Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Standardizing America: Why It Should Be A Method Of The Past, Samantha N. Jackson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper examines, critiques, and suggests improvements on the method of standardized testing in American schools. This paper discusses the history and development of standardized testing and its initial purpose and intentions. Additionally, the effects of standardized testing on students, teachers, and parents are evaluated, with special consideration on how high stakes testing adversely affects disadvantaged student groups such as children in minorities and low-income districts, bilingual students, and children with disabilities. The research suggests that standardized testing is not only damaging to students in these groups, but most likely not the most efficient way of testing student performance in …

Creating A Culturally Competent Children’S Library, Rachel Burger, Donia Timby, Jacquelyn D. Wiersma-Mosley, Laura Herold, Shelley Mcnally

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

There is an ever-growing need for cultural competence and a well-rounded education, especially for children. In order to promote cultural competence, this creative project focused on enhancing a library space at the University of Arkansas Bumpers College Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas with resources that address diversity and cultural competence. The goal was to transform the library into an enticing, relaxing, and judgment-free area where children feel comfortable to explore their culture and the cultures of others. New books added to the library were thoroughly reviewed and chosen for the purpose of promoting cultural competence and inclusion, …

Up Close And Personal: Hosting Diverse Authors, Sue C. Kimmel, Danielle E. Hartsfield (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Preparing diverse students to become lifetime readers and writers is best facilitated through experiences with high quality, diverse literature and through the models of the authors and illustrators who create those works. Nothing quite brings an author or illustrator to life like hearing from them in person by hosting an author visit. This chapter explores the value of planning an author visit as an authentic means to learn about diverse authors and their work. Information is provided about identifying and choosing a diverse author or illustrator, planning the logistics of the visit, and preparing to build background and interest within …

The Efficacy Of Art And Movement Treatment Modalities On An Individual With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Tristen Valentino

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Current statistics report 1 in 54 children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), many of whom have co-occurring mental health disorders. However, minimal research has been conducted on adults with autism with co-occurring mental health disorders and the efficacy of art and movement therapy techniques. This is the case study by Tristen Valentino, clinical therapist, of a client, David Smith (who was given the pseudonym to maintain confidentiality), a 35-year-old, obese, single, cisgender, heterosexual, Caucasian, male. The implications of this case study are discussed relative to the diagnosis and treatment of adults with ASD who possess comorbid clinical …

Mission-Centered Collaborative Bridges To Increase Stem Motivations, Colleen Duffy

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Many school administrators are enthusiastic about implementing new educational initiatives but have their plans thwarted because they are faced with the reality of insufficient resources. This can greatly limit the expansion of K-12 educational programs and deprive students of valuable learning opportunities. Additionally, teacher preparation programs are required to meet state mandates such as providing field experiences for preservice teachers that promote the authentic application of knowledge in PK-12 classrooms, but regional competition for placement opportunities create tremendous obstacles for higher education faculty. This essay describes the creation and implementation of a mission-centered mutually beneficial K-12 and intercollegiate partnership that …

Building Teacher Empathy And Culturally Responsive Practice Through Professional Development And Self-Reflection, Barbara S. Rieckhoff, Melissa Ockerman, Amira Proweller, James Wolfinger

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Today’s teachers face growing demands and mandates to support every aspect of a student’s academic success, with additional expectations to support students’ social and emotional needs both inside and outside of the classroom. In the face of increasing student cultural, racial and linguistic diversity, the teaching pool remains relatively homogeneous, consisting largely of white, European-American educators. This disconnect between the lived experiences of teachers and their students makes it difficult for teachers to value and connect to a diverse student body. This qualitative study explores how a collaborative multi-tiered critical professional development model between a non-for-profit organization and a University, …

Symbolic Boundaries And The Clinical Preparation Of Teacher Candidates, Bilge Cerezci, Donald Mcclure

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The purpose of this essay is to make sense of the two divides in the clinical preparation of teacher candidates: (1) between professional knowledge and skilled practice, and (2) between university-based courses and school-based field experiences. This essay extends the work of Lamont and Molnár (2002) to conceptualize symbolic boundaries related to these two divides. Within this framework, a review of the research highlights three main implications. First, teacher education programs need to design teaching and learning experiences that allow teacher candidates to use the professional knowledge they have gained through their university courses across multiple educational settings. Second, such …

Improving Co-Teachers Relationships, Asher Samuel

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Co-teaching is an instructional strategy wherein two teachers, a general education teacher and a special education teacher, share instructional responsibilities in a general education class that includes students with disabilities (SWDs) (Friend, 2010). An important component of co-teaching is the relationship between the teachers (Kohler-Evans, 2006), which has been described as a professional marriage (Friend, 2010). However, there is limited information on factors influencing the relationship. This study investigated if teaching experience affects co-teachers’ perception of teamwork. Participants included special and general education co-teachers from eight public school districts in New York City. Co-teachers from grades K-12 completed the Tuckman …

The Impact Of Universally Accelerating Eighth Grade Mathematics Students On Participation And Achievement, Patrick Walsh

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

In New York State students are traditionally scheduled to take Algebra I in their first year of high school mathematics. However, in many schools, the “top” students in a cohort have access to this course in eighth grade, tracking these high-achieving students ahead of their lower-achieving peers. In response, some schools have adopted the policy of “Algebra for all” in eighth grade – called universal acceleration. While this policy ensures equal access to a challenging curriculum for all students, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, and prior achievement, there is a concern that not all students are developmentally ready to take …

Jovsa Education Special Issue: Introduction, Erin Fahle

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Editors

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Cover

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Exploring Accessibility And Social Inclusion For Children With Hearing Impairments In Residential Camps Through The Occupational Therapy Lens, Tiffany Coles

Student Capstone Papers

Children are encouraged to engage in various play, leisure, and social participation activities to enhance the development of life skills, independence, and social skills. A common leisure and social participation activity for children aged 6 to 18-years-old is to attend residential camp. Residential camps provide children a structured opportunity to engage in leisure activities while learning to become independent and self-confident when socializing and making new friends. Attending camp can be a fun and engaging environment to help accelerate growth in key developmental outcomes, such as positive identity, social skills, physical skills, positive values, and spirituality.

Within the residential camp …

American Sign Language Interpreting For D/Deaf Individuals With Disabilities: A Qualitative Study And Practical Guide, Emily Mason

Senior Honors Theses

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting for d/Deaf individuals with disabilities (DWD) is a complex task, and one which lacks an adequate research-base to inform best practices. Using the foundation of existing literature on closely related topics such as the field of ASL interpreting, educational interpreting, education of DWD individuals, and research about specific disabilities occurring with d/Deafness, I compiled a literature review and created a theoretical conceptual framework concerning this topic. In further investigation of this subject, I also conducted a qualitative study through online questionnaires sent out by email to ASL interpreters located through snowball sampling. The data collected …

Gender Expansive Students In The Choral Classroom: Awareness & Practices Of Secondary Music Educators, Emma E. Taranko

Honors Projects

In an age of growing diversity, it is essential for educators, both pre- and in-service, to seek out strategies that will assist them in creating a welcoming classroom environment for all learners. It is incumbent upon choral music teachers and community leaders to educate themselves in the diversity that presents itself in their classrooms in order to better service all students. In this study, twenty-five secondary music educators shared their awareness of gender expansive students in their choir classrooms and any strategies they have used to better service their singers. This study was conducted in order to assess which strategies …

Ford, Ford, And Randall's "A Kind Of Upside-Downness: Learning Disabilities And Transformational Community" (Book Review), Chip Wiley

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Workout Routine, Valeria Sofia Maynez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Hope Services is an agency that focuses on supporting the community of adults with developmental disabilities. The work there focuses on finding employment avenues for the clients. This population faces difficulty in finding employment opportunities on their own and rely on these services for these resources. Everyone deserves the right to build an income and experience working in their lives. A disability or any obstacle shouldn’t prohibit a person of this opportunity. Due to an overdue stigma towards this group, they have to constantly prove they are fit to work and be productive assets in the workforce. This leads to …

Legislating Social Inclusion: Social Interaction And Perceptions Of Middle Level Students Toward Those With Disabilities, Deidre Necol Whitehead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recognition of the need for students with disabilities to receive free and appropriate education was brought to the forefront with the passage of Public Law 93 – 112, Rehabilitation Act in 1973. In 1975 Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was enacted requiring all schools to develop and provide a free, appropriate public education for all children and youth with disabilities in the regular classroom to ensure an appropriate education. However, mandating inclusion in classrooms does not ensure social interaction, which is an integral part of learning, especially for early adolescents.

This dissertation uses the Chedoke-McMaster …

Arts Education: Benefits, Disparities, And Reaching For Equal Access, Madelaine Shreeman

Senior Honors Theses

Arts education is a unique way to engage students. The arts include, but are not limited to, music, theatre, visual/studio arts, poetry, and dance; they are powerful bridges for students to knowledge and classroom contribution. They assist students with lower academic achievement, problematic behavior, or those who have a likelihood of dropping out of school. While there are plenty of resources displaying the student benefits, there remain inequalities in access to arts education among students across America. Often, areas and schools that generally receive fewer opportunities or less arts funding are ones with more at-risk youth. Disproportionate arts access negatively …

I, Too, Sing Neurodiversity, Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

The neurodiversity community was envisioned as an inclusive and welcoming space for individuals with neurological conditions such as ADHD, autism, Tourette’s Syndrome, giftedness, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, intellectual disability, NVLD and related diagnoses. The underlying premise of neurodiversity is that people present with various neurological differences and there is value in acknowledging and accepting these differences. Despite efforts made over the past few decades, a growing number of individuals within the neurodiversity community, including people of color, have called for intersectional concepts to be more intentionally and more effectively interwoven into neurodiversity as a whole. Referencing “I, Too,” a decades-old poem …

Lemonade Stand: An Original Theatre For Young Audiences Play For Neurodiverse Children, Kate Tayler

Honors Projects

Lemonade Stand is an original play a Theatre For Young Audiences-style play written with accessibility in mind for neurodiverse children, especially with ADHD and autism.

Accommodations For Underserved Students In Music Education, William M. Refuss

The Corinthian

This research examines socioeconomic status and its relation to accommodating students with special needs where access to specific technologies and equipment is limited. For students who need costly accommodations where socioeconomic status affects access, other methods of accommodation need to be found. This paper focuses on the specific goals in a music education classroom and how students with disabilities struggle to achieve such goals without accommodations, as well as examining different personnel and technologies in which access is limited when examining the financial impact. Such accommodations include music therapists assigned to the school, inclusion classrooms, modified instruments, and other technologies …

The Problem With The School System, Julianna Vanvalin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

From the beginning of America, schools have existed in some shape or form. However, once the school system became standardized its failings started to show through. The modern school system is discriminatory against disabled students and students of a low socioeconomic status. It also does not properly prepare students for their future, and promotes poor mental health. In order to fix the school system, it is important to recognize the current failings in regards to students and aim to improve them.

Racism In Education, Kevin M. Donton

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Racism in Education has been a huge problem in the United States today, and it still is. The presence of racism in the education system is quite controversial and many people have strong opinions on it. Its roots date all the way back to slavery in the United States to the Brown vs. the Board of Education case to the Reagan Revolution to present day in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the origins, how it is still happening today, the effects it has on students of color, and ways to dismantle …

The Inequalities Women Face In Stem: From Their Education To The Workplace, Sophie Rhodes

Women's and Gender Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Study Of American Sign Language Interpreting For Deaf Individuals With Disabilities, Emily A. Mason

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

There are complexities involved in American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting for the unique population of Deaf individuals with disabilities (DWD), particularly in educational settings, that must be considered. Based on the foundation of existing literature regarding the field of ASL interpreting, educational interpreting, and strategies of working with DWD individuals, the researcher created a theoretical conceptual framework that combined the frameworks of ASL Interpreting and Special Education. The current primary research is aimed at addressing another portion of the gap, that is, research regarding practical experiences in working with this population. This study was conducted through questionnaires sent out through …

The Inventive Work Of The Christian Mind, Jeff Ringer

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Responding to Bizzell’s 2008 JAEPL article, this article argues that the intellectual work of religious minds involves inventing arguments grounded in the religious community’s ethos that advocate for new perspectives within that community. Using Katharine Hayhoe’s evangelical Christian environmentalist rhetoric as an example, this article prompts rhetorical educators to rethink approaches to teaching ethos.

("What if there is intellectual work to be done that can only be done by what [Shannon] Carter calls the “Christian mind”—or Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist mind?" —Patricia Bizzell, Faith-Based World Views as a Challenge to the Believing Game)

Back Matter-Jaepl Volume 25, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Back Matter

Front Matter- Jaepl Volume 25, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Front Matter