Education Commons^™

Tell Me About A Class At Risd : Classroom Experiences Of Multilingual, International Graduate Students At The Rhode Island School Of Design, Madeline Conley

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the experiences of multilingual, international graduate students at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Through interviews with eight international and multilingual graduate students from different RISD departments, the researcher asks students to identify what helps and hinders their learning. The author situates interviewee responses in the context of scholarly literature that examines the experiences and predicted challenges faced by multilingual international students enrolled in art and design schools and more broadly in higher education. Further, this thesis’ research questions are examined within the complexities of and ongoing conversations about creating a more equitable and inclusive RISD …

Inclusion Of Muslim Students In Ontario Public Education: A Qualitative Inquiry Of Elementary School Principals, Farah Ghonaim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In order to include Muslim students in Ontario schools, inclusive principals are expected work to understand the inclusion of Muslim students in order to grant them with equal recognition and opportunities as other students in schools. In Ontario, school principals can influence students’ learning and achievement through their leadership role and through their routine duties for leading schools, enacting policies, and ensuing quality of instruction at schools. As leaders, principals can enhance the inclusion of Muslim students through working with staff and teachers, and creating working conditions that support Muslim students learning. Ontario policies call for inclusion of all students …

Contributors Of Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy For Teaching In Inclusive Classrooms: How Predictors Of Self-Efficacy Change Over Time, Evan Charles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the extent to which demographic, experiential, and belief factors at two points in time predict pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms, and how predictors change over time. Two hundred sixty-four Canadian pre-service teachers completed a demographic questionnaire, the Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (BTLQ) and the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices scale (TEIP) toward the beginning and at the end of their teacher education. The results showed that at both times, Canadian pre-service teachers have very strong pro-inclusion beliefs and have very high levels of self-efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms. Significant improvements over …

Utilizing The Universal Design For Learning Model To Improve Educational Environments In Secondary Inclusive Classrooms, Robyn A. Delahunt

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This purpose of this case study was to explore the potential reasons why secondary teachers are resistant to working in inclusive programs, as well as to discover barriers to inclusion so that those obstacles can be addressed and rectified by those who make meaningful, relevant, and holistic educational changes, leading to improved classroom experiences for all parties within inclusive settings. The pre-research prediction that barriers to inclusion revolve around instructional differentiation, increased responsibilities, and additional work load were correct as they relate to the teacher identified obstacles of lack of support and lack of training, with most participants agreeing that …

Amplifying 'Whispered Interventions' Into Loud And Forceful Cries, Joelina Robinson Machera

Theses and Dissertations

An equitable educational environment includes the voices of the individuals and the power of their stories. For marginalized people, particularly women of color, surviving school means existing in oppressive environments which require the stealing of knowledge while struggling to obtain an education (Collins, 2002). It is imperative that institutions acknowledge the specific complexities women of color face in the academy (Crenshaw, 2017). This study is designed to make meaning of the journey of Black women doctoral students using counterstories and composite stories to capture and learn from their lived experiences. Through the (re)covery and (re)telling of the stories of Black …

Elementary Teachers' Perceived Professional Learning Needs For The Inclusive Classroom, Laurel Taylor Ellis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of U.S. federal policy directives mandating inclusion, general education teachers in a rural elementary school in southern Maine were expected to be effective in working in inclusive classrooms with learners with diverse needs; however, teachers were meeting the mandates for inclusion but their students were not meeting the state's annual progress targets. The purpose of this project study was to explore teachers' perceptions of their readiness and needs for professional learning to work with diverse learners in the inclusive classroom. The research questions centered on teachers' beliefs, specific to their preparation and their needs and preferred mode …

Imaginaries Of Pre-Service Teachers From La Salle University About Inclusive Education, Saida Lizeth Castro Aguirre, Carol Alicia Rodríguez Martínez

Licenciatura en Español y Lenguas Extranjeras

Este artículo presenta la educación inclusiva desde los imaginarios que los estudiantes en prácticas en licenciatura en lengua castellana, inglés y francés de la universidad de la Salle tienen. Los participantes fueron 26 estudiantes de séptimo a décimo semestre que han tenido experiencia enseñando en colegios. La metodología usada en esta investigación fue cualitativa, considerando los puntos de vista reales de las personas que están experimentando su vida profesional como profesores en práctica. Una encuesta de estructura mixta donde los estudiantes respondieron preguntas cerradas para obtener información general sobre el tema y preguntas abiertas para identificar imaginarios personales relacionados con …

Cultural Diversity And Children’S Literature: Kindergarten Educators’ Practices To Support Principles Of Cultural Diversity Through Book Sharing, Helen Joanne Adam

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Since Australia became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the importance of recognising, valuing and respecting a child’s family, culture, language and values has been increasingly articulated in education policy. Diversity and inclusion are now central themes guiding the principles and quality measures of early childhood education and care as encompassed by the National Quality Framework, including both the National Quality Standard and the Early Years Learning Framework (Early Childhood Development Steering Committee, 2009). Children’s literature can be a powerful tool for extending children’s knowledge and understandings of themselves and others …

Perception Of Rural General Educators On The Inclusion And Participation Of Students With Significant Disabilities, Rachel L. Crouch

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to question rural general education teachers’ perceptions and attitudes on the inclusion of students with significant disabilities. The investigator surveyed rural general education teachers on their perceptions of what should be occurring in terms of inclusion and on what they saw as occurring in terms of inclusion of students with significant disabilities. The results yielded mixed perceptions and were generally positive in terms of the inclusion occurring within that school district.

Empathy In Inclusive Classrooms: Exploring Prosocial Behaviour Through Children’S Academic Writing Skills, Erica J. Partridge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background. Empathy is a crucial means through which diversity is appreciated. Applying inclusivity at a young age and throughout the education curriculum is optimal for social and emotional development alongside academic development. Method. Nineteen students in Grade 5 participated in the language arts curriculum Shakespeare Can be Fun. Writing samples were collected before and after the perspective taking lesson and coded for empathy. Results. Independent t-tests comparing the pre-post writing categories of Organization, Creativity, Voice and Affect, and Grammar generated no significant results. Further t-tests were conducted within Voice and Affect and the item identifying Evidence for Empathy was significant. …

Students' Perspectives On Educational Acceleration, Lynn Dare

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation comprises three studies exploring Australian and Canadian students’ perspectives on grade-based acceleration. The first study involved Australian high-ability students, ages 9 to 14, in a two-phase group concept mapping exercise. First, I interviewed participants to hear their beliefs about grade-based acceleration. From the interview transcripts, I synthesized a list of 60 student-generated factors to consider when deciding on acceleration. Next, participants who had accelerated sorted the list of factors into groups, and rated the importance of each. I applied multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to the sorted data, and identified six key concepts including (a) …

Educators' Attitudes Towards Implementation Of Inclusive Education, Kimberly Evans Holmes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand educators’ attitudes toward implementation of inclusive education. The survey study investigated the collaborative efforts, responsibility, accommodations, and training these educators are working towards teaching students in an inclusive environment. This study adopted a descriptive survey design, where 59 educators completed the online survey regarding their attitudes towards implementation of inclusive education. The opinions regarding necessary accommodations for students with IEPs were extremely supportive; whereby 98% of educators feel that they are willing to make necessary accommodations for students. Overwhelmingly, the educators disagree that they are not provided with sufficient training opportunities in …

The Currents Of Learning Motivation: Learners’ Stories From Arts-Integrated, Regular Classroom Landscapes, Irene Melabiotis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intrinsic learning motivation can facilitate learners’ meaningful scholarship, creativity, and interest in life-long learning. Over time, however, elementary learners’ intrinsic motivation can decline. To meet this challenge, some inclusive educators have turned to arts-integrated instruction, which can facilitate positive outcomes for diverse learners in various subject areas. Our understanding, however, of learners’ quality of motivation when learning through the arts is limited. Accordingly, I explored four research puzzles through a narrative inquiry methodological framework, two of which included, (a) What stories do learners tell about their motivation when learning through the arts in their inclusive classrooms? and (b) What do …

Elementary Teachers' Perspectives Of The Support Facilitation Instructional Model, Deborah Afolabi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem in an elementary school in Southern Texas was poor reading performance on grade level and progress monitoring tests for students with disabilities (SWDs). SWDs may learn to read proficiently when reading instruction is provided using the support facilitation model (SFM) that features a special educator who helps SWDs in literacy or mathematics in inclusion settings. The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore the perspectives of special and general education teachers about SFM. The universal design for learning framework, used to plan lessons based on how students learn, guided this study. The research questions focused …

The Effectiveness Of General And Special Education Collaboration In Middle Schools, Kerri L. Olore

Educational Studies Dissertations

With the recent mandates involving students with disabilities, there has been ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of inclusive programs in today’s public schools. Recent research has demonstrated that teacher collaboration is an essential component to the success of inclusive education programs (Hernandez, 2013). There is an abundance of research done on the topic of teacher collaboration, but little has examined the effectiveness of general and special education teachers working together. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the degree to which general and special educators value collaboration with one another, the ways in which they collaborate, and …

The Peripheral Factors Of Inclusive Education And Teacher Self-Efficacy, Debra L. Harper

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Existing literature has indicated that self-reported challenges of general-education (GenEd) teachers often involve the experiences and views of these educators surrounding the peripheral factors of inclusive education (Caskey, 2008; Fuchs, 2010). Bandura (2012) asserted that most sources of hindrance to shaping the dynamics between self-efficacy (SE) and subsequent action are not knowledge-based, but rather, originate from such peripheral factors. The purpose of this current study was to explore the perceptions of GenEd high-school teachers in terms of how the peripheral factors of inclusive education shape their SE with regard to effective instruction within the inclusive classroom. A qualitative case study …

Cultivating An Inclusive Mindset In Your Jewish Community: Turning Good Intentions Into Tangible Outcomes, Tali Cohen Carrus

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This curriculum provides training and resources to Jewish day schools, synagogues, summer camps, and other organizations seeking to better embrace all members of their community and foster full and meaningful integration and participation. Focused primarily on youth with developmental and learning disabilities, though with definite implications for other populations, this curriculum provides a first-step for a community seeking to become more inclusive. Beginning with developing a commitment to inclusion and a common mindset among the staff that will be charged with implementing the programming, the curriculum strives to ensure collaboration from every stakeholder and community member. The second section is …

"Brace Yourself": Motor Disabilities In Children's Literature, Jillian Bober

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis presents the writing and sharing of an original work “Brace Yourself” with a group of second grade children including clinical and legal background as well as review of selected children’s literature with similar themes. The study incorporates samples of student responses to the story and discussion of curricular themes related to inclusion and school values.

A Research-Based Educator's Guide To Auditory Processing Disorder: Does It Improve Teachers' Confidence?, Danielle M. Fletcher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Auditory processing disorder (APD) occurs in an estimated 5-10% of the population, yet many educators are unaware it even exists, let alone have confidence in how to support students in their classroom with this disorder. With a shortage of professional resources and training for teachers about APD, many educators struggle to understand the disorder and know what strategies and interventions to implement to help students with APD. After reading a guidebook of research-based information about APD specifically designed for educators, it was hypothesized teachers’ confidence levels in working with students with APD would increase. Forty-three participants responded to the initial …

An Investigation Of The Attitudes Held By General Education Teachers Toward Students With Disabilities In A Pilot Inclusive Education Program In Cameroon, Agnes Y. Mngo

Dissertations

Problem Statement

The literature from Cameroon depicts that the implementation of inclusive education is not only in its embryonic stage but faces resistance from educators who are still not accepting of the presence of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. This resistance has been attributed to several factors ranging from attachment to customs and traditions that encourage the isolation of persons with disabilities, to the lack of resources and professionals needed for the successful implementation of inclusive education programs. These unfavorable attitudes have been a cause for concern among parents, educators, and especially government leaders who do not want …

Navigating Conflict In Inclusive Education: Autoethnography From An Elementary School Principal, Kimberly Christine Adams

Doctoral Dissertations

Practitioners and researchers have interpreted and debated the concept of the least restrictive environment creating the operational practices of mainstreaming and inclusion to adhere to the laws of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Despite the laws to ensure equal access to general education classrooms, and the vast body of literature on the technical implementation of inclusive practices, students with disabilities continue to be segregated and educated in a separate and unequal system of special education.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the competing tensions and conflict in inclusive education that elementary school principals navigate on a …

Free To Be: One Charter School's Approach To Supporting Gender And Sexual Minority Students, Katherine Sieger

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation presents three and a half years of ethnographic data from an “LGBT” charter school. It explores how gender and sexuality appear within educational spaces and how providing students an anti-heteronormative inclusive education impacts a student’s sense of self. I show how critical pedagogy is deployed as an anti-heteronormative approach to supporting all students. The term anti-heteronormative is used to express an explicit rejection of heterosexism and genderism, acknowledging the complex oppressive factors that develop given the normative expectations of gender and sexuality and the impact such expectations have on all bodies and all students. Findings reveal how the …

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 …

The Evaluation Of Educational Inclusion Programs For Students With Intellectual Disabilities In Jordan, Ahmad Salem Algolaylat

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN JORDAN

By

AHMAD SALEM ALGOLAYLAT

August 2016

Advisors: Dr. Marshall Zumberg

Major: Special Education

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This study aimed to evaluate the inclusive education programs for students with intellectual disabilities in Jordan, quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilized in this study to collect data. These methods included the Jordanian inclusive education scale and teacher interviews. The sample of the study consisted of thirty schools and eight teachers from both governmental and private sector, schools and teachers were selected from Amman. To achieve the aim …

Using Fine Arts To Implement Inclusive Education: Inspiring The School Through A Schoolwide Art Project, Desiree Valentino

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper chronicles the development and completion of a schoolwide living mural project created through the cooperation of every student in an elementary school in Northwest Montana as a way to facilitate inclusive education. The project was fashioned to allow students who are educated in a self-contained classroom the chance to interact with their peers through a schoolwide art project. This involved creating two murals to experience the benefits of the arts; to educate the student body on how to interact with students with disabilities; to demonstrate to general educators how to facilitate the inclusion of all students; and to …

Implementation And Strategies To Address Sensory Regulation Of Students With And Without Disabilities In Two Kindergarten Classrooms, Yvette Rosil Mere-Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

Results from previous research studies suggest that inclusive settings benefit all learners. However, general education teachers often do not have built in supports within the classroom to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Implementing a sensory diet curriculum (SDC) is one instructional practice that addresses needs of students with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, and could be applied widely for students without disabilities. Sensory regulation is defined as the body’s physiological process of adapting arousal or alertness levels to cope with sensory events and situational demands that occur throughout the day. The purpose of this study was to …

Trying Times: Disability, Activism, And Education In Samoa, 1970-1980, Juliann Anesi

Dissertations - ALL

In the 1970s and 1980s, Samoan women organizers established Aoga Fiamalamalama and Loto Taumafai, which were educational institutions in Samoa, an island in the Pacific. Establishing these schools for students with intellectual and physical disabilities, excluded from attending formal schools based on the misconception that they were "uneducable". In this project, I seek to understand how parent advocates, allies, teachers, women organizers, women with disabilities, and former students of these schools understood disability, illness, inclusive education, and community organizing. Through interviews and analysis of archival documents, stories, cultural myths, legends related to people with disabilities, pamphlets, and newspaper media, I …

Exploring Cognitively Accessible Academic Lessons For Students With Intellectual Disabilities Using The Ipad, Jamie Linn Gunderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Students with intellectual disabilities often lack access to general education curricula. This is because many teachers struggle with adapting these curricula to meet the unique learning needs of these students. Technology, having the potential to facilitate access to general education curricula, has been successfully used as a tool to adapt curriculum for this population. The use of the iPad (Apple, 2010), which is easily programmed to support the unique needs of students with disabilities, is beginning to be explored as a tool for the learning and instruction of students with intellectual disabilities and results have been favorable. Further research is …

General Education Teachers' Knowledge, Training, And Perspectives Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders And Evidence-Based Interventions : An Exploratory Study, Jeannette L. Cahill

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Federal law requires that children with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), receive their education in the least restrictive environment, which frequently includes general education settings. Children with ASDs characteristically exhibit difficulties in social interaction, communication, and restricted interests. Consequently, general educators may face various challenges when teaching this population of students. Teachers’ opinions regarding the general practice of inclusion have been thoroughly researched, and they generally express positive views. The goal of the current study was to expand upon previous research about general educators’ perspectives regarding teaching students with ASDs. More specifically, this study investigated general educators’ …

Impact Of Study Circles On Attitudes Toward Racial And Ethnic Equity Among Adolescent Student Participants, William Anders

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

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