Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Best Practices: Accessibility & Equity For E-Learning Content, Mary R. Elmquist, R.C. Miessler

All Musselman Library Staff Works

When creating digital objects for use in teaching, instructors have an opportunity to expand the usability of their materials by adding accessibility features. This session presents a broad definition of accessibility, explains why it is important for instructors to consider accessibility as they create digital teaching materials, and describes some strategies and best practices for adding accessibility to digital learning objects.

Barriers For College Students In New York City To Engage In Volunteering, Jo Padgett Herz

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Knot Without You: Crafting In Social Groups And Subsequent Mental Health Benefits, Megan Wolyniec

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Suicide And Fatal Drug Overdose, Katherine Ross

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Examining The Role Of Multimedia Journalism In Influencing The Quality Of Education, Steffi Romero

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Water Contamination And Practical Treatment Methods In Indigenous Ecuadorian Shuar Communities, Zoe Sheppard

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Health Literacy In Students In Queens, Ny, Joohyun Lee, Nitesh Kunda

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Equal Access To Speech-Language Pathologists In New York City: A Survey Of Two Daycares, Gwyneth Swinburne, Gary E. Martin

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

The Rejection Of Silence: Public Expressions Of Social Justice Through Critical Undergraduate Research, Carline Bennett

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Toc

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.

An Investigation Of Increased Rates Of Autism In U.S. Public Schools, Donald N. Cardinal, Amy Jane Griffiths, Zachary D. Maupin, Julie Fraumeni-Mcbride

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study is intended to enhance our understanding of the dramatic increase in autism prevalence rates across the United States. A robust national and multistate sample of children and youth (5–22 years of age) was gathered and analyzed, using visual and statistical analysis of autism eligibility over a 15‐ to 17‐year period. Although the impact of environmental or genetic influences cannot be entirely ruled out, we identified significant shifts in eligibility trends that substantially contribute to the remarkable increase in autism prevalence. Assessment procedures and criteria for autism have sustained an indelible influence from this diagnostic migration, which has had …

Audio-Visual Caption Evaluation Metric For People Who Are Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Akhter Al Amin

Articles

While the availability of captioned television programming has increased, the quality of this captioning is not always acceptable to Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) viewers, especially for live or unscripted content, broadcast from local television stations, especially in smaller markets. There is a need for formal metrics to evaluate captioning quality, to enable audits or quality assurance. Although some current caption metrics focus on comparing the textual accuracy (comparing the caption text and accurate transcription of what was spoken), there are other properties of captions that may affect quality or usability judgments. We propose to conduct experiments with DHH …

The Use Of Speech-Generating Devices For Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jessica Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first of the following articles provides a review of the literature related to vocalizations among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, with special attention paid to speech-generating devices (SGD). After providing an overview of ASD, evidence-based practices (EBP), and AAC types and a brief history, this review evaluates studies that collected data on vocalizations in SGD-users, including both those that targeted vocalizations as a dependent variable and those that measured vocalizations as a collateral effect without directly targeting it. The goal of this review is to evaluate whether SGD use may …

Long-Term Impact Of Child-Centered Play Therapy On Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Examination Of Academic Success In At-Risk Elementary School Students, Brittany D. Massengale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the long-term impact of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) implemented through Primary Project on at-risk second-grade elementary school students. The qualifying group received ten 30-minute play therapy sessions during one academic semester during their second-grade year. In a longitudinal analysis for academic growth, MAP testing was used to determine if there was a long-term impact on both the third grade and fourth-grade years for the original qualifying students. The findings reveal implications for identification of and interventions for at-risk elementary students and CCPT as an intervention for academic achievement; specifically, reading and mathematics scores. Recommendations for future research …

The Impacts Of Incarceration On The Wellbeing Of Family Members Of African American Males Who Experience The U.S Prison System: A Phenomenological Study, Tremaine N. Leslie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African Americans encounter a high rate of imprisonment, and the social, economic, mental and other effects of imprisonment are extended to their families and communities (Roberts, 2004). In addition to separating individuals from their families and communities, incarceration maximizes the probability for fractured relationships, fragmented communities, and encumbers the public service systems (DeHart, Shapiro & Clone, 2018).Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the mental health effects of incarceration on the family members of African American males who experience the U.S prison system.

The theoretical framework utilized for this study was the critical race theory (CRT) immersed …

Mothers Of Children With Dyslexia Share The Protection, “In-Betweenness,” And The Battle Of Living With A Reading Disability: A Feminist Autoethnography, Christine Woodcock

The Qualitative Report

In order to shed personalized light upon some of the confusions surrounding dyslexia, this study draws upon critical disability studies to share the stories of mothers of children with dyslexia. This feminist autoethnography shares the voice of the researcher alongside interviews with 5 participants, all mothers of children with dyslexia, who were in their 40s, and ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, results illustrated that the children inhabited an “in-betweenness” in their disability, in the ways dyslexia was less visual and therefore misunderstood. Likewise, the children presented a great deal of resistance in their learning, which was later …

Dinner Table Syndrome: A Phenomenological Study Of Deaf Individuals’ Experiences With Inaccessible Communication, David R. Meek

The Qualitative Report

Conversations at the dinner table typically involve reciprocal and contingent turn-taking. This context typically includes multiple exchanges between family members, providing opportunities for rich conversations and opportunities for incidental learning. Deaf individuals who live in hearing non-signing homes often miss out on these exchanges, as typically hearing individuals use turn-taking rules that differ from those commonly used by deaf individuals. Hearing individuals’ turn-taking rules include use of auditory cues to get a turn and to cue others when a new speaker is beginning a turn. Given these mechanisms, hearing individuals frequently interrupt each other—even if they are signing. When deaf …

A Comprehensive Model Of Employment Support, Alberto Migliore, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This brief describes a model of employment supports centered around achieving quality job matches and based on five key elements: building trust, getting to know job seekers, support planning, finding jobs, and support after hire.

For Every Gender: Being Who We Are, Katherine Lewis

Faculty Authored Books and Book Contributions

Teaching about Gender Diversity is an edited collection of teacher-tested interdisciplinary lesson plans that provides K–12 teachers with the tools to implement gender-inclusive practices into their curriculum and talk to their students about gender and sex.

~publisher's description~

Gaps In The Mental Health System,Justice System And The Transition To Adulthood: An Analysis Of Unmet Needs, Maria Gremli Sanders

Dissertations

ABSTRACT More than two million adolescents and young adults are interconnected with the justice system every year. An alarming number of transitional age young adults (ages 17-25 years) in the United States justice system suffer with serious emotional problems that have at least one diagnosable mental health illness. The multiple needs for rehabilitation among these young adults have often gone unmet, and thus, they have become an extremely vulnerable subgroup in the justice system. The purpose of this study was to explore issues of disparity within mental health services, the justice system, and the unmet needs of transitional age young …

A Quantitative Examination Of Black And Hispanic Students’ Time-To-Graduation, Ferdinand A. Verley Ii

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What factors influence Black and Hispanic students’ time-to-graduation, and is it different for their special opportunity program peers? Using theoretical lenses including intersectionality, class struggle, justice, and sociological practice, this dissertation employs data from a large urban public university system to examine the relative impact of demography, academic preparedness, and financial background on students’ time-to-graduation performance.

Time-to-graduation, operationalized in this dissertation as the duration of years before a student earns a bachelor’s degree, for full-time students often represents an investment of time at the expense of earning a wage or salary in the job market. The economic gain that accrues …

Cracks In The Bathroom Stall: A Discourse Analysis On Transgender Bathroom Usage At Garden Spot High School, Kirsten D. Corneilson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent years, high schools across the country have seen the concern around transgender students using gendered facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, come to the forefront. Often, dissenters raise worries of privacy and of “catering to a minority,” no matter what decision is reached. At Garden Spot High School in New Holland, Pennsylvania, the site of this research, one such concern has led to a district-wide decision to eliminate gendered facilities and move to single-use facilities, in the name of preserving student privacy. Through the examination of historical precedent and discourse analysis, this paper examines how transgender surveillance …

Reading Robot, Gillian Watts, Andrew Myers, Sabrinna Tan, Taylor Klein, Omeed Djassemi

General Engineering

Presently, there is an insufficient availability of human experts to assist students in reading competency and comprehension. Our team’s goal was to create an improved socially assistive robot for use by therapists, teachers, and parents to help children and adults develop reading skills while they do not have access to specialists. HAPI is a socially assistive robot that we created with the goal of helping students practice their reading comprehension skills. HAPI enables a student to improve their reading skills without an educator present, while enabling educators to review the student's performance remotely. Design constraints included: physical size, weight, duration …

A Look At Empathy, University Belonging, And Intersectionality: How To Support A Diverse Student Body Amid The Covid-19 Crisis, Shantalea Johns, Stephanie Hawkes

Social Work Faculty Publications

The present short essay discusses the impact COVID-19 has had on college students. As universities work to build supportive learning environments during these unprecedented times, it is important for practitioners to consider how mental health and student identity impact student success. The framework proposes that empathy, university belonging, and an intersectional approach to academic support can contribute to a student's mental health, identity, and emotional well-being as they transition back to academic life.

“A Lot Of Stories In My Mind”: Perspectives Of Children And Elders Living With Dementia On Intergenerational Collaboration In A Participatory Music Project, Cameron Dusman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Trends of music engagement include a shift towards presentational music culture, as well as inequitable access to participatory music-making for some populations. Meanwhile, trends of societal engagement include ageism and age-segregation. Especially for people living with dementia, stigma often prevents equitable access to creative participatory arts. This convergent, mixed-methods case study design explored participation in an intergenerational, participatory creative arts project. Participants included children from an elementary school and senior adults with dementia in a memory care neighborhood. The purpose was to explore the meaning of participation and interaction in the project from participants’ perspectives. Participants collaborated in eight sessions …

Connecting To The Self: Increasing Self-Awareness In Children With Asd, Development Of A Method, Madison Janke

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dance/movement therapy is a popular method utilized with the autism spectrum population due to its focus on increasing social skills, developing relationships, improving function, increasing positive body image, and expanding movement repertoire. The literature indicated that mirroring is the most common and most utilized DMT intervention for this population, but it provided minimal alternative dance/movement therapy interventions. The dance/movement therapy method implemented through this research attempted to provide an alternative to mirroring through the creation of a body outline. This method was developed through the theoretical framework of relational-cultural theory, emphasizing the impact that relationships can have on the shaping …

How Children Understand Disability: A Qualitative Exploration, Meredith Edelstein

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Disability research is broad in nature and covers a variety of experiences and conditions. Of critical importance in disability research is the delineation between the social and medical models of disability, and how these varying definitions inform one’s understanding of disability and internalization of the meaning-making of living with disabling impairments. Research exists on the adult experiences and retrospective accounts of individuals with disabilities. However, missing from these studies is the voice of children with disabilities. While there is an awareness that decreased self-concept and stigma exist surrounding childhood disability, there is limited data that considers how children make meaning …

Linguistic Barriers In Mathematics Word Problems For Deaf Students, Stefania Sarkic

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Many teacher preparation programs provide insufficient problem-solving skills training, and deaf students whose primary language is ASL encounter linguistic barriers when answering mathematics word problems. Research suggests that deaf students do not fully develop their critical thinking skills due to the linguistic barriers in mathematical word problems. This project investigates whether the use of ASL in mathematical word problems effectively gives another approach, more visual-based, to solving word problems and thereby helps deaf students develop critical thinking skills. A survey of 28 deaf students in developmental mathematics courses included three-word problems, one asked in English only, a second in ASL …