Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Impact Of Person-Environment-Occupation Model Training On Teacher Transition Problem-Solving, Taylor Dreste

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, there is currently no universal framework or model that is applied to the transition planning process for students with disabilities, other than the transition mandates set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004). This often results in educators picking transition plan goals and interventions from a “bank”, without taking into account the “whole child.” The following study examines the effect of the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model, pioneered by Law et al. (1996), on a teacher’s ability to consider personal, environmental, and occupational variables when planning for post-secondary employment for students with disabilities. Furthermore, this …

Using Functional Communication Training To Reduce Self-Injurious Behavior For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Maryam N. Alakhzami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of functional communication training (FCT) on self-injurious behavior (SIB) of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). FCT was utilized and demand fading procedures were added to the original method. The use of FCT to address SIB maintained by negative reinforcement exhibited by children with ASD is supported by an emerging trend of behavioral research. FCT replaces SIB with a new functional communicative response (FCR) that serves the same function as SIB. However, there is a lack of evidence on how to sustain treatment gains obtained after treatment is discontinued. Thus, …

Barriers To The Implementation Of The National Concept Of Inclusive Education In The Kyrgyz Republic For 2019-2023, Zhibek Lbraeva

International Programs

Implementation of the National Concept of Inclusive Education in the Kyrgyz Republic may be significantly impeded due to the existent systematic barriers. The current poster goes over the barriers identified as a result of literature review on inclusive education in the former Soviet republics, in particular Kyrgyz Republic.

Covid-19 Lockdown And Its Effect On The Children With Disabilities In Albania, Nesila Koka

International Programs

When the World slowly started to get invaded by Covid-19 “an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus" (Coronavirus n.d.), Albania was also one of the countries, that wasn’t prepared at all. The lockdown officially lasted for 2 months (Mid-March - First weeks May) but for the children with disabilities it lasted longer than that, as schools closed by the end of May and the protocols for the daily centers to provide therapeutically services didn’t come out till the end of June. Unpreparedness of government lead un directly to retardation of development for the children with disabilities, with …

From Nclb To Essa: Implications For Teacher Preparation And Policy, Ambra L. Green, Jennifer Mckenzie, Timothy J. Lewis, Apryl L. Poch

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

With the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the term highly qualified teacher (HQT) became an important component of teacher licensure, including for special educators. However, when ESEA was reauthorized in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the highly qualified regulations were removed. The purpose of this study was to look back at the historical record of policy implementation of HQT and compare the record across states to provide implications for teacher preparation and licensure policy in the era of ESSA. This was accomplished through a review of the history of special education teacher …

Patterns Of Provision Of One On One Aides In Due Process Hearings: A National Sample, Joel K. Perkins, Michael Owens, Scott Ferrin, Gordon Gibb, Vance Randall

BYU Education & Law Journal

In decisions regarding services for a student classified with a

disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

Act (IDEIA), one of the most impactful choices for an IEP

team or local education agency is whether a student should receive a

one-on-one aide to enhance the least restrictive environment. Many

parents seek such services for their children, while many education

agencies resist, claiming that that one-on-one aides are not appropriate

for a particular student and in fact may not actually provide

the least restrictive environment for the student as established under

the IDEA.

This study examined patterns of legal provision …

Post-Secondary Employment And Education Outcomes Of Young Adults Reporting Both Vision And Hearing Impairments In The High School Longitudinal Study Of 2009, Emily M. Lund

JADARA

This article reports the post-secondary education and work activities of 43 young adults who reported a history of both hearing and vision disabilities (i.e., deafblindness [DB] in Wave 4 of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Most of the sample reported having worked, attended post-secondary education, or both since completing secondary education. Approximately half of the sample still lived with their parents, and most reported receiving financial support from their parents. Thus, although engagement in work and education was relatively high, most participants had not achieved financial independence.

Using Video Modeling To Teach Staff How To Implement Preference Assessments, Megan Weaver

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Identification of reinforcers through preference assessments for individuals with disabilities is an important task because it increases the probability of skill development, including academic tasks, self-help skills, social skills, and behavior modification. Teachers of students with disabilities often experience problems with training paraprofessionals to implement preference assessments using written instructions alone. In this study, researchers will investigate whether video modeling will be more effective than written instruction to staff to implement preference assessments. Participants will include three to five paraprofessionals in a classroom setting with no previous behavior analysis training on preference assessments and three to five students in a …

The Student Placement Decision-Making Process: A Study Of Administrator Considerations, Jonathan Roland Normand

All Theses And Dissertations

A myriad of factors are considered in the out-of-district placement process of special needs students, but there is not a standardized process for weighing these. Little is known about how Maine School Administrators weigh each factor to determine the appropriate placement. This interpretive phenomenological study examined the question: What is the hierarchy of priority of the factors used to determine out-of-district placements by Maine special education administrators?

Six special education administrators representing different geographic areas of the state of Maine were interviewed individually. The researcher utilized a purposive sampling method to recruit from within the targeted population those who have …

Observing Reading Growth And Instructional Practices For Students With Intellectual Disability And Autism, Jennifer Stewart

Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe reading instruction within the Response to Intervention (RTI) framework for students with ID and autism in three areas: a) participation in universal screening, b) reading growth across the school year on the screening measure (NWEA MAP-R, iStation ISIP, or DIBELS), and c) describe and compare business-as-usual reading instruction within general education and special education classrooms. Using an adapted model for literacy for students with severe disabilities, I explored the participation in and reading growth on universal screening measures and compared growth to classroom instructional practices for target students within this population. I …

A Phenomenological Study On The Lived Experiences Of High School Students With A Reading Disability, Ellen R. Ziegler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Reading is an essential skill for all students. However, students who do not grasp the basic reading skills during elementary school struggle through school. Without basic skills, many of these students are at risk for behavioral issues and a low self-concept. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of high school students with a specific learning disability in reading. The theory that guided this study was the social identity theory as it relates to high school students with a disability in reading to their identity to self and others. The central research question for this …

Parent-Teacher Relationship Quality As A Predictor Of Changes In Externalizing Behaviors At School For Children With Asd, Lana Andoni

Graduate Masters Theses

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit high rates of externalizing behaviors compared to children with other disabilities and typically developing peers. These behavioral challenges may impede their ability to successfully transition into school settings. Higher quality relationships between parents and clinicians working with children with ASD have been shown to yield positive student outcomes. Additionally, parent involvement is considered to play a critical role in the success of interventions for children with ASD. Teachers may benefit from parents’ extensive knowledge about their child and parents may benefit from greater knowledge of school behavior plans to promote continuity of behavior …

Effects Of The "Write Sounds" Program On Handwriting And Phonics Skills, Pam Bazis

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Reading and writing rely on related foundational literacy skills (e.g., phonological processing, phonological memory, phonemic awareness; Brooks et al., 2011; Graham & Hebert, 2010, 2011; Sanders et al., 2018). Therefore, students struggling with reading often have writing problems, including handwriting (Kandel et al., 2017; Sanders, Berninger, & Abbott, 2018). It is often difficult to determine the source of writing difficulties as they could come from uncertainty in how to form the graphemes, poor spelling skills, or organizational deficits (Berninger et al., 2008). This study aimed to determine the usability, feasibility, and promise of an integrated handwriting intervention on 33 students …

Effects Of Informational Text Instruction For Students With Or At-Risk For Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis, Mackenzie Burk

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the impact of informational writing interventions on informational text writing outcomes for 4^th to 12^th graders with or at-risk for disabilities. Informational text writing is heavily used in daily lives and not enough attention is brought to how the informational text writing is taught. A total of nine studies with 39 effects sizes were included. The studies included were coded by the first author and a graduate research assistant for specific design features (e.g., age, interventionist, dosage, teacher effects). The results indicated that informational writing instruction had positive impacts on …

School Psychologists And School Counselors’ Perceptions Of Preparation Received For The Provision Of School-Based Mental Health Services, Sherika Mckenzie

Education (PhD) Dissertations

School psychologists and school counselors are increasingly playing an essential role in the provision of school-based mental health services (SBMHS). This is especially true in California. Unfortunately, there are a few studies that have examined how California school psychologists and school counselors perceive their training to provide SBMHS, how they perceive their role in providing these services, and what they regard as their needs for professional development. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which California school psychologists and school counselors believe that their formal pre-service education and later in-service professional experiences have prepared them to …

What Kind Of Support Do New Special Education Teachers In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia Need?, Abdulhakeem M. Almoneef

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges faced by new special education teachers of hearing impaired students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the support they identified that they would like to receive during the first years of their teaching experience. Exploring the concerns of special education teachers of hearing impaired students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important step in determining how these concerns may be addressed in order to improve instruction for deaf and hearing impaired students. The identification of the challenges and desires of new special education teachers of deaf and …

Examining The Relationship Among Middle School Students’ Performance On The Tnready Assessment, District Checkpoints, And Teacher-Assigned Grades, Kristina Dempsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant correlation among teacher-assigned grades (TAG), district checkpoint scores (CP), and student scale-scores on TNReady tests. The focus was on 1,445 seventh and eighth grade students who were enrolled at a middle school in northeast Tennessee during the academic years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, specifically for the content areas of English Language Arts and mathematics. The second purpose of this study was to examine any moderating effects of the categorical variable, students with disabilities (SWD) status, on the correlations among the district and state assessments and …

Exploring The Impact Of Musical Mnemonic Strategies On Student Achievement And Engagement In Inclusive Science Classes, Zinna Eaton

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Students with disabilities often struggle with comprehending material and performing at grade level, and teachers often find new ways to help their students comprehend the curriculum. A common challenge for special education teachers is incorporating different learning styles and various instructional strategies to better assist their students. One teaching strategy and resource that many teachers incorporate is the use of music in their instruction. This research project examines how incorporating music teaching strategies into daily instruction impacts the level of engagement and the academic achievement level of sixth-grade students with and without mild/moderate disabilities within inclusive science classrooms. The study …

Parent Perception Of The Parent And Placement Team Process, Deborah Perry

All Theses And Dissertations

Special educators face a growing number of legal implications as they strive to meet students’ needs as identified on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Once identified as requiring special education services, students have an (IEP) to track their progress on goals and objectives. All IEP meetings require the family’s attendance and feedback as part of the process. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) noted that parent feedback is required in the IEP document. This study collected information about parents’ perceptions of the IEP process. Individual interviews were completed with 13 engaged parents to document their experiences working through the IEP process. …

Retaining Special Education Teachers: The Relationship Between School Leadership And Special Education Teacher Retention In A Low-Income School, Amanda Elizabeth Jones

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

School districts across America are struggling to recruit, hire, and retain qualified teachers in the classroom (Wushishi, Fooi, Basri & Baki, 2014; Simpson, Whelan & Zabel, 1993). In 2006 the national teacher replacement cost in America averaged approximately $2.2 billion per year (Borman & Dowling, 2008). A once highly esteemed profession is now one faced with many positions left unfilled and students without instructors. The influence of teacher shortages across content areas can be felt by students and teachers alike (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019). Although general education teachers leaving their classrooms can negatively impact students in various situations, those students …