Special Education Administration Commons^™

What Teachers Wish Administrators Knew About Co-Teaching In High Schools, Geraldine M. Nierengarten Ph.D., Trudie Hughes

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This article presents the results of individual and focus group interviews with the co-teaching partner teachers comprised of general and special educators. In particular, the analysis reveals the teachers’ perceptions regarding what principals need to know and understand to support co-teaching in their schools. The co-teaching teams identified the following factors as important for the success of co-teaching in a high school classroom: teacher training, administrator training, compatibility, planning time, student schedules, natural proportions, respect and value for the teaching assignment, administrative support, and professional development. The teams also identified student and teacher benefits from participating in a co-taught classroom.

The Evolution Of A New College Course In Behavior Management: A Case Study In Collaboration And Compromise, Richard L. Mehrenberg Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This article describes the development of a new behavior management course for both elementary and special education pre-service teachers at a Pennsylvania college. The evolution of the course is detailed through a four stage process:(a) identifying stakeholders, (b) defining priorities, (c) content collaboration, and (d) reaching a compromise. The study concludes with a discussion of what yet needs to be accomplished and strategies for implementation.

Response To Intervention: Right On Track, Charmion B. Rush, Nicole Dobbins Ph.D., Stephanie A. Kurtts Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The purpose of response to intervention, or RTI, is founded on the premise that, with data-based decision making and evidence- based practices, children who otherwise may have been identified with a mild educational disability will receive early instructional intervention and thus have the opportunity to remain with their peers in general education settings. For RTI to be successful, educational professionals need to have the core building blocks for implementation. A comprehensive RTI plan integrates academic interventions with behavioral supports to catch struggling learners early. Identification models that include RTI may lead to better achievement and behavior outcomes for all students. …

Inclusive Practices In Tennessee: An Investigation Of Co-Teaching In Middle Tennessee Schools, Vance L. Austin Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

With the advent of Inclusion (circa 1992) predicated on the principle of the “Least Restricted Environment” (USDOE, 2003) and the recent “No Child Left Behind” legislation, schools and school districts around the country began educating students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Arguments for and against the efficacy of this practice flourished among teachers and researchers alike. Nevertheless, state education and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) adopted the recommended initiative and began to institute inclusive practices within most of their schools. This service delivery change created a dilemma for the general education teachers who considered themselves unprepared for the …

Comparison Of Quality Of Life Perceptions Of Caregivers Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities In The United States And The Czech Republic, Sharon A. Raver, Anne M. Michalek, Jan Michalik, Milan Valenta

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Caregivers of individuals with disabilities in the United States have been reported to experience additional hardships than families with typical children as they attempt to balance family and work (Parish, Rose, Grinstein-Weiss, Richman, & Andrews, 2008). In this study, 31 caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities from the United States and 225 from the Czech Republic completed a qualitative quality of life survey. Similarities in the two groups were found in reported gains and losses from caregiving responsibilities. Differences in perceived spirituality, personal sense of peace and serenity, life optimism, ability to rejoice in life, personal life perspective, health, financial …

Closing The Achievement Gap: Impact Of Inclusion Upon Achievement Rates Of Students With Special Needs, Kathleen Black

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between the amount of time a student with special needs spends in the inclusive classroom and their achievement passing rates in mathematics and reading. TAKS passing rates for mathematics and reading for third graders in 2007-2008, and the same cohort of fourth graders in 2008-2009 were analyzed to determine the strength of relationship between the predictor variable of TAKS achievement passing rates, and the independent variables of amount of time included (PEIMS Instructional Setting) and socioeconomic status.

Logistic regression was utilized to analyze the relationship between amount of time …

The Experiences Of Parents With Adolescents Identified As Having A Specific Learning Disability, Linda J. Seals

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Of the 6.6 million children in the United States who were deemed in 2008 to have a disability that required special instruction, over 39% were classified as specific learning disabled (SLD). This figure translates into a high number of people who are parenting a child identified as having a SLD. Bronfenbrenner's theory of the ecology of human development indicated the importance of interconnections between school, home, and community settings. Collaboration between teachers and families may be strengthened by utilizing knowledge gained from parents' lived experiences of parenting an adolescent identified as having a SLD. The primary research question guiding this …

A Behavior Management Seminar For Special Or General Education Graduate Students, Franklin D. Schindelheim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the classroom management needs of graduate education students in one college, and develop a seminar that emerged from the research. Researchers have shown that professional development provided for graduate education students typically deals with curriculum and instructional methodologies rather than classroom management. However, graduate education students have expressed the need to learn more effective classroom management skills. The research questions asked what classroom management skills participants said they needed to teach in both collaborative, and special education classrooms. A grounded theory approach and the constructivist paradigm were used in the study. …

High School Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Approaches For Teaching Biology To Students With Special Needs, Agnieszka Kos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via …

Staff Development And Leadership Roles Related To Response To Intervention Levels Of Implementation In Rural Schools, Karin A. Strohmyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The concepts of professional learning communities and organizational disciplines support staff development and leadership that lead to sustainable systems. Little research has examined the ability of rural schools to achieve sustainable systems. This quantitative design study considered the relationships between predictor variables of administrative roles and staff development and the criterion variable of Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation level. Administrator roles included planning and scheduling training, participating in training, planning implementation, building knowledge and commitment, selecting RtI teams, participating on teams, promoting parental involvement, evaluating RtI, and implementing follow-up and targeted training. Staff development practices addressed commitment and support, team …

The Relationship Between Perceived Preparedness, Effiacy And Special Education Training, Leslie Haley Wasserman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited information exists on early childhood first year teachers' training for accommodations for diverse student abilities in classrooms. This mixed methods sequential explanatory study examined the self-efficacy of 28 first year early childhood teachers from Midwest urban schools. Vygotsky's social learning theory and Gardner's multiple intelligences were used as the conceptual framework. Email survey data were collected and analyzed using a t-test to answer the quantitative questions on the relationship between perceived efficacy and type of and amount of special education training provided in preservice programs. Qualitative questions on self-efficacy to instruct diverse students within the regular classroom were examined …

A Phenomenological Examination Of The Influence Of Culture On Treating And Caring For Hispanic Children With Autism, Lynette Estrada

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the influence culture has on the decisions Hispanic parents make to aid their children with autism. The research problems addressed are the influences culture may have on how professionals and external family members affect the choices parents make. Cultural and family systems theories formed the conceptual framework for the study. Researchers have found that cultural factors may lead to lower rates of diagnosis in Hispanic children with autism and parents' lack of knowledge of therapies and practices used to treat autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Five research questions guided this …

The Impact Of Coteaching On Regular Education Eighth Grade Student Achievement On A Basic Skills Algebra Assessment, Misty B. Rigdon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coteaching strategies have been implemented in many of the inclusion math classrooms in an attempt to improve the achievement of students. Math achievement continues to be a concern as reported by the National Mathematics Advisory Council in 2007. Educators and previous research reported that coteaching does not improve student achievement. The purpose of this study and the research question was designed to investigate, determine, and examine if coteaching has an impact on regular education students' achievement on an algebra assessment in the eighth grade. This concurrent mixed methods design used test data from a convenience sample of 70 eighth grade …