, navigating institutional supports and structural barriers, negotiating clinical spaces designed around hearing bodies, and drawing strength from relational networks. These findings can inform more inclusive practices among higher education professionals and clinical educators, helping reduce disparities …

Ai-Generated Content In Education: Moving Beyond Theory Toward Data-Driven And Actionable Insights, Huong Thi Pham, Nhung Thi Phuong Nguyen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The emergence of AI-powered content such as text, images, and videos generated by large language models (LLMs) has rapidly transitioned from an experimental novelty to a structural force in higher education. Yet, previous reviews have remained largely conceptual or focused on the early stages of the AI wave. This study offers an updated, multi-faceted overview of AI-generated content in education based on data from 2022 to 2025. Following the PRISMA protocol, we systematically identified and reviewed 64 peer-reviewed studies to examine usage, transformation of teaching practices, impacts on learning outcomes, and challenges related to academic integrity, bias, trustworthiness, and teacher …

Development And Psychometric Validation Of A Short-Form Critical Thinking Scale In Generative Ai Contexts (Genai–Crt): Evidence From Vietnamese Efl Learners, Ngo Cong-Lem, Thang T. Nguyen, Khanh N. H. Nguyen, Quyen N. H. Nguyen

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The rapid spread of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in education has intensified concerns about its impact on learners’ critical thinking, underscoring the need for reliable instruments to assess how students engage critically with AI-generated content. This study adapted, developed, and initially validated the Generative AI–Critical Thinking (GenAI–CrT) scale, an eight-item short-form instrument designed to capture EFL learners’ critical thinking in AI-enhanced learning contexts. Data from 233 Vietnamese undergraduates and graduates underwent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, supporting a theoretically grounded four-factor structure comprising analytical skills, logical reasoning, evidence evaluation, and open-mindedness. The scale demonstrated excellent model fit (χ²(14) = 23.49, …