Special Education and Teaching Commons^™

Preservice Teachers' Referral Of Students For Special Education, Annie Maclachlan

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand which students teachers nominate for special education services, and what student qualities influence the nomination. Specifically, in this study, we investigated whether a student’s ethnicity and classroom behavior influence his or her nomination for special education. We created six profiles in which we varied ethnic names and classroom behaviors, and asked juniors and seniors in a selected teacher preparation program to evaluate the profile they were given. They were then asked to indicate whether or not they would refer their given hypothetical student for special education services, and to provide justification for …

Exploration Of The Qualities And Interactions Of Post-Secondary Faculty Identified As Exemplary By Students With Support Services, Joan E. Green

Special Education ETDs

Recent statistics indicate that approximately 11% of undergraduate college students seek out disability support services (National Center for Education Statistics, 20015). The review of research indicated a lack of research regarding faculty in postsecondary education and their knowledge of disabilities and services, experiences of individuals with disabilities, and in particular, experiences and interactions toward students with support services attending postsecondary educational institutions. The purpose of this case study was to explore the classroom experiences of seven faculty nominated by students with support services as exemplary at a four-year public university. The semi-structured interviews focused on the abilities of students with …

How To Better Support Individuals Who Have A Special Needs Sibling, Lauren Mcdonell

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The purpose of this study was to understand the emotions of a neurotypically developing sibling. This study also attempted to understand how caregivers can best support the neurotypical sibling in the areas of self-concept and overall wellbeing. The gap is knowledge is how to better support neurotypical developing siblings specifically in the areas of self-concept and overall well being. Three participants were interviewed to gain insight about their experiences with their special needs sibling. Participants who participated in a support group for neurotypical developing children with a SNS were surveyed to gain insight about their experiences with the support group. …

Fertile Ground: The Impact Of The Natural Learning Environment On The Social/Emotional Development Of Students With Autism And/Or Sensory Processing Disorder, Denise Elizabeth West

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

This research was carried out to determine the impact of a natural learning environment on the social/emotional development of students with Autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. For the sake of this research, social/emotional development consisted of social behavior, communication, and participation/engagement. A review of the literature revealed that students with sensory processing issues have difficulty processing stimuli which are unnatural and intensified. The acoustics and set-up of a traditional classroom are characterized by confinement, harsh lighting/volume conditions, and other habitual triggers for sensory discomfort. The natural learning environment can provide students with natural stimuli, fresh air, natural acoustics, natural lighting, …

Promoting Content Knowledge Of Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities Through Comprehension Strategies, Apryl L. Poch, Erica S. Lembke

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Students with learning disabilities struggle with basic comprehension skills across all content areas. By pairing comprehension strategies with content instruction, secondary content area teachers can strengthen students’ reading skills and content knowledge. This article provides an overview of two comprehension strategies, anticipation guides and double entry journals, that align with research-based recommendations in adolescent literacy and that can be employed across the primary content areas (i.e., English language arts, social/global studies, mathematics, and science).

Teacher To Teacher: Mentoring Preservice Teachers Into The Profession, Brianna Cottrell, Hayley Boyd, Kimberely Nettleton

Celebration of Student Scholarship Poster Sessions Archive

No abstract provided.

Deafblind Pocket Communicator: No-Tech Innovation Using 3-D Printing, Amy T. Parker, Susan Sullivan

Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

For many deafblind people, having a simple, low-tech tool is beneficial when traveling in the community or interacting with members of the public. This presentation will explain the tool called the DeafBlind Pocket Communicator, which is a slim, pocket-sized, no-tech device which displays the braille alphabet embossed beneath the corresponding raised print letters, numbers and symbols. This is a conversation tool for the deafblind with those who cannot fingerspell, and it can be used for writing limited braille messages and teaching the beginnings of braille. Prototypes on a 3-D printer were created and further innovation is possible.

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Early Warning Signs Of Autism Spectrum Disorder In Kindergarten Stage In Jordan: Teachers' Perspectives, Nawaf Saleh Al-Zyoud

International Journal for Research in Education

The study aimed at identifying early warning signs of autism spectrum disorder among young children who enrolled in kindergarten in Amman and Zarqa cities in Jordan from their teachers' perspectives. To achieve the study objectives, a qualitative approach was employed. Sample consisted of 16 kindergarten teachers who held a Bachelor’s degree majoring in early childhood and who had spent three years in the field. Participants were interviewed in their classes using semi structured interviews and data was analyzed utilizing thematic analysis technique. The results indicated that kindergarten teachers could identify the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders through the warning signs …

The School Connection Program: Strengths, Challenges, And Next Steps, Luchara Wallace

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

The School Connection Program originally began as a WMU-initiated, community engaged effort to develop and implement an off-site alternative to school suspension for high-need Middle School students in southwestern Michigan county. The original purpose of the program was (a) to provide an off-site location for academic, social, and emotional supports to students separated from their K-12 school setting due to suspension and (b) to ensure that when the student returns to school, they are returning with tools that will help them stay better connected to school and less likely to be suspended again while addressing academic deficits in the areas …

A Multilevel Model Of Poverty, Community Factors, And Learning For Students With Disabilities., Randal Barnes

Dissertations

Students with disabilities face challenges to academic success that can be exacerbated by the effects of poverty. In this study, Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the effects of socio-economic status, social capital, and threats to safety on literacy test scores for students with disabilities. Results of the analysis indicate that discipline rate had a significant effect on mean district scores on statewide standardized tests, but not on the impact of socio-economic status on test scores. Conversely, the percent of college graduates in a school district did not have a significant effect on district scores, but moderated the …

The Heart Of K'É: Transforming Diné Special Education And Unsettling The Colonial Logics Of Disability, Sandra Yellowhorse

American Studies ETDs

This paper takes up the roles of ideology and spatiality as they impact Diné students and learners in understanding conceptions of normativity, neuro-diversity and bodily variance. I am concerned with how the movement and creation of Indigenous schools and their praxis still maintain and often times produce settler colonial ideologies of being, personhood, difference and ability. I illustrate the challenges that Diné planners and educators face in entrenching cultural knowledge and language into their educational initiatives, while some of the problematic manifestations and expressions of normativity present themselves through state polices, federal law and mainstream curriculum.

I focus on the …

An Examination Of Special Education Teachers' Self-Efficacy By Certification Status, Credential Type, Age, Gender, Previous Experience In Special Education, And Years Taught, Sarah R. Johnson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study explored differences and relationships between pre-service and in-service special education teachers’ self-efficacy ratings. These educators taught in California on alternate permits, Provisional Intern Permit (PIP), Short-Term Staff Permit (STSP), Intern Credential, valid Preliminary, and Clear credentials along with type of certification (Mild/Moderate, Moderate/Severe, and Early Childhood Special Education). The differences and relationships were examined across several demographic variables (gender, age, previous experience in special education, and number of years teaching special education). The study participants were employed in one of two large school districts as special education teachers on a PIP/STSP, Intern, Preliminary, or Clear Credential in Central …

The Unsung Heroes And Silent Partners Of The Educational World, Gillian Schneider

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed method study was to identify and describe what paraeducators perceive as factors that lead to effective and sustainable engagement in special education special day classes, and identify what strategies are effective for encouraging discretionary effort as perceived by paraeducators.

Methodology: The participants in the study were 69 paraeducators employed by a Southern California County Office of Education. Participants partook in two research instruments: (a) a 37-question survey and (b) a semi-structured interview.

Findings: Data based on the mixed method analysis revealed that paraeducators are highly committed employees who want to know that they are …

Students With Disabilities: Transitioning From Pk-18 To The Workplace, Cheri Beverly, Jane B. Thall

Dilemmas in Education: A Casebook for Ethical Reasoning

The case study investigates the conflict that arises when a student who has received extensive assistance and accommodation for an invisible disability throughout her education (PK-12 through graduate school) transitions to her first job. The case explores the tension between the employee and her employer.

Parent Perceptions Of Family Quality Of Life Raising A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder In The Bahamas, Sharlene Monique Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous research showed having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can affect families in many ways (Brace, 2009; DeGrace, 2004; Fantaroni, 2012). The primary types of impact include family relationship (spousal and sibling relationships), finances, and access to resources and services to assist with caring for the social, emotional and academic development of a child with autism (Grindle & Remington, 2014; Harper et al., 2013; Koydemir & Tosun, 2009; Ludlow, Skelly, & Rohleder, 2011; Montes & Cianca, 2014). While extensive studies have shown similar findings of the impact of autism on family quality of life in America and other …

Sensory Integration In Saint Lucian Schools: A Case Study, Megan Lively Spt, Ashley Danielsen Spt, Leigha Schimmoeller Spt

Student Scholar Showcase

In January 2018, the Lynchburg College Doctor of Physical Therapy program sent a group of ten first- and second-year students to St. Lucia to provide therapy services to children in need across the island in five different special education schools. The group has been able to work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Education in St. Lucia for the past three years in order to make a positive impact on the special education students and teachers. As the group did their evaluations this year, we noticed a trend that most of the students we worked presented with sensory integration dysfunctions and …

Effective Teaching And Behavioral Strategies Used By Exemplary Non-Public Alternative Education Schools, Alana Maxine Hughes

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the teaching and behavioral strategies exemplary, non-public alternative education schools used to support student learning as perceived by education specialists and site administrators at high-achieving, non-public alternative education schools in Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, and Orange County.

Methodology: This qualitative case study examined the perception of education specialists and site administrators by conducting interviews to identify effective teaching and behavioral strategies used by exemplary non-public alternative education schools. The researcher interviewed nine education specialists and three site administrators from exemplary non-public alternative schools. …

Enrollment And Disenrollment In Voluntary Prekindergarten: A Study Of Educational Leaders’ Decision-Making, Angela Cherie Passero Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study focused on how school leaders’ understandings of (dis)ability were implicated in decision-making and affected student (dis)enrollment in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK). More specifically it explored how leaders in private VPK programs invoked conceptions of normality, and subsequently abnormality, during decision-making processes for student (dis)enrollment. Combining a critical poststructuralist approach (critical disability studies, critical policy analysis), decision-making on (dis)enrollment was contextualized within the current policy ecology. This policy ecology was framed as an historical development of policies regarding preschool for children with and without disabilities in a marketplace shaped by the convergence of federal, state, and …

The Clinical And Classroom Utility Of The Inventory Of Reading Occupations: An Assessment Tool Of Children’S Reading Participation, Lenin Grajo, Catherine Candler, Patricia Bowyer, Sally Schultz, Jenny Thomson

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the initial clinical and classroom utility of the Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO), a new tool to assess children’s reading participation.

Method: The study used phenomenological qualitative and descriptive methods. The participants included 38 occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, classroom teachers, and parents who completed or reviewed responses of children on the IRO. To provide triangulation, 20 of the children who completed the IRO were interviewed. Data were thematically analyzed and then categorized using a central Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats premise.

Results: The majority of the participants indicated favorable response to the …