Education Commons^™

Unveiling The Voices: Lived Experiences Of Adolescent Girls With Emotional Disturbance In Special Education, Jasmin Hagen

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

This dissertation addresses a significant gap in existing research by exploring lived experiences of cisgender female adolescents (Grades 7–12) diagnosed with emotional disturbance (ED) in the U.S. Current statistics indicate that 28% of students in special education with an ED diagnosis are girls; yet, their perspectives remain largely absent from scholarly discourse. Rooted in critical constructivism, critical feminist theory, and dis/ability studies and critical race theory (DisCrit), this qualitative study aims to elucidate insights that can enhance academic success and elevate high school graduation rates for this demographic. This research investigates the experiences of seven participants from New England, representing …

Defining Twice Exceptional Learners: A Study Of Self-Concept, Alyssa D. Landau

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2014, the first operational definition of twice exceptional (2e) learners was published in Gifted Child Quarterly to provide a clear and identifiable profile of the population (Reis, Baum, & Burke, 2014). The article defines 2e learners as, “students who demonstrate the potential for high achievement or creative productivity in one or more domains such as math, science, technology, the social arts, the visual, spatial, or performing arts or other areas of human productivity AND who manifest one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria” (Reis et al., 2014, p. 222-223). Publishing an operational definition of …

Have You Heard?: Increasing College Access And Success For Students With Disabilities, Michelle Trujillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on increasing college access and self-advocacy for students with disabilities in higher education and the resources available for them. This is important because students with disabilities deserve to attend college and obtain the support they need in order to be successful once in the institution and once they graduate. It is argued that there needs to be an increase in enrollment for students with disabilities in higher education. Considerations of the issue include the perspectives of a staff member from the community college who is in the disability resources department and a student …

Teaching Writing To Middle School Students With Disabilities: A Merc Research Brief, David Naff, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Julie S. Dauksys

MERC Publications

This research brief by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium explores peer reviewed literature about effective strategies for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities. It answers the following questions: 1) Why is it important to teach writing? 2) What is the nature of the challenge in teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? 3) What interventions help with teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities? and 4) What strategies are utilized in the MERC region for teaching writing to middle school students with disabilities?

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Special Education: A Case Study, Megan Cercone

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research project is to explore the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on special education by evaluating the experiences of one child with disabilities who attends public schools. METHODS: A semi-structured interview was conducted with the two parents of the child, who has physical disabilities and an IEP through his school, meaning he receives special education services through intervention teachers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. The interview was recorded and transcribed, and then interview transcripts were evaluated to identify themes in the subjects’ responses regarding their child’s experience with public education during the pandemic. …

Blended Or Differentiated Instruction For Inclusive Education During Post-Covid-19 Era: The Need For Upgrading School Libraries In Nigeria, Charity Onyishi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

With the socio-educational challenges posed by COVID-19, teaching-learning is gradually moving from face-to-face to digital and online distance learning across the world. This makes it generally challenging to meet the needs of all learners in the context of inclusive education. Increasing evidence tends to show that for effective inclusive learning, the hybrid blended approaches to learning should be differentiated. Further still is the fact that school libraries need to be upgraded with resources that meet the needs of diverse learners, and speak to the present hybridization in pedagogy and learning. A major impairing problem is the documented lack of …

University-Based Principal Preparation Programs In Texas In 2019: Where Is Special Education?, Ann Hoa Lê, Julie Peterson Combs

School Leadership Review

Most principal training programs in the United States focus very little on preparing aspiring instructional leaders to lead programs for students with disabilities. An examination of principal preparation programs and their SPED components is necessary at a time when standards have been revised and new certification exams have been constructed in Texas. To explore the presence of SPED topics in principal certification courses, we used a classical content analysis with a group of university-based principal preparation programs. Almost half of the universities in our study required 18 semester hours or fewer for principal certification, and none of these had course …

Disability Injustice: A Latino’S Creative Autoethnographic Testimonio On The Organizational Culture Of Higher Education, Leonel A. Diaz Jr.

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Using creative autoethnographic testimonio (CAT), a story is told about the injustices within the learning environment and work environment of higher education toward a person with disabilities: sleep apnea, learning disabilities, negative mental health. The author explores the health difficulties of addressing sleep deprivation while attending graduate school and working full-time as a professional. With sleep apnea impacting his health, his mental health declines. As his health declines, there is an increase in discrimination, hostility, oppression, bullying, and toxic masculinity. Initially, the medical system dismisses his declining health and refuses to look further into it. Once he receives medical care …

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

Support For Students With Disabilities: How Awareness And Accommodations Differ Across Faculty Members Within The Postsecondary Context, Toby Tomlinson Baker

Theses and Dissertations

This case study sought to determine the most salient needs of higher education faculty who instruct and accommodate students with disabilities (SWDs). Therefore, the faculty were analyzed as a community in a university setting. Currently, the accommodations that faculty provide for SWDs vary from institution to institution. Additionally, certain variables, such as faculty’s years with the university, budget, size, and location of the institution impact the level of support provided and what specific accommodations SWDs receive.The purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the current level of knowledge that faculty obtain for accommodating SWDs. …

Examination Of Online Accommodation Information For College Students With Disabilities In New England, Emily Rakers

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this study is to report on the status of information available to college students with disabilities on the websites of New England colleges’ centers for students with disabilities. Primarily, this study focused on information about the application process for a student to receive accommodations. Data was generated by compiling a list of common factors on the websites of centers for students with disabilities at colleges not in New England, and then searching the New England websites to see if they included these factors on their own websites. Three separate categories of schools were included in the study: …

Accessibility Across The Curriculum: An Oer Website On Accessibility, Amy Wolfe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This white paper shares my process for creating my OER website Accessibility Across the Curriculum, located at https://accessibilityacrosscurriculum.awolfeworks.com. This website is an Open Educational Resource (OER) learning object (LO) and learning object repository, conceived as a resource to increase general knowledge on accessibility and increase the teaching of accessibility. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, as a basic human right. One of the various definitions of Digital Humanities (DH) focuses on how DH integrates teaching and the use of technologies, online platforms, research methods, …

Teacher Perception Toward Students With Certain Disabilities In The General Education Setting, Tara Lynn Broussard-Harshaw

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

Teacher expectation for student success in the classroom is an effect size that can be used as an indicator of student success. Students with disabilities such as Autism, emotional disturbance, specific learning disabilities or other health impairments are often viewed as being unable to be as successful in a general education classroom than their peers. There were 11 participants in this study. Participants were from the northwest corridor of the state. Participants were public school general education teachers. They varied in range from Kindergarten through grade 12. This study reinforces the need for general education teachers to have a better …

Middle Level Education Aims For Equity And Inclusion, But Do Our School Websites Meet Ada Compliance?, John A. Huss

Middle Grades Review

An often-overlooked component of a middle school website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. In support of the belief that support the belief that inclusive education and respect for diversity should be integrated throughout the school, this study investigated the accessibility of middle school websites in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio by selecting a random sample of 150 schools and analyzing their homepages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating …

2019 Accessibility Roundtable Customer Service Planning, Annie Bélanger

Presentations

Accessibility permeates all aspects of our public-facing work. Being accessible is in every aspect of workflow development and application for user services and support. Many more than the manager are involved in the development and application of our guidelines, practices and procedures. It is everyone’s responsibility.

The session covered:

• What is accessibility?
• Accessible Customer Service
  • Leading Practices
  • Practical approaches to delivery
  • Planning with Accessibility in Mind
  • Resources to learn more about accessibility in libraries

The session is premised on goal of accessibility, or moving beyond compliance. As such, accessible means that a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity …

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 …

International Day Of Persons With Disabilities, Otterbein University

Social Justice & Activism

International Day of Persons with Disabilities, sanctioned by the United Nations, aims to promote understanding of the issues experienced by people with disabilities, celebrate their achievements, and mobilize support for an inclusive community.

Otterbein held a panel discussion in the library on this topic.

Using Argument-Based Science Inquiry To Improve Science Achievement For Students With Disabilities In Inclusive Classrooms, Jonte C. Taylor, Ching-Mei Tseng, Angelique Murillo, William Therrien, Brian Hand

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities have long lagged behind their non-disabled peers when it comes to science achievement. The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, the Next Generation Science Standards are asking teachers and students to better understand how science is connected to the everyday world through the use of …

The Effect Of Project-Based Poetry Writing Intervention On Writing Attitudes Among Students With Severe Learning Disabilities, John M. Bonanni

The Graduate Review

Writing attitudes of three learners with severe disabilities were surveyed in a substantially separate special education classroom within a public school in Massachusetts in order to determine the effect on learners’ writing attitudes after a project-based creative writing intervention in poetry. Writing skills were measured using teacher-created rubrics and attitudes were measured using pre and post survey data. Primary diagnoses of students involved included Intellectual Impairment, Autism, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Findings indicated that the intervention was most successful for the student with autism, moderately successful for the student with Traumatic Brain Injury, and not successful for the student with …

A Study Of Kentucky School District Websites: They’Re Colorful And Informative….But Are They Ada Compliant?, John A. Huss, Shannon Eastep

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

An often-overlooked component of a school district website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. This study investigated the accessibility of school district websites in Kentucky by selecting a random sample of 50 school districts and analyzing their home pages using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator), which reports accessibility violations by annotating a copy of the page that was evaluated and presenting embedded icons and indicators to disclose breaches with ADA. Out of 50 districts, …

The Book Trailer Project: Media Production Within An Integrated Classroom, Karen Festa

Journal of Media Literacy Education

A special education co-teacher in an integrated elementary classroom describes key aspects of media literacy pedagogy for all students, including opportunities for critical analysis and creative media production. After elementary school students learned about author’s craft, purpose, theme/message, three types of writing, and target audience, they began looking at these elements using Super Bowl ads and participated in rich discussions which demonstrated their analysis and reflection on advertising. Students created a book trailer project, working in small groups to create videos to promote a book written by a local author and illustrator. Such work bridges gaps in social-emotional development, communication …

Digital Media Production To Support Literacy For Secondary Students With Diverse Learning Abilities, April Marie Leach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Producing digital media is a hands-on, inquiry-based mindful process that naturally embeds Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into literacy instruction, providing options for learning and assessment for a wide array of students with diverse learning abilities. Video production learning experiences acknowledge the cognitive talents of some students labeled “disabled.” For some, the discovery of personal abilities activated when learning through the production process may motivate deeper learning. Although challenges of access, quality of teacher preparation and assessment strategies represent significant challenges, digital media production learning experiences offer diverse learners a rich, socially interactive environment that models open communication and …

A Path To Academic Success: Learning Disabilities, Finding A Way, John S. Cooper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will highlight the difficulties students with learning disabilities have in the post-secondary environment. Special interest is given to how colleges and universities help these students become successful and graduate from college. Two universities are examined, the University of the Ozarks and the University of Arkansas. Each school has its own programs that provide accommodations to students with learning disabilities. The thesis will follow a student from each university, as they attend classes and Social activities.

A Quantitative Analysis Of Virginia Public School Special Education Due Process Cases And Their Resolutions From 2004-2016, Valerie Beaudoin-Saunders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Special education-related lawsuits are a concern to school systems. They are time-consuming, expensive, and contentious. School and parental relationships become strained when litigation is involved. This study analyzed data from the Virginia Department of Education’s due process database over a 12-year period of time to note common disabilities involved in special education litigation. Specific characteristics from each case were noted to determine if there was a trend in the frequency of due process cases: the sex, grade, age, disability, and outcome. The data was obtained from the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services. The purpose …

Educating Students With Visual Impairments In The General Education Setting, Kerri Janae Johnson-Jones

Dissertations

This research study was aimed at describing the experiences of visually impaired students and their teachers about their experiences within the general education setting. The purpose of this study was to collect and report interview data, corroborated with observational data in order to provide rich, descriptive data based on the participants’ experiences. A case study approach was used to gather the data in a naturalistic setting. In this case study, all student participants were individuals with visual impairments along the spectrum of being legally blind.

Findings of this study revealed four emerging themes that produced evidence of the unique participant’s …

“There Is Nothing Inherently Mysterious About Assistive Technology”: A Qualitative Study About Blind User Experiences In Us Academic Libraries, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

Eighteen academic library users who are blind were interviewed about their experiences with academic libraries and the libraries’ websites using an open-ended questionnaire and recorded telephone interviews. The study approaches these topics from a user-centered perspective, with the idea that blind users themselves can provide particularly reliable insights into the issues and potential solutions that are most critical to them. Most participants used reference librarians’ assistance, and most had positive experiences. High-level screen reader users requested help with specific needs. A larger number of participants reported contacting a librarian because of feeling overwhelmed by the library website. In some cases, …

An Examination Of Accessible Hands-On Science Learning Experiences, Self-Confidence In One’S Capacity To Function In The Sciences, And Motivation And Interest In Scientific Studies And Careers., Mick D. Isaacson, Cary Supalo, Michelle Michaels, Alan Roth

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This study examined the potential relationship of accessible hands-on science learning experiences to the development of positive beliefs concerning one’s capacity to function in the sciences and motivation to consider science as a college major and career. Findings from Likert survey items given before and after engaging in accessible hands-on science laboratories show that students who were blind or had low vision (BLV) were more likely to agree with the following items after engaging in accessible science experiences: 1) I plan on enrolling as a science major in college; 2) My educational experiences, so far, have given me the …

Wheels Of Fortune: The Economic Impacts Of Wheelchair Provision In Ethiopia, Justin L. Grider, Bruce Wydick

Economics

Although approximately 1 billion people in the world live with physical disabilities, there is a lack of rigorous research on the economic impacts of providing assistive devices for persons with disabilities. This study involves 261 people with disabilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where 121 had received wheelchair donations through nonprofit organisations. Using covariate matching (CVM), seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) and a series of robustness checks for endogeneity, it is found that those given access to a wheelchair devoted 1.75 more hours per day to work, 1.40 fewer hours per day to street begging and realised a 77.5 per cent increase …

Technology, Diversity, Web Accessibility, And Ala Accreditation Standards In Mlis, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

This paper discusses an interconnection between diversity and technology: web accessibility for all, including people with disabilities. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight MLIS professors and two students or recent alumni. Findings showed attitudes regarding teaching web accessibility and recruitment of a diverse student body varied between professors who were familiar with web accessibility and those who were not. Participants who were familiar with web accessibility often thought it should be included within ALA Standards for Accreditation. Findings suggested that, in one school, incorporating diversity in their curriculum, including web accessibility, allowed recruitment of a more diverse student body and …

Combating Autism Reauthorization Act Of 2014, Kassandra Mores

Policy Analysis

On May 9, 2014, Representative Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Doyle (D-PA) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act (H.R. 4631) for five years. Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) are planning to introduce a Senate bill of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act. The Combating Autism Act of 2011, due to sunset September 30, 2014, provides federal funding for autism research, public education, and early detection and intervention in Maine. We are hoping that you will consider voting in support of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act.