Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

School Climate Transformation: Using A Pbis Model In Indian Country, Martin E. Blair, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Education

In 2015, the Montana Office of Public Instruction received federal funding to implement a School Climate Transformation grant in schools on or near tribal lands. We describe the process of and highlight issues related to developing and implementing a PBIS model in a culturally sensitive manner.

Up-Setting The Apple Cart: Mitigating Potentially Disabling Barriers In Education, Amy Tepper

Dissertations

In this study, certified general and special educators, school administrators, as well as paraprofessionals (program, classroom, and/or individual assistants), and school-based specialists (speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, etc.) were surveyed regarding their opinions specific to the impact of potentially disabling barriers for students within the educational setting. In addition to the survey data, follow-up interviews were conducted with five select survey participants. The interview participants were selected based upon their assenting and/or dissenting opinions/responses, as well as their professional role within an educational context. The interviews were completed as a means of deriving additional, inimitable, solutions-focused insights regarding transforming …

How Educator Attitudes, Knowledge, And Practice Impact The Academic Achievement Of Students Who Have Epilepsy: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Canadian Secondary School Teachers, Tawnya Fanjoy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover how teacher attitude, knowledge, and practice with epilepsy impact the academic achievement of students who have epilepsy. This study assumed that middle school teachers perceive students diagnosed with epilepsy as lower academic achievers when compared to students who do not have epilepsy. The stigma associated with labels, such as epileptic, can negatively impact the academic performance of children with this disorder. For this study, stigma was generally defined as the negative perceptions about epilepsy held by middle school teachers. The participants included six middle school teachers from the Anglophone West School …

Praxis With Self-Advocates: Exploring Participatory Video As Radical Incrementalism, Kathleen C. Sitter, Amy C. Burke

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

In this article, the authors report selected findings from a larger study where self-advocates from the disability rights movement created a series of short videos as part of a participatory research project. Self-advocates subsequently integrated these videos into a greater community organizing initiative. While the research process of this study has been published elsewhere, this piece will explore the idea of bridging participatory video, a collaborative research methodology, with community-based advocacy initiatives. The authors contend that this presents an opportunity for radical incrementalism in which to create a praxis driven predominantly by the voices on the margins versus the academic …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

Finding “Diversity Levers” In The Core Library And Information Science Curriculum: A Social Justice Imperative, Kafi D. Kumasi, Nichole Manlove

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

In this exploratory study, the researchers examined the core library and information science (LIS) curriculum, looking for diversity levers, or conceptual access points, where transformative academic knowledge related to diversity and social justice could be meaningfully integrated. Multicultural curriculum reform, conceptualized as a social justice approach, was the guiding framework for the research design and analysis. The researchers began by establishing what constitutes the core curriculum and essential knowledge taught across thirty-six ALA-accredited master’s of library and information science degree programs. These data were then used to construct a survey that went to one hundred LIS faculty at ALA institutions …

Male Gender Disparity Gap: Does Gender Impact Education, Laura D. Smith

EDL Sixth Year Theses

This case study focuses on male gender disparity in education and the large numbers of males referred and receiving special education services. The data indicates that females outperform males academically, and that the males behaviors impacts their academic success. The connection to males at a young age being placed in low ability reading groups based upon behaviors, and their motivation and academic achievement is affected negatively. The eighth grade students at a PK - 8th grade rural Connecticut school participated in this researcher’s case study. The case study looked at, how students perceived their education, and what role their education …

Government And Private Primary Schooling In Rural Sikkim: Understanding Perceptions And Problems, Liam Toney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Private school enrollment has been increasing across India, and there is evidence that poor government school quality is the impetus for this trend. Generally, wealthier states have lower levels of private school enrollment due to higher quality government schools. However, in the small, relatively higher-income Himalayan state of Sikkim, almost one third of primary level children from rural areas are enrolled in private schools, and government school enrollment at the primary level is falling year by year. This study explores community perceptions surrounding the relative quality of one government and one private school located in Lingmoo, a rural village in …

Jordanian Special Needs Children’S Access To Services: Parental Perspective, Selena Rincon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the point of view of parents of special needs children in regards to their access to financial, medical, and educational services in Jordan. The researcher was interested in the question: Do parents of special needs children believe that the government offers adequate educational, financial, and medical services for their special needs children? This study is significant because special needs children are an important part of Jordanian society and must receive proper services in order to develop their abilities as much as possible and become active members of society. Also, it is important …

Kentucky Middle School General Education Teachers: Perceptions On Sensory Integration Of Students On The Autism Spectrum, Lynda C. Harrison

Dissertations

This study examines the perceptions of general education teachers in Kentucky middle schools regarding their knowledge concerning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), and their abilities to implement strategies designed to accommodate students on the spectrum. Participants included both general and special education teachers though the original targeted sampling included general education teachers only. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a Likert scale survey created by the researcher and distributed through a web based program. Demographic characteristics collected included number of graduate credit hours, age, years of teaching experience, credited hours of training on ASD at …

Student Perceptions Of Completing A Research Methods Course, Michael Kiener, Gina Oswald, Mya Vaughn, Katherine Kline, Bob Bertolino

Human Services Faculty Publications

In rehabilitation counselor education there is a large emphasis directed toward students becoming reflective practitioners. However, minimal research is conducted in rehabilitation counseling on evidence based pedagogy to ensure students become effective and reflective practitioners. This study investigated the experiences of students enrolled in a research methods course and examined how instruction influenced (or did not) research value and utility. The findings suggest students moved from being outsiders of research, to research apprentices. Pedagogical suggestions are made to increase the value and utility of research in everyday practice.

Toward A Deeper Understanding Of Disability: Physical Therapy Educators’ Reflections, Clarence Chan, Debra Engel, Jacqueline Ross

Publications and Research

This article describes the unique journey both of a blind student in our Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program and of the faculty who taught him as they all navigated through uncharted territories. Despite the fact that the physical therapy profession trains practitioners to help clients with disabilities to maximize their physical function and teaches them how to adapt to the challenges of daily activity, we initially assumed that a blind student would not be able to complete the program or be able to become a self-sufficient practitioner. We were very wrong. This article describes our learning process over the course …

Culturally Responsive Contexts: Establishing Relationships For Inclusion, Mere Berryman, Therese Ford, Ann Nevin, Suzanne Soohoo

Education Faculty Articles and Research

As our education systems become more culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse, rather than benefiting and learning from each other, we still expect all students to be represented within the same curriculum, pedagogy and testing regimen or we form separate enclaves resulting in marginalizaton. When diverse students have physical and/or learning disabilities, marginalization is further exacerbated and problematized. In this paper, the authors theorise within an alternative framework that we have termed relational and culturally responsive inclusion. Based on key understandings from our own research, much of it derived from Kaupapa Māori and Freirean philosophies, we encourage a framework where establishing …

Technology-Delivered Content Accessibility For Students With Disabilities, Gina Oswald

Human Services Faculty Publications

Agenda

• Why is accessibility in content important?
• What needs to be considered for accessibility
• How do you assess your content and then adopt?
• Discussion

Universal Design For Learning: Tips And Tools For Assisting Students With Disabilities Excel In Higher Education, Gina Oswald, Michael Kiener

Human Services Faculty Publications

Agenda

• Current State of College Students with Disabilities in Higher Education
• Legislative Requirements for Accommodations
• Current Barriers for CSWD
• University Design for Learning
• Strategies for Accessibility
• Kolb's Learning Styles Model
• Technology Accessibility
• Case Study
• Developing a SoTL Mideset

Equity In The Classroom, Robert L. Napoli

Student Publications

When discussing how teachers should pursue equity among, in, and through education in their current educational system, many go straight to discussing the lessons. These are very important, and the planning of these lessons can very much influence students to think more openly about equity, but there is something that must be established first before even thinking about executing a lesson plan, and that is the classroom itself. After all, “a large part of the work of teaching is constructing the laboratory for learning.” (Campbell & Demorest, 2008, p. 87). Postman & Weingartner also say that “the most important impressions …

Preparation Of School Counselors And Response To Intervention: A Profession At The Crossroads, Melissa S. Ockerman, Eva Patrikakou, Amy Feiker Hollenbeck

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As a result of the Response to Intervention (RTI) mandate in schools across many states, school counselors are uniquely positioned to a take a leadership role within its implementation. This research study examines how school counselors in one such state perceive their training and knowledge of RTI and thus their confidence in implementing it. Implications for training, supervision, professional development and future research are discussed.

The Jesuit Social Justice Dialectic Within The Cristo Rey School Model, Sajit U. Kabadi

Journal of Catholic Education

This article reports findings from a qualitative case study of a Cristo Rey Jesuit high school. The Jesuit social justice dialectic strives to maintain a balance between the preservation of the virtue of the Jesuit mission and the selling of the Jesuit brand. The Jesuit mission consists of Catholic evangelization through cultural immersion and social justice. The Jesuit brand consists of the accumulation of financial wealth and political influence essential to the ambitions of the Jesuit mission coming to fruition. This journal article explores this Jesuit social justice dialectic in action looking at the corporate work-study program utilized in the …

Collection Development, E-Resources, And Meeting The Needs Of People With Disabilities, Axel Schmetzke, Cheryl Pruitt, Michele Bruno

Charleston Library Conference

Access barriers do not only exist in the physical environment but also online. Just as certain architectural design features make it possible, or impossible, for people with certain disabilities to move about independently, so does design of the electronic environment, which includes all the library e‐resources, creates either enabling or disabling conditions for certain individuals. Recently conducted research reveals a rather grim picture: while policy statements issued by professional library organization call for inclusive selection and procurement procedures, books on collection development do not cover the issue adequately. When librarians make decision about the selection of specific e‐resources, the needs …

Ambiguity In Speaking Chemistry And Other Stem Content: Educational Implications, Mick D. Isaacson, Michelle Michaels

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Ambiguity in speech is a possible barrier to the acquisition of knowledge for students who have print disabilities (such as blindness, visual impairments, and some specific learning disabilities) and rely on auditory input for learning. Chemistry appears to have considerable potential for being spoken ambiguously and may be a barrier to accessing knowledge and to learning. Educators in chemistry may be unaware of, or have limited awareness of, potential ambiguity in speaking chemistry and may speak chemistry ambiguously to their students. One purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of potential ambiguity in speaking chemistry and other STEM fields …