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A Case Study: The Influence Of Professional Development, Administrative Support, And Co-Planning On Teacher Perceptions Of Co-Teaching., Heidi Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a case study methodology investigating the influence of professional development, administrator support, and co-planning on teacher perceptions of co-teaching. My interest in co-teaching increased as a former special education teacher after implementing co-teaching strategies in my own practice. As defined by the Kentucky Administrative Regulations, Collaboration means, a teacher of exceptional children works with children with disabilities in the regular classroom to provide specially designed instruction and related services (707 KAR 1:350, Section 2). Oftentimes, Collaboration and Co-Teaching may be used interchangeably. For the purpose of this study, the term Co-Teaching will be used throughout. The goal …

Attitudes About Inclusivity Among Preservice Educators: A Mixed Methods Approach, Kathleen M. Quinn

Theses & Dissertations

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) became the first enacted policy that led the fight against ableism, providing students with disabilities the right to public education. In 2004, this policy became known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which included these major components supporting the policy of inclusion: Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Individual Education Plans (IEP), and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). This study highlights how teacher preparation programs are pivotal in preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusion. The data for this study was collected and analyzed based on quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with …

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (Idea) Workforce Shortage, 2022-2023 Cohort Of New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education In Neurodevelopmental And Related Disabilities (Nh-Me Lend) Program Trainees

Policy Analysis

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), our nation’s special education law, ensures special education and related services to children with disabilities. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) was created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities are able to access free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This act was reauthorized as IDEA in 1990. One in every seven students in the United States receives special education services through the IDEA, requiring a large, highly qualified special education workforce to support students’ rights to FAPE. Highly qualified personnel provide specialized …

Special Education Administrators' Understanding And Influences On Least Restrictive Environment Within The Seventh Circuit Court System, Tiffany Amber Frey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Special education services provided in public schools today are rooted in the Federal Law passed in 1975 known as the Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA). Since 1975 this law has undergone revisions, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) but law provided the foundation to guarantee all public-school children the right to a free and appropriate public education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The federal court system served as an avenue for parents and school officials to settle disagreements around IDEA. The objective of the study was to determine Illinois special education administrators understanding …

Implications Of A Reverse Inclusion Program For Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities, Linda Kaempfer Baker

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Reverse Inclusion is an intermediary step to full inclusion. Reverse Inclusion is a program of scheduled interaction with typically developing students from the general education population working with students with moderate to severe disabilities in a self-contained special education classroom. This action research study reviews the potential benefits of a Reverse Inclusion Program to general education or typically developing third grade students. Reverse Inclusion is designed to foster positive peer interaction and positive peer support along with modeling desirable school appropriate behaviors among the participating students. Key findings of this study include: 1) regularly scheduled, structured contact between typically developing …

Attitudes Of Secondary School Principals Toward Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In General Education Classes, Charles Watson Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher's purpose of this study was to recognize perceptions of principals toward inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms in secondary schools in the state of Georgia. The researcher administered to 405 with e-mail address of the 448 principals of public high schools in Georgia a modified Principals and Inclusion Survey (2000) developed by Dr. Cindy L Praisner. Returned surveys included 102 principals' complete portions of the survey with 98 completing all portion of the survey. Data gathered with this survey were used to determine the current perceptions of secondary school principals related to their experience, attitude, …

The Multicolored Patchwork Portraiture Of An Effective Veteran High School Special Education Teacher Amidst The Tempest Of The High Stakes Testing Movement, Vaughn Bicehouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This single-subject study used the art and science of portraiture to illuminate a veteran special education teacher who is meeting the needs of her students with disabilities. This qualitative study was not done for the purposes of generalization but rather to show how this remarkable and effective special educator acts as an inspirational educational leader and inspires both her students and her fellow teachers.

The movement to hold schools accountable for the educational performance of students with disabilities is fairly new in the United States. Since the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) in 1975, …

Perceptions Of Special Education And General Education Teachers On Co-Teaching Of Students With Disabilities In Outheast Georgia School Systems, Deborah Richardson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher's purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of co-teaching by special education and general education teachers, and how those perceptions make the implementation of co-teaching for students with disabilities in the general education classroom successful. The study examined teacher perceptions on training for co-teaching, recommended practices for co-teaching, and supports needed for the co-teaching team. The researcher administered a Likert-scale survey, Perceptions of Co-Teaching Survey developed by Vance Austin (2001) to 45 special education and 98 general education teachers with co-teaching experience from three school districts in southeast Georgia. Teacher perceptions in three different areas were addressed: …