Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Implicit Bias And Least Restrictive Environment: Perceptions Of Certified Educators, Christen Papallo

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

This narrative inquiry study explored the lived experiences of Connecticut’s certified educators related to implicit bias and student placement. The theory of intersectionality suggests that implicit bias is present within all individuals (Crenshaw, 2017). Thus, there is a natural propensity for implicit bias, specific to ability, among school personnel. The problem to be addressed is the need for a greater understanding of how the natural existence

of implicit bias among certified educators impacts their view of student capabilities and

achievement, thus impacting placement decisions in the classroom. Eight participants completed individual, semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed, re-storied and member checked. …

Thai Americans: A Poem Collection Featuring "Bilingual หมา Standard Poodle" And "Last Name กู Too Long", Simon Boonsripaisal, Ravadee Boonsripaisal

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This is a co-authored poem collection focusing on Thai American life. In Bilingual หมา Standard Poodle, interactions and observations are made between a Thai American family and their supportive standard poodle named Pumpkin. This poem interjects on the disaggregated Southeast Asian American experience with inclusion of a pet companion. In Last Name กู Too Long, a Thai American graduate student discusses with their mother the challenges of gaining employment. This poem brings attention to hiring bias in the screening and interview process.

Virginia History Standards And Inclusivity, Laura Byers

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Diversity in the Commonwealth of Virginia is increasing rapidly and there is some concern among citizens that the Social Studies Standards of Learning are not accurately representative of the student population. The purpose of this study was to analyze and assess the current Standards of Learning for diversity and inclusion. The research study was a content analysis of the 2023 Social Studies Standards of Learning. It was found that the standards do not currently reflect the diversity of the student population. The results of this research study highlights gaps in diversity and inclusion of racial/ethnic groups and genders in Standards …

Analysis Of Policy Implementation: Improving Reading Proficiency Outcomes For All Students, Mariela Magro-Malo

Education Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the implementation and impact of reading improvement initiatives mandated by Texas House Bill 3 (2019) within a Texas school district. By applying improvement science principles, the study employs a mixed-methods embedded research design to evaluate the alignment of district practices with the Science of Reading and assess the effectiveness of systemic approaches in enhancing student reading outcomes. The research identifies statistically significant improvements in reading achievement, particularly in kindergarten, following the adoption of a phonics curriculum and mandated reading assessment tools. However, the findings also reveal challenges, notably the disconnect between policy understanding and practical implementation among …

The Influence Of Student-Teacher Relationship Quality On Educational Outcomes For Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Cassidy Ann Spradlin

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine the associations between student-teacher closeness, student-teacher conflict, and educational outcomes (i.e., academic, social, and behavioral outcomes) for students with elevated symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Positive student-teacher relationship quality is linked to educational success and has been found to be inversely related to adverse outcomes in the general population. Previous research has examined differences in student-teacher relationship quality for students with ADHD, but the association between student-teacher relationship quality and educational outcomes is not well understood for students with ADHD. This dissertation study examined the association between student-teacher relationship quality and …

Examining The Relationships Between Work Environment And Stress Coping Mechanisms With Burnout In Medical Students, Oluwafunke Oluwatosin Ogunremi

Scholarship Pathways Program

Introduction: Throughout the duration of medical training, learners are oftentimes overworked and faced with high levels of stress and pressure; this can decrease quality of life for many individuals. The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of how work environments and stress coping mechanisms play a role in the amount of burnout experienced by medical students.

Methods: Data was collected from medical students at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine by using a 22 question Qualtrics survey. The survey remained open until a 50% response rate was achieved from the student body. The results …

In Their Own Words: Lgbtqia Plus Stigma In Secondary School, Erin Stevenson, Greg Sandman

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

LGBTQIA+ youth often face stigma from society as they develop their personal identities. In the United States, legislation has recently been focusing on reducing protections in schools for queer youth and limiting access to resources like gender affirming healthcare. Youth have increasingly been targeted for identifying as queer and have experienced verbal and physical violence for expressing their gender identities. Research links stigmatization with increased mental health and substance use problems. However, there is limited information on how stigma experienced during adolescence may continue to impact young adults over time. Using a qualitative retrospective framework, LGBTQIA+-identified undergraduates (N = 8) …

Perspectives Of College Students With Disabilities Regarding Their High School Transition Experience: Notes For High School Transition Planning, Lindsay Hartzler, Kitty Dong, Andrew Johnson Kliethermes, Kaitlyn Sandheinrich, Mark Wheatley

Dissertations

Students with disabilities face many challenges as they transition to postsecondary education. These students are often unprepared for the rigor of postsecondary academics; they often lack self-efficacy skills and have limited awareness of postsecondary supports or cannot successfully access them. This study aims to give voice to college students with disabilities to inform practices of high school personnel involved with transition and higher education professionals supporting them. Using Kohler’s Transition Taxonomy 2.0 (2016), researchers sought to study the perspectives of eleven college students on their high school transition experiences in the areas of academic preparedness, self-advocacy skills, and experiences with …

Conducting Culturally Responsive, Strengths-Based Assessment In Schools, Eileen Cullen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on “labeling” students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as strengths-based assessment (SBA) and culturally responsive assessment (CRA), have potential to addresses these critiques and be more appropriate for the growingly diverse school population. Despite this, these models of assessment are under studied and there is a lack of clear guidance for how practitioners should implement them.

In these manuscripts, CRA and SBA are …

Changing The Narrative: Student Empowerment In Unequal School Contexts, Stephanie A. Nisle-Mikos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educational experiences affect a wide variety of life outcomes for individuals. The type of education an individual receives influences their occupation, the neighborhood in which they live, and even their risk of mortality (National Research Council, 2013; Sasson, 2016). In particular, the life trajectories of students who attend high-poverty schools are not the same as youth who attend schools with greater resources (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013; Taylor, 2005). In this dissertation, I provide a brief background on current rates of disproportionality in education and examine how specific theoretical constructs and educational policies may be used to explain …

Spatial Analysis Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Students’ Mental Health And School Board Policies In Colorado And Montana, Elizabeth Heiny

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

As the number of policies impacting transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people increase among school boards, understanding the impacts these policies have on mental health is important. These policies can be positive or negative. Using geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze where better mental health and TGD impacting policies are correlated can offer clear results on where students mental health is affected by these policies in Colorado and Montana. This study found that TGD impacting policies did not explain the majority of variation in mental health index score. Positive or negative correlations between the mental health index and policy positivity …

The Applications And Implications Of A (Re)Humanizing Praxis For Early Childhood Educational Contexts, Kristopher M. Tetzlaff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dehumanizing preschool policies and practices and a lack of access to affordable, (re)humanizing early childhood educative experiences threatens to exacerbate the opportunity gap and deleterious preschool-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this study was threefold; foremost, it aspired to elevate the role and power of critical resource pedagogies in individual and collective liberation. Second, it aimed to identify vital pedagogical and programmatic assets that advance the pursuit of mutual humanization in early childhood educational settings. Third, it sought to discern and address the pedagogical and programmatic limitations and systemic barriers that otherwise impede access to high quality early childhood programming. In …

The Disconnect Between General Classroom Teaching Techniques And English Language Learner Needs, Marliese Belt

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

This project will seek to identify gaps in pre-service teacher education as it relates to appropriate instructional strategies for English Language Learners (ELLs). First, public and private liberal arts schools of higher education in Kentucky will be analyzed for relevant programs and courses addressing the needs of ELLs and research-driven instructional techniques used to educate them. It will be determined that many of the schools offer undergraduate or graduate level endorsements and certificate programs, but only one, Murray State University, offers an undergraduate degree-bearing program. Next, ELLs, their characteristics, and unique needs will be defined to ensure that all stakeholders …

Contrastive Analysis Of English And Pashto Adjectives, Abdul Raziq Safi

Journal of Research Initiatives

Language is a systematic means of communication that employs sound or conventional symbols. Using a foreign language can be problematic when attempting to communicate or translate written or spoken language from one's native language due to structural differences between languages. Among the most widely spoken languages in the world, English is understood by approximately half of the global population. However, it is neither an official nor a second language in our country. Nonetheless, due to its significance, it is often taught as a foreign language at schools, institutes, and universities. As previously mentioned, Pashto, our language, shares structural similarities and …

An Exploration Of The Mentoring Experiences Of Ethnically Diverse Women Faculty At An Hbcu: A Qualitative Case Study, Tonya M. Brown, Ruth Boyd

Journal of Research Initiatives

This qualitative case study explored the professional and personal growth benefits for women faculty who engage in mentoring relationships at a historically black college or university (HBCU). Data were collected using one-on-one interviews with full- and part-time women faculty members who served as research participants. The participants provided data about their experiences with mentoring, including details such as the frequency of their meetings with mentoring partners, the preferred method of communication, and the areas of support resulting from the mentoring relationship. Findings indicated that mentoring relationships positively enhanced the experience for women faculty teaching in full-time or adjunct positions in …

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Use Of Serious Games For Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Latoyia R. Stewart

Journal of Research Initiatives

Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood neurodevelopment disorder, and severe digital game use has recently shown significant promise in this psychotherapeutic area. Digital serious games have also been used as an innovative teaching and learning approach. This study aimed to explore middle school teachers' perceptions of the use of digital severe games for students with ADHD. The conceptual framework for this study was Sherry's model of game engagement. The two research questions for this basic qualitative study focused on middle school teacher perceptions regarding the benefits and challenges related to the use of digital serious games …

Black Superintendents’ Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of Diversity And Equity Professional Development In New Jersey Schools, Tanisha Hinton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Providing an accessible and equitable education for all students has been an ongoing process mandated by the Managing for Equality and Equity initiative to close the achievement and opportunity gaps among students. This qualitative study examined Black superintendents' perspectives about the effectiveness and impact of diversity, equity, and inclusive initiatives in majority White staffed school districts in New Jersey. Furthermore, the study explored the perceptions of Black superintendents across different regions of New Jersey to understand if there were significant differences in how DEI initiative was perceived. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 Black superintendents and the data was analyzed …

Children’S University In Australia And New Zealand: Reach And Impact, Katherine Dix, Shani Sniedze, Tamara Van Der Zant

Higher education research

This report presents a comprehensive overview of the reach and impact of Children’s University in Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Council for Educational Research compiled available evidence to consolidate the evidence of the Children's University outreach program's extent and influence across the Australasian partnership. The independent evaluation synthesises information from existing research, reports, operational data, social media, and other documentation to provide a current snapshot of the Children's University's reach and impact, guided by the following research questions. How is the program underpinned by evidence-based best practice? What is the reach of the program in Australia? What does the …

Education And Empowerment: The Role Of Cash Transfers In Challenging Barriers To Female Schooling In Mexico And Malawi, Kaelynn R. Mcclure

Lux et Fides: A Journal for Undergraduate Christian Scholars

Despite the wide body of research that supports the benefits of education in reducing poverty and empowering individuals, women around the world continue to face significant barriers to schooling. This paper examines key social norms and aspects of poverty hindering the path to education for girls and women, proposing the use of cash transfers to promote education worldwide. Case studies of two different cash transfer programs, PROGRESA in Mexico and SCTP in Malawi, are evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in providing opportunities for schooling and promoting women's empowerment.

Barriers Experienced By First Nations Deaf People In The Justice System, Brent Elder, Karen Soldatic, Michael A. Schwartz, Jody Barney, Damien Howard, Patrick Mcgee

College of Education Departmental Research

Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that members of the First Nations Deaf community experience more barriers when engaging with the criminal justice system than those who are not deaf. Therefore, our purpose for writing this article is to highlight legal and policy issues related to First Nations Deaf people, including perspectives of professionals working with these communities, living in Australia who have difficulty in accessing supports within the criminal justice system. In this article, we present data from semi-structured qualitative interviews focused on four key themes: (a) indefinite detention and unfit to plead, (b) a need for an intersectional approach to …