Education Commons^™

Workplace Incivility Toward Individuals With Disabilities, Secure Attachment Style, And Mental Health: Focus On Mediator And Moderator Effects, Mia Heikkila

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the value of workplace civility, civility has been replaced by social exchanges that include statements and behaviors deemed largely unacceptable and undeniably rude. One type of rude behavior that appears innocuous is called workplace incivility, yet incivility disturbs efficient functioning among employees, intensifies work stress, and poses a grave financial hazard to an organization. Literature expressly on incivility toward individuals with disabilities is virtually non-existent, although emerging literature reveals that employees with disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing workplace mistreatment vis-à-vis employees without disabilities. This quantitative study investigated the role of workplace incivility with respect to individuals …

Persistence Among Emerging Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury In Postsecondary Settings, Ardith A. Clayton-Wright

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study sought to investigate the demographic and socio-psychological factors associated with predicting persistence in postsecondary education among emerging adults with traumatic brain injury. The predicting variables in this study were: (a) gender (sex), (b) socioeconomic status (SES), (c) employment, (d) years of education; (e) age at onset of injury, (f) existence of familial capital/parental involvement, and (g) hours spent studying for a class.

Data were obtained from a secondary dataset collected by the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Data and Statistical Center longitudinal database. There were 2436 participants with TBI in the study. Ages ranged from 16 …

Evaluating The Effects Of Utilizing A Mobile Device By Transitioning High School Students With Intellectual Disability To Locate Items From A Grocery List And Improve Their Independence, Vanessa Gil

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) struggle to learn daily living skills (DLS) required for independent living. One specific skill set that is challenging for individuals with ID is grocery shopping. The current study is one of two investigations that have been undertaken entirely in the community and without the use of booster session simulations in a classroom.

This study investigated the effects of using least-to-most prompting and mobile technology as a tool to assist 18 to 22-year-old adult students with ID to find six items from a grocery-shopping list. Dependent measures included the number of task steps completed correctly, selecting …

Examining The Relationships Between Gender Role Congruity, Identity, And The Choice To Persist For Women In Undergraduate Physics Majors, Bronwen Bares Pelaez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Persistent gender disparity limits the available contributors to advancing some science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. While higher education can be an influential time-point for ensuring adequate participation, many physics programs across the U.S. have few women in classroom or lab settings. Prior research indicates that these women face considerable barriers. For university students, faculty, and administration to appropriately address these issues, it is important to understand the experiences of women as they navigate male-dominated STEM fields.

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored undergraduate female physics majors’ experiences with their male-dominated academic and research spaces in the U.S. …

Teachers As Facilitators Or Barriers Of Parent Involvement: Experiences Of African American Mothers Of Children In Special Education Programs, Princess Briggs

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parents in disenfranchised groups, namely African American parents of children with special needs, are less likely to be involved in their child’s education, although involvement is associated with positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate African American parents’ perceptions of special education programs, of teacher actions, and of school policies that influence parent involvement of African American parents of children with special needs.

A phenomenological study was conducted with 15 African American mothers of children with special needs. These parents participated in individual face-to-face interviews, which included a discussion of the child’s Individualized Education Plan. Audio …

Examining The Relationship Between Fidelity Of Implementation Of Accommodations For Students With Specific Learning Disabilities In Mathematics And Student Achievement In High School Algebra I Inclusion Classes, Belinda Baptiste

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are educated in general education classrooms. As a result, these students are faced with more challenging instructional curricula. Although some students with SLD perform as well in mathematics as students without disabilities, most perform below state standards despite being provided instructional and testing accommodations. Policy makers have envisioned the implementation of instructional accommodations as a primary means of ensuring an appropriate education (Mcleskey, Hoppey, Williamson & Rentz, 2004; Scalon & Baker, 2012) for students with disabilities in general education classrooms (Mc Guire, Scott, & Shaw, 2006). The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto …

Beyond Special And General Education As Identity Markers: The Development And Validation Of An Instrument To Measure Preservice Teachers’ Understanding Of The Effects Of Intersecting Sociocultural Identities, Mildred Boveda

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intersectionality can advance an understanding of the gap created by the lack of an integrated treatment of diversity in teacher preparation research. Intersectionality is a frame that explores the complexities of the interactions of markers of difference. It holds great potential as a concept for preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity because it can inform collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders and facilitate preservice teachers’ understanding of diverse learners. The researcher uses the term “intersectional competence” to describe preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity and how students, families, and colleagues have multiple sociocultural markers that intersect in nuanced and unique ways. In this …

Peers As An Academic Resource: An Investigation Of An Afterschool Program To Socialize At-Risk Students With Disabilities Into Greater Academic Engagement, Cynthia Pellegrini-Lafont

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most evident signs that a child is on the path to dropping out of [BT1] school is disengagement from school (Kortering & Christenson, 2009). Given the amount of time that young people spend with their peers and the influence that peers have (Monahan, Steinberg, & Caufman, 2009), there is a need to better understand the role that peers play in the decision to drop out of school (Farmer, Estell, Leug, Trott, Biship, & Caims, 2003). Using Ericson’s stages of psychosocial development (1956), social identity theory, and self-categorization theory as a framework, an afterschool program in the form …

A Descriptive Case Study Examining The Perceptions Of Haitian American Parents And The Perceptions Of Their Children’S Teachers On The Parents’ Involvement In A Structured Parent Intervention Program, Kristina M. Taylor

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement is legally mandated requirement in schools across the United States, and prevalent in special education legislation. However, methods for increasing and promoting parent involvement of minority subgroups in low socioeconomic areas are scarce. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and describe Haitian parents’ perceptions of their involvement in a structured parent intervention program and to describe the perceptions of their children’s teachers concerning the parents’ involvement in the program.

In this study, the researcher used a descriptive qualitative case study methodology. All participants in the 5-month program implementation were interviewed at three points throughout the …

High School Content-Area Teachers’ Responses To An Exploratory, Investigative, And Experimental Professional Development Program For Content Area Literacy, Laura E. Ferreira Vesga

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent literacy rates for students who struggle, particularly those with disabilities are alarming, especially in light of increased educational standards. As higher standards place a greater emphasis on reading and writing, addressing students’ literacy needs in the content areas has become a topic of interest in reading education. Although there is much debate about how to address this need, it is clear that content area teachers need support addressing literacy in their subject areas.

An exploratory case study design was used to examine the responses of high school content area teachers to an EIE (exploratory, investigative, and experimental) professional development …

Students With Physical Disabilities - Reflections On Their Experiences With Work Preparation Programs, Services And Accommodations In A Higher Education Institution, Claudia Castillo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a variety of reasons, college students with disabilities encounter stressors beyond those of students who do not have disabilities. One of the more salient examples is that students with disabilities are required to disclose that they have a disability and to communicate with faculty and staff in order to receive academic accommodations, as afforded to them under sub-part E of Section 504 of the Education and Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Therefore, postsecondary institutions are required to make appropriate accommodations available to students with disabilities, but they are not required to proactively seek them out.

The purpose of this study …

The Relationship Of Instructor Technical Literacy To The Academic Performance Of Students In Career Academies, Jorge Gomez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Career Academy instructors’ technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students.

Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers’ technology use …

The Effects Of Self-Monitoring On Homework Completion And Accuracy Rates Of Students With Disabilities In An Inclusive General Education Classroom, Carol Ann Falkenberg

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of self-monitoring on the homework completion and accuracy rates of four, fourth-grade students with disabilities in an inclusive general education classroom. A multiple baseline across subjects design was utilized to examine four dependent variables: completion of spelling homework, accuracy of spelling homework, completion of math homework, accuracy of math homework. Data were collected and analyzed during baseline, three phases of intervention, and maintenance. Throughout baseline and all phases, participants followed typical classroom procedures, brought their homework to school each day and gave it to the general education teacher. During Phase I of the intervention, participants …

The Effects Of The Use Of Technology In Mathematics Instruction On Student Achievement, Ron Y. Myers

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students’ mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of these schools were randomly selected for this study. Each school sent a teacher to a summer in-service training program on how to use GSP to teach geometry. In each school, the GSP class and a traditional geometry class taught by the same teacher were the study participants. Students’ mathematics …

Middle School Teachers Perspectives On Inclusion: A Qualitative Study, James M. Cooney

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, research has placed considerable emphasis on developing a systematic body of knowledge about education in which little voice has been given to teachers themselves. The critical role that teachers play in this generative process such as reflecting, acting and theorizing upon practices that shape life in the classroom has largely been ignored in favor of technical innovation and organizational procedure. As schools straggle to reform and restructure, an understanding of how teachers interpret their practices in context and how the culture of schools influence, constrain, or encourage these practices become critical aspects of school success or failure.

This study …