Education Commons^™

Disproportionality Of Black Males In Special Education: A Case Study Analysis Of Educator Perceptions In A Southeastern Urban High School, Artese Ja'donn Mccrae

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Disproportionality is the overrepresentation and/or underrepresentation of a specific population or demographic group including gender, race/ethnicity, or socioeconomic class in special education programs relative to the group’s presence in the overall student body. Research suggested that the overrepresentation of Black male students in special education is the result of subjective testing practices and eligibility processes that stem from societal beliefs and staff biases rather than objective measures used to diagnose the presence of specific disabilities. While Black male students are historically overrepresented in special education, the concern is that the inappropriate placement of Black male students is a form of …

Training Peer Mentors In Reinforcement And Modeling With Prompting (Ramp): Using Mixed Reality Simulation To Encourage Social Reciprocity Skills In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jasmine V. Sadler

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can face many challenges, including limited ability in social reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests as a result of the disorder (APA, 2013). This hinders their ability to build and maintain friendships in the same manner as their typically developing peers and affects their interactions, speech and language abilities, and emotional regulation (Whitman & DeWitt, 2011). Peer Mentors (PMs) are trained to support the development of these skills as part of the Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) evidence-based practice (EBP). However, and explicit training program is not always …

Conceptualizing One’S Self-Efficacy As Advocate: Parents’ Perceptions As Embodied In Social And Cultural Capitals, Karmen Binion

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to understand and generate theory relevant to educator-parents’ and non-educator parents’ perceptions of their efficacy as advocates for their own child(ren) with exceptionalities, as embodied in social and cultural capitals, as espoused by Bourdieu (1986). The present study was guided by the following research questions: How do educator-parents and non-educator parents perceive their efficaciousness as advocates for their own children with exceptionalities? How do educator-parents and non-educator parents construct the narrative of their efficaciousness as advocates as embodied in cultural and/or social capital?

Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2000, 2006) was chosen for the …

Students’ Perspectives On Their Learning Experiences Within An Inclusive Secondary Mathematics Setting, Cleopatra Sorina Iliescu

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Students’ perspectives in learning mathematics are important considerations in education yet few studies document their insights. The current investigation used a case-study design and interviews, drawings, clarifying discussions, and focus group interview data collection methods to capture detailed perspectives of high school students with disabilities while learning mathematics. Document data was used to substantiate students’ achievement information and the impact of their disability, if any, on their experiences in learning mathematics. The sample of participants consisted of four self-selected high school students, from two inclusive Advanced Algebra classrooms. Three major tenets of Vygotsky’s (1978) framework were used to analyze the …

Experiences With And Conceptions Of School Discipline And Pbis Implementation: A Phenomenography Of Fifteen Students With Disabilities In One Title I Middle School, Osman Khan

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

In this phenomenographical study, fifteen students with disabilities from one middle-grades setting were recruited to explore the qualitative different ways they experience and conceive of exclusionary discipline (i.e., in-school suspension (ISS), out-school suspension (OSS), and detention) and Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). The participants engaged in interviews and produced two (2) visual representations to investigate the following research questions: (1) How do students with disabilities experience and conceive of school discipline?; (2) How do students with disabilities experience and conceive the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS); and (3) In what ways can voices of students with …

Collaborative Pull-Out Literacy Classroom For Dually Served Students, Mandy Sitten

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

This descriptive study examines the effectiveness of a collaboratively-taught classroom literacy skills and language acquisition delivery collaborative classroom for middle school students who receive both special education and ESOL services. Limited research was found on best practices for teaching dually-served students, yet a noticeable increase of evidence indicates that ELs with disabilities require accommodations for language development and/or modifications for their disability in order to achieve academic success. This research combines theories of additional language acquisition and special education to show their relationship to the needs of dually-served students; it will address problems of serving ELs with disabilities. This research …

Students’ Perceptions Of Factors Related To Transition Planning That Support Their Pursuit Of Postsecondary Education, Nancy Johal Singh

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to understand the influence that transition planning had on the pursuit of postsecondary education based on the perceptions of students with disabilities. The present study was guided by the following research question: What factors related to transition planning support high school students with disabilities in their pursuit of postsecondary education? A qualitative research design involving case study methods was chosen for the six-month investigation. The essential reason for utilizing case study methods was to provide rich data using a smaller sample size of participants. The participants in the present study included three first-year …

Voices From The Margin: A Qualitative Study On The Perspectives Of Economically Disadvantaged, Black Students Identified As Learning Disabled, Nadine Duncan

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

This study explores the perspectives of four economically disadvantaged, Black students who have been labeled as learning disabled and placed in the Special Education program. The voices of the students interviewed are used to develop unique, first-hand understandings of the cause of disproportionality among poor, Black children in Special Education with a learning dis/ability. Results from the data collected through individual and group interviews suggest that students do not regard themselves as dis/abled as they find themselves capable of learning and executing non-academic tasks that relate to their lived reality. Therefore, I argue that a historical, and therefore systemic, devaluation …

An Investigation Into The Learning Experiences Of Adolescents With Perceived Dual Exceptionalities Within Gifted And Special Education Middle Grades Settings, Whitney Bailey

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

Students who possess both a disability and characteristics of giftedness are referred to as students with dual exceptionalities. This paradoxical relationship of disability and giftedness creates a challenge for teachers and students, particularly in schools that do not have a specific program for students with dual exceptionalities. Most of these students typically receive the majority of their instruction either within a special education program, or a gifted education program. Students with perceived dual exceptionalities are often able to mask their disabilities with strengths in other major areas. The students in this investigation have all demonstrated strong talent in mathematics. They …

Educators’ Perceptions Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication To Facilitate Communication Among Preschool Students With Disabilities, Honey Meadows

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how preschool educators perceive augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and how those perceptions influence AAC utilization in preschool classrooms. Specifically, this investigation focused on gaining better understandings about educators’ views, beliefs, and attitudes about AAC utilization to facilitate communication. Semistructured, open-ended interviews, classroom observations, and document review were the data collection sources used. Findings suggest that preschool special educators value the use of AAC and understand the basic human right for all students to participate. However, special education teachers and special education paraprofessionals perceive their roles and responsibilities, as communicative …

A Discrit Narrative Case Study: How Are The Cards Stacked In Alternative School For African American Students With Disabilities?, Cherry Stanard

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative narrative case study is to develop a better understanding of how African American students with disabilities in alternative schools make sense of their educational journeys. Critical race theory and disability studies (DisCrit) is used as a framework for the investigation of (a) the process of being identified as a student with disabilities and (b) behavioral factors associated with placement in the alternative school environment, and (c) how students develop characteristics of resiliency in the alternative school environment. Five African American students with disabilities who were currently attending or who had previously attended alternative school were …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …