Education Commons^™

Benefits Of Therapeutic Recreation For Young Adults With Special Needs, Summer L. Esseff

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There are many benefits of therapeutic recreations; however, due to the lack of knowledge about the organizations and services available, many young adults with special needs are not able to fully participate within the community. The purpose of this project is to discover those benefits specifically for people who have special needs. Through a vast literature review and several interviews among local therapeutic recreation organizations, the findings indicate that therapeutic recreation provide many benefits that contribute to a person's physical, social, and all around quality of life and well-being.

A Mother's Spiritual Journey With Her Disabled Son: An Autoethnography, Margaret C. Higgins Edd

Dissertations

Abstract

This autoethnographic research delves into a mother’s experiences with her disabled son over thirty-five years. Beginning with a thick description of the crib accident that resulted in physical and cognitive disabilities that profoundly change the course of both mother and son’s life, this research chronicles the search for meaning, community, and healing as they negotiate the realms of medicine, education, career, family, and spirituality. Models of disability that seek to explain various ways in which society often views disability are examined, but none resonate with the researcher’s intimate experiences nor satisfies her deepest needs for insight and healing. Making …

A Qualitative Study Analysis On How Utilizing A Token Economy Impacts Behavior And Academic Success, Solomon Defrancis Dr.

Dissertations

Utilizing a qualitative study analysis, this study examines how behavior impacts academic success utilizing a token economy with students who suffer from emotional disturbance disorder. Through focus groups of para educators, therapists and teachers on special education settings, there will be a comparative analysis of behavior and academic success. The study will consist of six education sites throughout the Antelope Valley: A kindergarten through eighth grade (Yellen Learning Center), a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary (Valley View Elementary), a seventh through eighth grade intermediate school (Joe Walker) and three high schools that are ninth through twelfth grade (Desert Pathways, Palmdale …

Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Special Education: Teacher And Outcome Proficiency Self-Rating Form Ensuring Assessment Competency, Tyler Edward Herman

Graduate Education Student Scholarship

This Master’s project investigated current research literature for prevailing prereferral and referral processes of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students to special education evaluation. To that end, this Master’s project sought to strengthen the validity of the referral process for CLD students by creating a self-rating form to guide teachers in accurately differentiating CLD students who are in need of receiving special education services from those who do not need such services. The self-rating form is founded on three competencies of multicultural teacher efficacy and requires teachers to reflect on classroom-level, team collaboration, prereferral, and referral practices. Limitations and suggestions …

Raising A Child With A Severe Disability: The Impact On Parents And Siblings, Kathleen A. Packingham

Culminating Projects in Special Education

A review of 10 recent studies that reported on the effects of raising a child with a severe disability. The paper examines the effects of stress on parents raising a child with a severe disability, as well as outcomes for siblings being raised in the same households. Mothers reported higher daily parenting hassles and stress than did fathers. Maladaptive behaviors were the biggest contributing factor to increased stress in the family. Positive coping strategies and increased service utilization lead to decrease in stress and increase in positive outcomes.

Analysis Of African American And White American Cognitive Profiles For Language And Cultural Influences, Nicole Jones

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Abstract

One of the most concerning aspects of special education is the overrepresentation of African American minority youth receiving special education services. Samuel Ortiz and colleagues considered the issue of the representation of the Latino, English Language Learner (ELL) population in special education services based on cognitive performance in relation to the mainstream population. To target this concern they determined an estimated level of expected cognitive performance of ELL’s and impact of language and cultural differences to help eligibility teams more appropriately interpret and place students with the aid of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) model they developed. The current …

Inclusive Settings: Rti In The General Education Classroom, Brittany Graves

Honors Projects

The premise of this study was derived upon seeing a severe need for professional development in my current field work experience. I set out to determine a possible solution to the lack of cohesion among general and special educators evident in my local school district. This small town rural school is looking to expand RTI, and intervention technique, to decrease gaps in education for at risk students. With issues of cohesion and professional development evident, I collected and analyzed data in order to determine a way the school district can still incorporate and expand their Response to Intervention (RTI) practices. …

Perceived Relevance Of Special Education Performance Indicators: Teacher Excellence And Support System, Tiffany Kristin Mrla

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A study was conducted to investigate the perceived relevance of using a teacher evaluation rubric with performance indicators specific to special education services in place of the standard rubric for teachers used in the State of Arkansas Teacher Excellence Support System (TESS). Through a multi-method approach, the perceptions of special education teachers and administrators regarding implementation of the current model, the significance of perceived differences in pedagogical factors, and potential barriers to effective implementation were identified. This was achieved through survey, interviews, and observations.

Special education teachers and administrators in a given school district were sent a brief survey to …

Inclusive Early Childhood Classroom Management Plan, Megan Janosky

Honors Projects

Effective classroom management is essential in order for any classroom to run smoothly. However, this topic is largely overlooked by many current classroom teachers and those who are training emerging teachers in university programs. Therefore, the purpose of this plan is to provide research-based procedures, routines, and systems that will set a positive foundation for learning and keep my classroom, and those of others, running smoothly all year long. In order for effective learning to take place, the classroom environment must be set-up and managed in such a way that enables students to focus on learning. Having a pre-developed plan …

Self-Regulation To Practice: Incorporating The Strategy To An Early Childhood Special Education Setting, Kathryn L. Szwed

Open Access Dissertations

Preschool students who display social emotional deficits pose challenging issues for families, caregivers and teachers who educate them. In this study, the effectiveness of an assistive technology based treatment package consisting of video self-modeling and behavior management software was investigated to determine if its combined use would result in increased student self-regulation skills. Using a multiple baseline design, three students used the treatment package to increase self-regulation skills. During the investigation, the accuracy to self-identify behaviors, the documentation of desired and undesired behaviors and the overall impact of the treatment package was studied. Interobserver agreement (IOA) was used to determine …

Implementing The Unified English Braille Code: Perspectives Of Teachers Of Students With Visual Impairments, Laura Leigh Bostick

Doctoral Dissertations

With change process theory as a framework, the researcher used the diagnostic tools of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model to investigate both the concerns and behaviors of teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) during the transition to Unified English Braille (UEB). Quantitative data from the Stages of Concern Questionnaire and qualitative data from Open-Ended Concerns Statements and Levels of Use interview transcripts were consolidated to address the research questions: (1) What are TVIs' attitudes and beliefs toward the transition to UEB? and (2) To what extent are TVIs currently using UEB?

Participants were limited to TVIs in one southern state. …