Digital Commons Network^™

A Review Of Literature: Identifying Barriers To Academic Success Among Students With Disabilities Attending College In Rural Regions, Kaycee Lynn Bills

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

College students who have disabilities are an oppressed population that faces many challenges related to accessibility barriers in higher education located in rural environments. The number of adults with disabilities attending college has been steadily increasing over the past decade. As the number of college students with disabilities continues to rise, it is essential for researchers to identify the barriers education attainment barriers they face in rural college settings. This study is a systematic review of literature that analyze past studies in order identify the challenges students with disabilities face in higher education settings located in rural regions. It also …

Factors Contributing To Burnout Levels Among Public Sector Rehabilitation Counselors, Monica Elizabeth Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout has led to turnover and poor counselor performance within public sector rehabilitation. Scholarly literature on burnout among mental health counselors and school counselors are abundant. However, few researchers have compiled studies to evaluate burnout among rehabilitation counselors. No research could be found that examined the relationships among job demand, control, support, and burnout among public sector rehabilitation counselors. The Job Demand Control- Support (JDC-S) model indicates that stress from work is developed based on work demands, perceptions of control, and the perceived support that is received. The purpose of this research study was to determine the extent of the …

Training Teachers In Inclusive Preschool Classrooms To Monitor Child Progress And Make Data-Based Decisions Through Direct Behavioral Observation, Collin Niles Shepley

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Progress monitoring and data analysis are essential skills needed by classroom teachers within the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support for making data-based decisions about student progress and instruction. Within the early childhood MTSS research, consideration of teacher-collected progress monitoring data followed by data-based decision-making is rare. To provide teachers with a robust progress monitoring strategy, I trained preschool teachers of inclusive classrooms to use direct behavioral observations to collect data and inform their instruction.

The project experimentally evaluated teachers’ generalization of acquired behaviors within the context of a single-case research design. The project’s independent variable, teacher training, consisted of …

Characteristics, Services, And Outcomes Of Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers Who Are Deaf-Blind, Jennifer L. Cmar, Michele C. Mcdonnall

JADARA

Limited research has been conducted regarding the characteristics, services, and outcomes of consumers served by Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies in the United States who are deaf-blind. This article provides descriptive information about this population based on Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911) data from fiscal years 2013, 2014, and 2015. The article also includes a discussion of inconsistencies in use of disability category codes to classify VR consumers who are deaf-blind, emphasizing the need for agencies to utilize a consistent classification system that reflects the diverse characteristics of this population.

The Effect Of Mindfulness Techniques On Teacher Resilience As Moderated By Conscientiousness, Aundrea T. Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unmanaged stress in teachers often triggers burnout, which leads to a rise in healthcare costs and absenteeism. Therefore, teachers' resiliency needs improvement to lower the risk of burnout. The purpose of this cross-sectional design study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness techniques and resilience in high school teachers. An additional purpose of this study was to examine if the personality trait, conscientiousness, moderates the relationship between mindfulness techniques and resilience. The frameworks for this study were based on the self-awareness, -regulation, and -transcendence (S-ART) framework, theory of planned behavior, and the concepts of resilience and job burnout. Four surveys …

Relationships Between Vocational Identity, Substance Use And Criminal Thinking Among Emerging Adults, Eileen Marie Delzell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful formation of a self-chosen, purposeful identity in personal, social, educational and vocational areas is a primary task for emerging adults, with failure to do so often resulting in cycles of substance use, unemployment, and delinquent/criminal behavior. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between vocational identity, substance use, and criminal thinking within the population of emerging adults. The expectancy value theory of motivation, which states that identity may be a motivational construct between self-efficacy and subjective self-values, provided the foundation for the study. The online inventory platform PsychData was used to garner data from a sample …

Social And Psychological Factors Affecting Coping With And Adjusting To Disability, Alie Kriofske Mainella, Susan Miller Smedema

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

This chapter provides an overview of the social and psychological factors contributing to coping with and adjusting to disability by summarizing models; clinical implications, evidence-based practice, and measurement issues; and empirical research related to the process of coping with and adjustment to disability. While the models are useful for understanding a portion of the experience of people with disabilities and their coping and adjustment process, these reactions are not universal and not always experienced in an orderly sequence. Both coping and adaptation are multidimensional, complex processes affected by many factors and influenced by the person with the disability, the stress …

Training Pre-Service General Educators To Collect Accurate Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Data, Mark Devdas Samudre

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Functional behavior assessment is a process that should involve all individuals that work closely with a student who is engaging in problematic behavior that impacts their own or others’ learning. General educators are typically involved in this process through indirect or descriptive assessments, such as collecting antecedent-behavior-consequence data (ABC). However, there are many factors that can impact a general educator’s ability to collect accurate ABC data. Inaccurate data can misinform appropriate responses and interventions for challenging behaviors made by a student’s decision-making team, such as an Individual Education Program (IEP) team. Therefore, it is critical that researchers empirically evaluate training …

Examining School Readiness, Whitney A. Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This research study was conducted to provide information on school readiness. While there is no national definition for school readiness, states and organizations have developed various definitions to highlight readiness skills that have been deemed important for kindergarteners. The early childhood developmental domains that are often cited in these individual definitions are physical (fine/gross motor), social-emotional, cognition (academics), and communication skills. By considering a holistic approach of school readiness, a child’s development is not isolated to mastering one domain to be “ready” for school.

While most states do not have a statutory school readiness definition, many have been measuring school …

Increasing Physical Activity In Middle Schoolers With Intellectual Disability Using Goal Setting And Fitness Trackers, Hannah J. Dollinger

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of goal setting and fitness trackers to increase daily step counts in adolescents with intellectual disability. An A-B-A-B withdrawal research design was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The results indicated that goal setting and fitness trackers were effective in increasing daily step counts for two out of three participants.

The Effects Of Teacher Implementation Of Differential Reinforcement Of Alternative Behavior In Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Elena J. Hitch

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a classroom teacher implementing trail-based functional analyses (FAs), experimentally evaluate the effects of a classroom teacher implementing differential reinforcement of alternative (DRA) procedures with participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in the context of a natural setting, and assess the feasibility of the DRA for the classroom teacher. A multiple baseline with an embedded ABAB design was used for one participant and an ABAB design was used for the second participant to measure the percentage of the participants’ engagement in the alternative behavior and the target behavior. Results showed …

Perception Of Rural General Educators On The Inclusion And Participation Of Students With Significant Disabilities, Rachel L. Crouch

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to question rural general education teachers’ perceptions and attitudes on the inclusion of students with significant disabilities. The investigator surveyed rural general education teachers on their perceptions of what should be occurring in terms of inclusion and on what they saw as occurring in terms of inclusion of students with significant disabilities. The results yielded mixed perceptions and were generally positive in terms of the inclusion occurring within that school district.

Effects Of Naturalistic Time Delay On Promoting Functional Requests Using Aac In Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Brianna Rinaldi

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to teach preschool children with autism spectrum disorders to make requests with a speech generating device using a naturalistic time delay prompting procedure. The participants in this study were two males, enrolled in a public preschool program, between four and five years old. Both participants showed significant delays in expressive communication requiring alternative and augmented communication. The study utilized a multiple probe design across behaviors. Results showed utilizing naturalistic time delay increases independent requests using a speech generating device.

The Field Trip Project: Using Environmental Education To Bridge Science Learning Across Formal And Informal Kindergarten Settings, Meg Gravil

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The Field Trip Study was conducted in direct response to the emergence of scientific thinking as it relates to children’s cognitive abilities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of nature-based, experiential activities on children’s acquisition of science knowledge. A multiple treatments and controls with pretest research design was utilized to compare science knowledge acquisition between kindergarten children in four instructional conditions: 1) nature-based field trip plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, and corresponding book reading and activities, 2) nature-based field trips plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, 3) nature-based field trips plus …

Targeting Food Selectivity In Young Children In A Preschool Classroom Using A Multi-Component Treatment Package, Christina Challed Hesley

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a video model, graduated exposure (i.e., touch, smell, try, eat), and positive reinforcement to first increase food exploration, and then increase consumption of non-preferred foods in young children that exhibit food selectivity in a school setting. A multiple probe design across behaviors replicated across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment package. The treatment package consisted of a video model of each target behavior (touch, smell, try, eat) and positive reinforcement which included preferred foods and materials. The results indicated that the treatment package was …

A Thematic Analysis On How Forensic Psychologists Conduct Personal Injury Evaluations, Denise M. Autret

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychological evaluations administered by forensic psychologist in personal injury cases are surrounded by complex issues. Although empirically-based research has legitimized that psychological damages do exist in personal injury cases there is a missing link in the way forensic psychologists are conducting these evaluations. Prior researchers suggested that some personal injury evaluations had been dismissed or overlooked due to a lack of a standard of care. Addressing the current literature, this study examined how a diverse group of 14 licensed forensic psychologists, operating in different judicial jurisdictions (Daubert, Frye, and Independent) were conducting personal injury evaluations and their perspectives on the …

Further Validation Of The Consultation Skills Scale (Css): Relationships Between Consultation Skills, Supervisory Working Alliance, And Interprofessional Collaboration, Gulsah Kemer, Jeffry Moe, Kaprea F. Johnson, Emily Goodman-Scott, Zahide Sunal, Chi Li

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to obtain validity support for the Consultation Skills Scale (CSS) in a sample of 369 counseling professionals and interns. Upon obtaining a poor model fit from an initial CFA, we utilized modification indices and removed nine items from the CSS. As a result, we achieved a better model fit for the shorter 8-item instrument (CSS-S). To further examine validity of the CSS-S, we also explored the relationships between counselors' consultation skills and two related professional activities, ability to foster supervisory working alliance and ability to engage in interprofessional collaboration. We discuss the results …

The Relationship Of Transformative Learning Experiences On Multicultural Competency And Multicultural Self-Efficacy In Counselors In Training, Kristina Leigh Wilkerson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research on multicultural competency development has been a topic of interest in the counseling field over the past 20 years. However, studies in counselor education examining the relationship between learning experiences, multicultural competency, and self-efficacy have been scarce. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to fill this research gap by investigating the relationships among transformative learning experiences, multicultural competency, and multicultural self-efficacy of counselors-in-training. Another purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between participants’ demographic characteristics and their multicultural competency and multicultural self-efficacy. Participants included 107 master’s-level students in various counseling programs throughout the U.S. who had …

Counseling Competencies In Audiology: A Modified Delphi Study, Alex Meibos, Karen F. Muñoz, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose: Counseling practices in audiology play a critical role in helping patients and families understand, accept, and adjust to the dynamic impacts ear related disorders have on their lives. The purpose of this study was to identify what competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) are important for audiologists to possess to provide effective counseling in practice.

Method: A modified Delphi study design was used to survey a panel of thirty-three professionals with expertise in audiologic counseling from five different countries. In the first survey round, experts were asked to respond to three open-ended prompts. Responses were condensed and …

A Social Media Policy For Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs, Rebecca A. Willow, David Tobin, Wei Y. Chong, Angela Jeffery, Danielle Strohmeyer, Nicole Morine

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The American Counseling Association 2014 Ethical Code mandates that counselors who engage in social media communication develop knowledge and skills related to ethical and legal considerations (American Counseling Association, 2014). In response to these expectations, this article introduces a social media policy created by faculty in a Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. An example and review of an implemented social media policy is provided, along with guidelines for a student-led training program. Case examples are provided that illustrate potential dilemmas of student misuse of social media, along with examples of faculty interventions. This article is designed to contribute to the …

Shaping Supervisory Working Alliance From A Distance, Tawny Chamberlain, Carol Smith

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As technology advances, more counselor education programs are implementing options for students to complete clinical experiences at a distance from campus which requires distant supervision. Although distance supervision has the benefit of flexibility, it also has challenges such as building rapport and establishing effective communication. Supervisors would benefit from understanding the influence of delivery method on supervisory working alliance in order to monitor supervisee growth and development.This article explores the influence of supervision delivery method on supervisory working alliance. Recommendations for future research and counselor education supervisory practice are provided.

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes, December 13-14, 2018

Board of Trustees Minutes

Minutes from the Wright State University Board of Trustees Meeting held on December 13-14, 2018.

Commencement Ceremonies, University Of North Florida

Commencement Printed Materials

Program for the Fall Commencement ceremonies.

A Qualitative Study On Perceptions Of Parents And Their Young Adults With Disabilities Regarding Postsecondary Education, Kelli Summers

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

Postsecondary education (PSE) participation is a predictor for positive employment outcomes for students with or without disabilities (Newman et al., 2011; Test et al., 2009). In recent years, there has been an increase of students with disabilities participating in PSE. Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) have had the lowest enrollment rate of all the disability categories in PSE programs (Newman et al. (2010). This project examined the perceptions of parents and their young adults with ID regarding PSE. Participants included parents of young adults with ID and their young adults who were attending a PSE program on a college campus …

Burning Community Integration And Disability, Christopher Shane Brace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with anxiety and depression have always been marginalized and stigmatized. Individuals with “hidden” disabilities are encouraged by society to keep them hidden, or face ridicule and persecution. Society decreases their sense of self-worth, and self-efficacy by destroying any perception of normalcy. Social support resources are vital for individuals with anxiety and depression’s continued mental health. As time goes on the individuals experience a decrease in the amount of available resources, at the same time the need for them increases. These individuals need a way to quickly replenish their social resources and the Burning Man regional network creates a unique …

Training Non-Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Bcba) Behavior Specialists To Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses In Residential Settings, Devon S. Millington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated a process for identifying the reasons why a person with an intellectual disability has problem behaviors. This process is called a trial-based functional analysis (TBFA). The researchers wanted to know if a person who was not an expert behavior analyst could be trained to perform the TBFA and if the results obtained from the TBFA could be used to create a program to reduce the problem behavior of a person with an intellectual disability living in a community-based group home for persons with disabilities. The results of this study show that a person who is not an …

Supporting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Post-Secondary Education Settings: Common Barriers And Needed Accommodations And Supports, Ryan T. Paskins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are enrolling in colleges and universities at an increasing rate. Although there is greater attendance in PSE settings, the graduation rate of this population is below the standard average. Improved services to help these students achieve their college and university goals are needed. Disability service professionals provide services to these students, yet oftentimes are not prepared to do so. In an effort to take a step toward addressing this concern, the current study began the exploratory process of identifying whether services provided by campus disability resources centers (DRC) align with the best practices that …

The Effects Of Didactic Training & Behavioral Skills Training On Staff Implementation Of A Stimulus Preference Assessment With Adults With Disabilities, Sandra G. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study assessed the effects of BST and DT on the treatment integrity scores of four direct care staff (DCS) conducting a multiple stimulus without replacement assessment with confederates. A concurrent multiple baseline design showed that BST was effective in achieving mastery level treatment integrity scores for all participants and that these scores generalized to adults with disabilities and remained at mastery levels after a 2-week generalization phase.

Using Photographic Activity Schedules To Facilitate Independent Completion Of Academic Tasks For Young Children With Autism, Nicole Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to perform a series of academic tasks, like academic worksheets, independently. Photographic activity schedules are one technique that has been demonstrated to promote independent behavior in individuals with ASD. This study examined how activity schedules impacted the accurate and independent completion of a series of academic worksheets for three young children with ASD ages 6 and 7. Participants needed to performed a series of math and reading worksheets in the presence of an adult, but struggle to display those concepts accurately in the absence of an adult. Procedures involved training participants to …

Exploring The Career Satisfaction Of Counselor Educators, Regina R. Moro, Rebecca Scherer

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

In this article, the authors report counselor educators’ career satisfaction through a descriptive analysis. Seventy-five counselor educators from all across the United States completed an online demographic questionnaire and four self-report instruments related to career satisfaction in general, work environment, and mentorship experiences. The results indicate that counselor educators report satisfaction with most aspects of the job, but report dissatisfaction with pay/promotion and mentorship. This is important for consideration for current and future counselor educators, due to the amount of time and cost associated with obtaining a doctoral degree. The researchers discuss and suggest future research recommendations.