Education Commons^™

Does Teacher Bias Increase Referral Of Blacks To Special Education For A Reading Disability?, Blade Wise Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that Black students are over-represented in special education for a reading disability based on the inaccuracy of teacher referrals. Teachers' accuracy in referring Black students to special education for a reading disability is not an extensively researched area. This study aims to determine if teachers' biases and attitudes toward Black students impacted their ability to accurately make a special education referral for a reading disability for this population of students. For this study, teachers completed a questionnaire, cultural competence self-assessment checklist, four vignettes, and a post-vignette question to determine if their personal biases and attitudes impacted their willingness …

School Administrator Preparation In Special Education: A Cross-Case Analysis, Emily Ruiz

Dissertations

Special education has been part of public education for 46 years and has evolved considerably in that time. Despite improvements made in special education law, there remains a disconnect between law and current practices. Several studies suggest this disconnect is associated with administrators’ insufficient preparation for supporting special education in their schools.

This study utilized an explanatory sequential design to study Southern California school principals’ special education preparation. During the first phase of the study, the researcher emailed surveys to administrators who were selected using a stratified random sampling strategy. Unfortunately, the response rate was too low to employ the …

Collaborative Teaching And Inclusion In Northeast, Tn, Sherianne Pigeon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Collaborative teaching is a commonly used, research-based method to support inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, there is a lack of research describing current teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of collaborative teaching and inclusion. Results from a survey disseminated to teachers in Northeast TN school systems revealed that 64.3% of respondents have either never co-taught a class or have co-taught only one or two classes. Additionally, respondents agree that collaborative teaching is beneficial to support inclusion, enhance delivery of instruction, improve teacher relations and improve classroom management. However, teachers expressed collaborative teaching is more …

How Exemplary Special Education Administrators Lead From The Heart Using Mark Crowley’S Four Principles (Building A Highly Engaged Team, Connecting On A Personal Level, Maximizing Employee Potential, And Valuing And Honoring Achievements) To Accomplish Extraordinary Results In Their Schools, Aimee Barnard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how exemplary district-level special education administrators lead from the heart using Mark Crowley’s four principles (building a highly engaged team, connecting on a personal level, maximizing employee potential, and valuing and honoring achievements) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organizations.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences and specific ways in which district-level special education administrators implemented and used Crowley’s (2011) four principles of heart-led strategies to understand the specific experiences and actions of the district-level special education administrators in relation to Crowley’s leading from the heart framework. …

Cultivating Family Empowerment In Schools: The Experiences Of Marginalized Families In Special Education, Rachel-Marie F. Sinco

Honors Theses

The provision of special education services to special needs students is largely upheld by federal and state policies and regulations, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) which ensures that children with disabilities have the opportunity to access a free appropriate public education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). However, marginalized families of low-income and linguistically diverse backgrounds continue to face barriers and challenges to effectively participate in their child’s education and secure the necessary and appropriate services for their child. Family Empowerment Centers on Disability (FECs) in California provide a policy solution to assist families navigate …

Udl: Practicing What We Preach, Peter E.L. Temple

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of UDL in a special education program’s coursework and analyze how it affects college students outcomes beyond their classrooms. Past research has suggested that UDL has been increasingly used in college-level coursework design, and courses designed with UDL have higher reports of college student achievement. Based on the principles of UDL and andragogy, this study identified four central research questions. Specifically, a small qual/large quant mixed-method research design was used to investigate instructor utilization of the UDL principles, teacher candidate corroboration of UDL elements in their coursework, and an exploration …

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. …