Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Berhane Hewan ('Light For Eve'): Increasing Opportunities To Delay Marriage And Promote Schooling, Annabel Erulkar, Eunice N. Muthengi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This policy brief describes the findings of a pilot study on girls’ experience of early marriage, education, and sexual behavior in rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The brief also discusses efforts in the region to delay marriage and promote girls’ schooling. The Amhara Bureau of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and the Population Council pilot-tested a program to delay marriage and support schooling in rural Amhara Region. The program, entitled Berhane Hewan (Amharic for “Light for Eve”), included community conversations, support for remaining in school, and conditional cash transfers if girls remained unmarried and in school for the duration of the …

Data-Based Decisions Guidelines For Teachers Of Students With Severe Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Bree A. Jimenez, Pamela J. Mims, Diane M. Browder

ETSU Faculty Works

Effective practices in student data collection and implementation of data-based instructional decisions are needed for all educators, but are especially important when students have severe intellectual and develop- mental disabilities. Although research in the area of data-based instructional decisions for students with severe disabilities shows benefits for using data, there is limited research to demonstrate teachers in applied settings can acquire the decision-making skills required. The purpose of this research was to demonstrate how teachers from five states acquired a set of data-based decisions implementation guidelines through online professional development. Recommendations for practice and future research are included.

Effects Of A Treatment Package To Facilitate English/Language Arts Learning For Middle School Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities, Pamela J. Mims, Angel Lee, Diane M. Browder, Tracie-Lynn Zakas, Susan Flynn

ETSU Faculty Works

This pilot study sought to develop and evaluate the use of a treatment package that included systematic and direct instruction on acquisition of literacy skills aligned with middle school English/Language Arts standards for students with moderate to severe disabilities, including autism. Participants included five teachers and 15 middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities who were primarily served in a self-contained setting. A one-group, nonrandomized, pre-posttest design was implemented to measure vocabulary, comprehen- sion of familiar text and unfamiliar text, poetry, research, and writing skills. Results indicated significant gains in vocabulary and comprehension of familiar text. Limitations, implications, and …

Empowering Students With Autism: An Investigation Of School Practices Through The Lens Of The Special Education Administrator, Jenny Rebecca Mcclintic

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Author's abstract: This qualitative study explored the perspectives of special education administrators employed in three school districts in Georgia regarding the empowerment of students with autism spectrum disorders. Participants were first given a screening survey and later interviewed via telephone in reference to empowering practices present in their individual districts. Participants were given the options to be included in the telephone survey. This study draws on the research from the National Research Council's findings published in as Educating Children with Autism (2001) and other leaders in the field of educational interventions. This study provides an analysis of their responses and …

Parent Perceptions Of The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, Charity C. Roberts

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Author's abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand both contributors and barriers to use of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (SB10). Although SB10 was designed to offer parental choice of schools for students with disabilities, it has diminished the capacity of parents to access due process granted through IDEA. Perspectives in this study were provided by parents who chose to rescind their child's participation in the voucher program and parents who continued to access the voucher. Analysis of the lived experiences of parents of students with disabilities in Georgia revealed both similar and diverse experiences, perceptions and concerns …

Literacy, Autism, And Inclusion, Bridgett L. Hodges

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Young children with significant developmental disabilities can be taught sophisticated literacy skills and many interventions have been shown effective in the research. However, there is a lack of research that looks at the effect of inclusion on literacy with respect to a single student. This study will investigate the influence of an inclusive, general education classroom on the literacy learning of a student with autism. A participant observer approach will be employed in order to collect the following data: in depth interviews and observations of a single individual over a fifteen hour period, and a qualitative case study design will …

Investigation Of Rti Effectiveness, Patricia L. Murphy

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

An applied project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Education Specialist at Morehead State University by Patricia Murphy on December 11, 2011

Pushing Me Through: A Poetic Representation, Jessica Nina Lester, Rachael Gabriel

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

For many children and adults labeled learning disabled (LD), the very process of being identified and eventually labeled is oriented to as difficult to understand, disorienting, and just a taken-for-granted part of a system that names some ‘normal’, even gifted, while others are named abnormal. Minimal research exists that attends to the ways in which the official ways of talking about LDs are worked up in the everyday language of those most involved in the special education process, particularly the students themselves. Thus, in this article, we present, in an alternative form of writing (Richardson, 1997), a poetic representation of …

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum, Volume One, Issue One, Shane Willson, Landon S. Bevier, Rachael E. Gabriel, Taylor Krcek, Alaina Elizabeth Smith

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

It is with great pride that we present to you the inaugural issue of Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum. Here we have attempted to create an innovative, peer-reviewed space in which people from numerous disciplines, or even those claiming no discipline, can present research, multimedia, and art aimed at furthering the ideals of social justice, broadly defined. Social justice is not a concept owned by the academy, for attempts to create a more just world can come from many professions, or even from no profession at all. By applying the traditionally academic peer-review process to work done by activists, artists, …

Effect Of Education Tablet Applications On Beginning Reading Skills Of Students With Autism, Jillian Ratliff

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the effect of tablet computer applications and the reading skills of students with autism. Two subjects diagnosed with autism selected by using a convenient sampling method participated in this study. A single subject ABA design was used for collecting data regarding phonemic identification, letter identification, letter discrimination, ap.d sight word identification. Following the collection of baseline data, interventions in the form of different iPad applications were used in individual tutoring sessions and data were collected on the percent of correct responses given per trial. At the completion of a …

Championing Project Search: The Role Of The Library, Pamela Bluh

Faculty Scholarship

This brief article describes how the Thurgood Marshall Law Library at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law became an internship site for PROJECT Search.

Response To Autism: An Assessment Of Services For Students With Autism In Kentucky's Public Schools, Leigh Anne Roden

Dissertations

The full implementation of school-based autism services has grown in importance over the past few decades. School systems are expected to provide high-quality educational services for students with autism spectrum disorders. Though several organizations provide recommendations for appropriate program components, Kentucky does not supply education agencies with a means of evaluating the current autism services offered within their districts and schools.

This descriptive study examined the current level of implementation of school-based autism services within an educational cooperative in Kentucky. The research was conducted to determine whether or not school districts are fully implementing essential program components as recommended by …

The Relationship Between Family Functioning, Family Resilience, And Quality Of Life Among Vocational Rehabilitation Clients, Kristi P. Openshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While there has been extensive research on the quality of life for people with disabilities, very little research has been conducted on the way in which families impact the quality of life of these individuals. This study focused on how family dynamics impact the quality of life for people with disabilities who are clients of state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Specifically, family flexibility and cohesion, as well as family resilience, were the independent variables; quality of life was the dependent variable.

It was found that family functioning and family resilience play an important role in the quality of life for people …

An Examination Of The Preparation, Experiences, And Attitudes Of Effective School Leaders Of Students With Disabilities: Voices From The Field, Patricia Ann Schultz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research reflecting the preparation, experiences, and attitudes of effective school leaders of students with disabilities is scarce despite the fervent federal requirements changing special education over the past four decades. Although there is extensive literature on perspectives and contexts of disability, the legislative journey toward special education, inclusion and educational leadership, the expanding role of the principalship, principal attitudes on inclusion, and preparing educational leaders for inclusive education, a review of the related literature revealed an absence of the skill-set and disposition needed by school leaders who are improving academic achievement for students with disabilities.

This qualitative dissertation study documents …

Does Online Course Design Encourage Attrition? Assessing Usability Factors In Learning Management Systems, Lisa Theresa Richardson

Dissertations

Online coursework offers many college students flexibility and increased earning potential that they otherwise may not have due to personal or professional responsibilities and restrictions. Unfortunately, for students with disadvantaged technology backgrounds or disabilities limited accessibility compromises these opportunities for students who already face significant challenges to the completion of their post-secondary education. In the same manner that universal design of physical spaces increases usability of buildings and other facilities for all patrons, universal design of web-based courses could improve retention of course content for all learners.

In a case study based on cognitive load theory and constructivist pedagogy, the …

The Pros And Cons Of Inclusion For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Constitutes The Least Restrictive Environment?, Lindsay J. Vander Wiele

Senior Honors Theses

In the contemporary educational system, the issue of full inclusion has brought about much discussion and debate. Because the principle of the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandates that students with special needs should have the opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers to the greatest extent appropriate, the necessary components of inclusion impact all educational circles without exception. In fully inclusive settings, students with disabilities are provided with the services and supports appropriate to their individual needs within the general education classroom. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are defined as neurodevelopmental disorders resulting in impairments in communication and social interaction. In …

Mobile Modeling: Using And Creating Ipad And Ipod Apps To Shape Students With Disabilities, Carolyn Wicks, Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw, Justin M. Tucker

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Modeling is a technique that is often used to teach new skills to students with disabilities. Modeling is effective for teaching communication, social, and functional living skills to students with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive disorders (Werts, Caldwell, & Wolery, 1996). Video modeling and audio prompts can be as effective as live modeling (Murzynski & Bourret, 2007; Rehfeldt, Dahman, Young, Cherry, & Davis, 2003). In fact, some researchers have suggested that video modeling results in more rapid acquisition of skills than live modeling and may even be more generalizable across environments (Charlop & Milstein ,1989). With the introduction of mobile devises, …

Gender Roles And Their Influence On Life Prospects For Women In Urban Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study, Tazeen S. Ali, Gunilla Krantz, Raisa Gul, Nargis Asad, Eva Johansson, Ingrid Mogren

School of Nursing & Midwifery

BACKGROUND: Pakistan is a patriarchal society where men are the primary authority figures and women are subordinate. This has serious implications on women's and men's life prospects.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore current gender roles in urban Pakistan, how these are reproduced and maintained and influence men's and women's life circumstances.
DESIGN: Five focus group discussions were conducted, including 28 women representing employed, unemployed, educated and uneducated women from different socio-economic strata. Manifest and latent content analyses were applied.
FINDINGS: TWO MAJOR THEMES EMERGED DURING ANALYSIS: 'Reiteration of gender roles' and 'Agents of change'. The first theme included perceptions …

Relationship Of Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors Of Primary Caregivers With A History Of Sexual Abuse And Perfectionism In Their Sexually Abused Children, Alyssa Lundahl, Tiffany West, Elaine K. Martin, Christopher Campbell, Jayci Vanderbeek, David J. Hansen

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with many short- and long-term sequelae including obsessive-compulsive behaviors (OCB) and perfectionism. Research suggests that the expression of child perfectionism may be influenced by caregivers’ OCB and CSA history. Caregivers with a CSA history may engage in dysfunctional parenting styles associated with child perfectionism, while children of caregivers with OCB may exhibit increased perfectionism due to genetics and/or the internalization of their parents’ perfectionist tendencies. However, given the high prevalence of OCB among those with a CSA history, the relationships among caregivers’ expression of OCB, caregivers’ CSA history, and child perfectionism is unclear. Thus, …

Factors Associated With Participation And Retention In A Group Treatment For Child Sexual Abuse, Mollie Dittmer, Grace Hubel, David J. Hansen

McNair Scholars Research Journal

The current study examines factors associated with participation and retention in a child sexual abuse (CSA) outpatient program. Participation and retention are vital if children are to receive the intended benefits of treatment designed to promote healthy coping following CSA. However, little is known about factors that impede or encourage families to consistently attend sessions. Several factors possibly related to child participation and retention were examined, including demographic variables such as income level and education, characteristics of the abuse, and parent and family pretreatment functioning. Participants in the sample included 175 children and adolescents and their non-offending primary caregivers seeking …