Education Commons^™

Peer-Mediated Interventions To Improve The Transition Behavior Of Children And Young Adolescents With Disabilities: A Systematic Review Of 50 Years Of Literature, Jorge A. Sandoval

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the research available on the use of peer-mediated instruction and interventions (PMIIs) to improve the transition behavior of children and young adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disorders (IDD). PMIIs are evidence-based practices that involve the use of peers without disabilities to engage children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in positive and meaningful social interactions. The use of PMIIs is founded is on the premise that practitioners can use an individual with ASD/IDD’s possible response to a peer or peer’s social initiation as a teaching tool (McConnell, 2002). …

Exploring Latinx Parents’ Experiences With Special Education: Developing A Community-Based Workshop To Empower Latinx Parents Of Children In Special Education, Gabriela Alejandra Perez

Doctoral Dissertations

Parent involvement has been found to be predictive of successful student learning. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents are required to be active participants in the development of their child’s special education. Latinx parents of children in special education face various challenges when it comes to parent involvement. A sample size of seven Latinx mothers with children in special education participated in this study, whose aim was to examine Latinx parents’ experiences in navigating the special education process and to identify and explore culturally responsive interventions that can increase parents’ participation and advocacy for their children with …

Conceptualization And Operationalization Of College Readiness For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Study With Transition Stakeholders, Jordan A. Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations

The poor success rates of students with learning disabilities transitioning to postsecondary education signal that special education transition services, as currently delivered, are failing to prepare students adequately for the demands and expectations they face in college. To date, transition research has provided limited guidance for IEP team members and other stakeholders charged with preparing students with learning disabilities for success in higher education. Furthermore, existing literature is nearly silent on the process of postsecondary education transition service decision-making, and team member understanding of college readiness. I use constructivist grounded theory and semi-structured interviews to explore the question, “How do …

Understanding The African American Male Student Experience Of Being Diagnosed With Emotional Disturbance Through The Use Of Counter-Storytelling, Sara Ordaz

Doctoral Dissertations

In the U.S. educational system, it is too common to see African American males overrepresented in special education classrooms, including segregated special education settings. African American males continuously experience disproportionate representation and placement in special education, especially under the label of ED (Harry & Anderson, 1994). Twice as many African American students in the United States are receiving services for Emotional Disturbance than their White counterparts.

Students who are labeled with ED have the lowest educational outcomes as well as lower success rates in life than any other disability classification (Merrrell & Walker, 2004). The consequences of the ED label …

Early Childhood Special Education Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion: A Qualitative Study On A School’S Transition From Segregated Classrooms To More Inclusion Classrooms, Shally Moua

Doctoral Dissertations

Inclusion has been a topic of interest in education and a great deal of research has identified teachers’ attitudes as a barrier to inclusion. Therefore, using the model of attitude (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993) and inclusive pedagogy framework (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2012), the qualitative study aims to: (1) examine the attitudes of early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers toward inclusion as a school shift from segregated to more inclusive classrooms, (2) explore types of support they received and how that support shaped their inclusive pedagogical practices to teach in inclusive classrooms, and (3) identify barriers that impact their transition to …

Defining Inclusion: Surveying Educator Perceptions And Practices In Chile, Christina A. Bosch

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite earlier attempts to arrive at unified theories or conceptualizations, the international literature on inclusive education has increasingly documented the proliferation of operationalizations of inclusion in and even within single instances of policy, research, and practice, and called for further scholarly attention to such subjectivity. Specifically, there is a dearth of international research linking definitions to perceptions to practices within special and/or inclusive education, and findings on the efficacy of interventions to promote inclusive education practices in Spanish-speaking contexts or literature are similarly sparse. This study investigates how Latinx educators in K-12 schools conceptualize and practice inclusion with respect to …

How Are The Collaborative Efforts Of The Transition Plan Team Viewed By Its Members, Teresa Henderson

Doctoral Dissertations

The views of a transition/IEP team members of the collaborative efforts of each other have had little or limited viewing. Annually there are approximately six million special education students in the United States of America (Samuels, 2017). While in high school, these students and their transition/IEP team are tasked with preparing them for adult life (U.S. Department of Education [USDOE], 2018). The team’s collaborative efforts are a necessary component of ensuring the success of each student’s adult life (Michaels & Ferrara, 2005).

For students to find success after high school, all transition/IEP team members need to collaborate as best as …

Massachusetts Teachers Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students: A Mixed Methods Workforce Study, Kym Meyer

Doctoral Dissertations

Massachusetts has a severe shortage of teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing (TODHH) and there is only one deaf education graduate program in the six New England states. The purpose of this study was to survey every currently working teacher of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Massachusetts to understand the makeup of the Massachusetts deaf education workforce and gather teacher ideas for retention and recruitments of teachers of DHH children. This mixed-methods sequential explanatory design collected Phase One data through a statewide survey, identifying where Massachusetts teachers are working, how they decided to work in …

Educators Perceptions Of Ebd, Inclusion, And Evidence-Based Practices, Andrea Larmon

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of education has been changing with regard to inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Not only are we seeing more students with disabilities being educated in public schools, but we are seeing students with more significant special education needs. Although schools are expected to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), many of the staff within the school, such as special education teachers, general education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and even administrators, aren’t sure how to provide the services and implement the strategies to allow the students …

An Assessment Of The Professional Development Of Special Education Teachers In Saudi Arabia, Raja Almutairi

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of professional development activities of Saudi special education teachers in comparison to the research-based professional development practices of special education teachers. A survey of professional development evaluation and job satisfaction that describe three components was electronically collected from 613 special education teachers who were actively employed in Saudi public schools during the 2019/2020 school year. The results show that participating in professional development activities contributed to the study’s special education teachers’ satisfaction with their teaching profession. Additionally, the findings suggest that improvements to the professional development practices that are …

Uncovering Examples Of Humanizing Praxis And Pathological Violence In Special Education: District, Parent, And Researcher Perspectives, Andy W. Chung

Doctoral Dissertations

Students of color continue to be labeled with dis/abilities and funneled into segregated settings by special education staff (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013; Leonardo & Broderick, 2011). The purpose of this study is to highlight the kinds of experiences students and their family’s experience in special education related to humanization and violence. In addition to gaining a better understanding of how special education district staff are working to both reproduce and disrupt the violent exclusion of students of color, this dissertation aimed to center the experiences of parents and students who are being impacted by the exclusionary policies and practices. …

Investigating The Relationship Between Perceptions Of A “Good Reader” And Reading Performance Among Elementary And Middle School Students: An Exploration Study, Jamie A. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between student perceptions of a “good reader” and their reading performance. The study employed a causal-comparative and correlational design. Participants, elementary and middle school (grades 1-8) students (N= 100) attending an after-school program in the Southeastern United States, were administered the Student Perceptions of a Good Reader Scale (SPGRS) which includes two subscales: Perceptions-Decoding Efficiency (PerDE), and Perceptions-Comprehension (PerC). Additional measures included Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth Reading (MAP Growth, 2020) to determine reading comprehension and a curriculum-based measure of oral reading fluency (ORF) which determines words …

Promoting Personally Relevant Access To The General Mathematics Curriculum For Students With Intellectual Disability, Jennifer Elizabeth Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

Providing access to the general curriculum for students with intellectual disability (ID) has been a topic of debate in the field of low-incidence disabilities (e.g., Ayers et al., 2011; Trela & Jimenez, 2013). Researchers (e.g., Spooner et al., 2006; Trela & Jimenez, 2013) generally agree that students with ID should have access to the general academic curriculum, but some (e.g., Ayers et al., 2011) are concerned that adhering to a standards-based academic curriculum may not lead to independence. Trela and Jimenez (2013) proposed the term personally relevant to describe curriculum modifications for students with ID. Personally relevant modifications provide individualized …

The Effectiveness Of Point-Of-View-Video Modeling On Improving Social And Communication Skills, Beyza Alpaydin

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurobiological disorder with symptoms that affect individuals’ social interaction capabilities, their verbal and nonverbal communications, and the repertoires of activities and interest. These deficits in social and communication skills directly or indirectly influence the individual with ASDs’ lives. Therefore, many interventions have been developed to increase social and communication skills for individuals with ASD. Video modeling (VM) is one of the effective interventions in teaching social communication skills for children with ASD. There are multiple variations of VM interventions. One of the forms of VM intervention is point-of-view video modeling (POVVM) that has …

Teachers’ Knowledge On Evidence Based Practices For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Khodari

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) programs have spread rapidly all over Saudi Arabia in recent years. A number of teachers have been provided to teach students with ASD to improve their academic, communication, social, and behavioral skills. The main purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ knowledge on Evidence Based Practices (EBP) for individuals with ASD. The second purpose was to ensure the study was designed to meet the standards for quality survey research. A survey was used to meet the first purpose and a methodological review was used to meet the second purpose. The results indicated that the teachers …

African-American Christian Female Missionaries In Nyasaland, Congo, And Liberia: Perpetuation And Resistance At The Intersections Of Blackness, Gender, Disability, And Christianity, Karen Yvette Dace

Doctoral Dissertations

Events are taking place in the United States today regarding blackness, gender, disability, and Christianity, and the perceived place of those with black and brown bodies. Current efforts have focused on blackness and gender, blackness and disability, gender and disability, and disability and Christianity; but there has not been concerted efforts focusing on the historical intersections of blackness, gender, disability, and Christianity and how these intersections help in understanding the contemporary black social movement and the climate in which we now live.

The purpose of this qualitative study sought to understand the narratives of Christian mission agencies and how African-American …

Effects Of Think-Aloud Protocol On The Mathematical Problem-Solving Skills Of Seventh- And Eighth- Grade Students With Learning Disabilities, Nasa Lesley Cole

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a cognitive- and metacognitive-strategy instruction on the mathematical problem-solving performance and metacognitive experience of 22 seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities. When solving mathematical word problems, students with learning disabilities typically lack self-regulation processes (Larson & Gerber, 2002) tend to respond impulsively, to use trial and error, and fail to evaluate or verify their solutions (Bryant, Bryant, & Hammermill, 2000). This study used the Metacognitive Experience Survey (MES), two sets of three mathematical-word-problem probes of varying complexity levels, and think-aloud protocols to measure intervention effect. The first research …

Inclusive Service Delivery In Jesuit Secondary Education: A Case Study Of The Rodriguez Learning Services Program At Manresa Prep, Angelo Joseph Rizzo

Doctoral Dissertations

The documents and rhetoric of Jesuit Catholic education speak frequently of care for the individual (cura personalis) and caring for those most in need. Frequently, however, students with learning disabilities are admitted to Jesuit Catholic schools without any consideration as to whether the school can address a student’s individual learning needs. This study examined one particular program at one particular school – Rodriguez Learning Services at Manresa Prep -- that attempts to offer accommodations to students with learning disabilities. Through interviews and observations over a six-week period with students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni, the study sought to identify whether …

Examining Teachers’ Sense Of Efficacy And Their Decisions In Regard To Referral And Placement, Ayse Dilsad Yakut

Doctoral Dissertations

One factor that can influence identification of students with disabilities is teachers’ decisions to refer a student for special education services. Both teacher and student characteristics can influence teachers’ decision making. As evidenced in research and theory, teacher characteristics of efficacy influences teachers’ classroom practices, student outcome, and teachers’ perceptions about working with students with disabilities, which might also influence teachers’ decisions to refer students for special education evaluation. As a primary purpose, I examined whether elementary education teachers’ sense of efficacy predicts their decisions to refer a student for special education evaluation and their decisions to place a student …

Educational Leaders’ Perspectives On Their Preparation, Practice, And Professional Development In Mtss, Jodi Drury

Doctoral Dissertations

The role of school leaders today directly impacts students and staff. Research into educational leaders’ perspectives and experiences with Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) provides a lens to help examine the culture of training and constructs of knowledge, of school leaders. The five research questions that drove this research study were: (1) What are school leaders in rural counties in Western Massachusetts current knowledge of MTSS implementation? (2) What experience do these school leaders have with implementing MTSS? (3) What training on MTSS did these school leaders receive? (4) Do these school leaders feel prepared to implement MTSS? (5) What …

Characteristics For Teaching Gifted Students: The Saudi Teachers' Perspective, Majed S. Al Dalham

Doctoral Dissertations

Teachers of gifted students (GT) are the key to a fruitful learning environment for gifted students who have unique abilities and are different from their peers. There is a growing demand to identify effective GT teachers in Saudi Arabia who have specific characteristics that will help them successfully tailor their teaching to the needs of gifted students. Consequently, exploring the characteristics of Saudi GT teachers is an essential component of ensuring the quality of the teaching of gifted students in their settings. The characteristics of GT teachers have been adequately addressed in several countries, but there is a paucity of …

An Investigation Of The Developmental Growth Of Preschool Children With Disabilities Being Served In Inclusive Settings In Comparison With Noninclusive Settings In California, Elizabeth Nicole Schroeder

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to perform a secondary data analysis to investigate the relationship between preschool setting and the developmental growth of all children receiving state-funded preschool special-education services in California in inclusive settings compared with all children receiving state-funded preschool special-education services in California in noninclusive settings.

To accomplish this purpose, a secondary data analysis of a longitudinal data set was conducted using the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP, 2015) to measure progress across eight domains of child development over a 2-year time span and four assessment time points. This study used individual growth modeling to analyze …

The Influence Of Multimedia Podcast-Aided Video-Analysis To Transfer Evidence-Based Practices And Alter Novice Special Education Teachers’ Schema Development, Jason Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The Federal mandates established under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) requires special education teachers to use evidence-based practices to support diverse student needs. With this legislation came an increase in research to identify practices that are effective with this population. While this work has identified a number of evidence-based practices, there is little evidence showing these practices are transferred to the classroom. Researchers and educators have long sought to understand how to reduce the gap between research findings and teacher practice. For special education, the federal mandate further emphasizes this need and puts closing the gap between research …

Using Multiliteracies To Engage And Empower Students With Complex Support Needs, Sudha Vaghul Krishnan

Doctoral Dissertations

Using Multiliteracies to Engage and Empower Students with Complex Support Needs This dissertation is comprised of two studies:

• Creating New Learning Spaces Using Multiliteracies with Students with Complex Support Needs

• Transforming Narrative Identity through Multiliteracies

Students with complex support needs (SCSN) are frequently denied access to meaningful and challenging literacy instruction. These studies explore how student- authored narratives in the individualized education plan (IEP), implemented during a multiliteracies curriculum, can simultaneously engage and empower SCSN. These studies are based on the qualitative research that I conducted from November 15, 2018 to February 11, 2018 at a special day …

Inclusion Of Students With Learning And Behavior Problems: Knowledge, Attitudes, And Inclusive Practices In Turkey, Hanife Ece Ugurlu

Doctoral Dissertations

Inclusive education has become one of the primary goals of education policy across the world in order to achieve education for all. However, there have been various interpretations with respect to what constitutes inclusive education. In addition, limited research exists on teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, and competencies related to inclusive education and students with special needs. The purpose of preliminary research in this study was to validate the Turkish version of the International Survey of Inclusion. The purpose of the second study was to examine Turkish teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, and skills about inclusion of students with diverse learning and behavioral needs. …

Investigating The Existence Of Word Callers, Rhonda Rae Dejournett

Doctoral Dissertations

Numerous investigations of reading ability have identified students who demonstrate adequate oral reading fluency rates but fail to reflect understanding on measures of reading comprehension (Buly & Valencia, 2002; Catts, Compton, Tomblin, & Bridges, 2012; Hamilton & Shinn, 2003; Jenkins, Hudson, & Johnson, 2007; Jorm, 1983; Meisinger, Bradley, Schwanenflugel, Kuhn, & Morris, 2009; Morris, 1998; Torppa et al., 2007). This group of struggling readers is sometimes referred to as word callers; however, there has been debate among scholars (Hamilton & Shinn, 2003; Stanovich, 1993) regarding whether such a group exists, if the term is a misnomer (Spencer, Quinn, & Wagner, …

Examining The Effectiveness Of A Sentence Construction Intervention Combined With Self-Regulation Instruction Using A Regression Discontinuity Design, William Furey

Doctoral Dissertations

The Language and Writing strands of the Common Core State Standards place a heavy emphasis on sentence-level conventions including syntax/grammar and mechanics. Interventions targeting these foundational skills are necessary to support struggling writers as poorly developed sentence construction skills inhibit more complex writing tasks. This study examined the effects of a supplemental intervention on the writing skills of fourth grade students identified as struggling writers. The intervention used explicit instruction and the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) framework to teach students a sentence construction strategy along with self-regulation procedures. A regression discontinuity design was used to test whether students included in …

Verbal -S Productions In The Structured Writing Samples Of Variable Aae-Speaking Fourth-Grade Students With And Without Language Impairment, Jacklyn High Felton

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers in speech-language pathology and ethnolinguistics have worked to gain knowledge about typical and atypical language patterns of African American children who are identified as African American English (AAE) dialect speakers. Much progress had been made, but limitations in this field of knowledge have persisted, especially for AA children who demonstrate variable use of AAE, presumably through the process of assimilation in the school setting. Therefore, more information is needed to provide diagnostic markers for deviations in typical language development for variable AAE-MAE speakers. Prior empirical research has found that third- and fourth-grade AAE-speaking children with typical language development overtly …

Using Social Network Analysis To Investigate The Diffusion Of Special Education Knowledge Within A School District, Martha H. Von Mering

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships that existed between the district-level special education leadership team and two elementary schools. The study used social network analysis (SNA) as the primary methodological and analytic approach to reveal the structural dimensions of the advice giving/receiving networks within the schools to delve more deeply into network relationships, collaboration, and knowledge impact. By mapping the existing network relationships through the lens of network centralization, reciprocity, and density, the study sought to analyze what, if any, link existed between the network properties and the extent to which leadership was distributed. The …

Promoting Self-Determination Skills Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Participating In The Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative Programs Throughout Massachusetts, Lyndsey Nunes

Doctoral Dissertations

There are currently 15 Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (ICEI) Programs throughout Massachusetts. Each program is different in its day-to-day planning but all adhere to the mission, full inclusion of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The purpose of this evaluative research study was to examine and understand the functional components of postsecondary education programs that promote self-determination for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to differentiate programs that include or do not include these components. To answer the five research questions data were collected from Students, Educational Coaches, ICEI Program Coordinators, Transition Liaisons, Statewide Coordinator, observations, and record reviews. …