Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Inclusive Schools For Students Served By Special Education: How Central Office Supports Principals, Lynn Reynolds Saltzgaver

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

Principals shape school culture and the teaching practices that students experience and engage with every day. Today’s leaders need regular access to learning and support that will influence their ability to lead schools for social justice for students identified with disabilities.

District leaders have a responsibility to develop and support principals to provide equitable and high-quality learning experiences for students who have been identified with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Mountain Meadow School District’s role in supporting the development of leaders for social justice for students identified with a disability. This qualitative case study examined …

Is Inclusion The Answer?, Jacqueline M. Hewins

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Inclusion is the method by which many school districts meet the requirement of educating students with disabilities in the “least restrictive environment”. While it is an established practice, supported by the educational community and most families alike, there is a gap in the literature regarding how students feel about being in inclusion classes. In order to learn more about the student experience, five students with special education needs from a rural high school were interviewed about their involvement in inclusion. Students were asked about whether they felt included, if they socialized with peers from the inclusion class, and if they …

Chicanas Completing The Doctorate In Education: Providing Consejos De La Mesa De Poder, Sandra J. Castañón-Ramirez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study described four testimonios from Chicanas who have successfully completed a doctorate in education degree, both Ph.D. and Ed.D. The literature reviewed three important areas of study. The first is a review of the systemic challenges that Chicanas must hurdle; cheap labor, segregation of schools and neighborhoods, being silenced through English-only education, and deficit thinking. The second area of review focused on ways that Chicanas create strategies for success to overcome these challenges. The third was a review of the theoretical literature through a distinctly and relevant Chicana feminist lens.

Chicanas’ strategies for success were collected as testimonios. …

The Relationship Between Mentoring And Instructional Leadership Effectiveness: Gender Differences Between School Site Leaders, Kristina Britton

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Less than 25% of superintendent positions, the highest level of educational leadership, are occupied by women. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that over 75% of the nation’s teaching force are women. A significant barrier cited in the literature is that there is a deficiency in the support needed for women to successfully promote into higher-level administrative positions. Although mentoring has been shown to be key factor for female administrators’ success in educational administration, this study provides quantitative data to demonstrate the need for quality mentoring opportunities for school site administrators.The purpose of this research study was to …

Person-Centered Physical Training Programs For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: Stimulating Motivation And Participation As Essential Components Of Program Development, Monica Bolaños-Boudreau

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of two individuals with intellectual disabilities who participated in a person-centered physical training program that identified factors of motivation and influences on self-determined physical choices. The findings of this study revealed five factors that seemed to motivate participants to exercise; (a) enjoyable activities, (b) personalized program, (c) exercises that promoted health and positive self-images, (d) exercise routines that were familiar and safe, and (e) an exercise partnership with the trainer. Considering these factors of motivation, community leaders, administrators, and practitioners may promote self-determination and ultimately, impact participation by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, …

Leading Effective Inclusive Schools: How Principals Make The Difference, Megan Robinson Mcmillan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In effective inclusive schools, school principals are the difference-makers. Principals of these schools possess a commitment to leading schools adept at delivering high academic achievement outcomes and providing an inclusive education for students with disabilities. This leadership is predicated upon their inclusive consciousness, or a dogged determination to provide ethical and meaningful educational experiences to all students, but especially those with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand how four elementary-level public school principals acquired, developed, and demonstrated an inclusive consciousness that guided their leadership of effective inclusive schools. Data were collected using a basic qualitative methodology and …

Let The Children Come To Me: Accommodating And Embracing Catholic High School Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Hani Zubi

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Current state and federal legislation mandate public schools to provide a vast array of educational services for students with disabilities. Catholic high schools are, for the most part, exempt from laws requiring them to provide those same services. Although many Catholic schools attempt to assist students with disabilities, the students they are willing to accept and accommodate generally have learning disabilities categorized as mild to moderate, who may not need the scope and breadth of services available to them in public schools. However, they are bound by their identity as Catholic to include and embrace all members of the community. …

The Efficacy Of A Computer Program For Increasing Phonemic Awareness And Decoding Skills In A Primary School Setting For Children With Reading Difficulties, Tiffany Winn, Julia Miller, Willem Van Steenbrugge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper addresses a gap in research regarding the efficacy of software programs to help children with reading difficulties. Forty-two children aged 5-13 years identified as poor readers participated in a study over twelve weeks using ReadingDoctor, a software program targeting phonemic awareness, orthographic-phonemic mappings, decoding ability and sight word recognition. Measures were taken using the Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test - Revised (SPAT-R), the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), and the graphemes and decoding subtests of the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). A quasi-experimental one group study with three multiple baseline measures was used. The dependent variables/measures were assessed …

Higher Education Access And Participation For Persons With Disability In Ghanaian Public Universities, Mary Afi Mensah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Globally, there is a growing interest in widening access and supporting participation for persons with disability in higher education. This situation is stimulated in part by major international treaties and protocols. Ghana has demonstrated its commitment to this global trend to formulate and implement national legislation on inclusive education across the country’s educational system. However, in Ghana, access to and participation in the higher education system by persons with disability remains poor despite national legislation and policies to address this issue. It appears that national policies have not fully translated into institutional policies and provisions dedicated to supporting persons with …

Evidence-Based Reasoning Processes In Education: A Model To Support Interventionist Practice., Natasha Ziebell, Jemma Skeat

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Evidence-based Reasoning model is a systematic inquiry into student learning to determine what interventions are required in classroom contexts. The four step process includes noticing students who need additional support in their learning, the use of assessment data to establish an evidence-base, and subsequent interpretation that leads to decision making. The reasoning process is supported by collaborative practice models both within and beyond the teaching profession. The evaluation of interventions is integral in determining the impact that interventions have on student learning.

Countering Deficit Thinking About Neurodiversity Among General Education Teacher Candidates: A Case Discussion Approach, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We have observed that many of the multiple-subjects teacher credential candidates in our program often reveal deficit views of autistic children. This report provides an example of how we help credential candidates learn to reframe deficit thinking about neurodiversity via the examination, discussion, and dramatization of a collection of dilemma-based case stories designed to help our students unearth preconceptions and engage in shared inquiry. One strength of this approach is that it asks candidates to develop specific and realistic plans of action, to adopt a care ethic requiring them to think and act from the perspective of the child, to …

An Intersectional Analysis Of Disproportionality Of Dual Language Learners In Special Education In Virginia: A Mixed Methods Study, Melissa J. Cuba

Theses and Dissertations

The disproportionality of dual language learners (DLLs) in special education has been a persistent and complex issue for decades. These students have multidimensional identities that require a look at how they are positioned in school systems and the broader social landscape. Using a multilevel model of intersectionality and an explanatory mixed methods design, this study examines how social categories, practice, and policies influence the representation of DLLs in special education in Virginia, a state where DLLs represented 13 percent of the total student population in 2018-19. Findings from this study reveal overrepresentation and underrepresentation of 63 DLL subgroups using nuanced …

Sensory Substitution, Key To Inclusive Learning, Fathima Z. Zahir

Theses and Dissertations

Visually impaired students, in primary education, encounter unique challenges while learning creative skills, exploring artistic expression and developing problem-solving skills, because so much instructional content is delivered visually. Sensory substitution—an approach that replaces visual information with feedback from other intact senses like touch, sound, taste or smell—provides an opportunity to address those challenges.

Through the use of sensory substitution, this thesis proposes concrete ways to capitalize on the enhanced abilities of visually impaired primary school students. The research outcome of this thesis is a system of templates that puts these enhanced abilities to work for visually impaired students, to support …

Writing The Rainbow: Facilitating Undergraduate Teacher Candidates’ Lgbtqia+ Allyship Through Multimodal Writing, Judith Dunkerly-Bean, Julia Morris, Valerie Taylor

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This yearlong qualitative descriptive case study conducted by an interdisciplinary team of education faculty with pre-service elementary teacher candidates sought to disrupt heteronormativity and to increase candidates’ awareness and preparedness for inclusivity with future LGBTQIA+ elementary students. Central to our findings was that in researching and authoring multimodal texts addressing topics and concerns faced by the LGBTQIA+ community for their future classrooms, there was a shift in the perceptions and preparedness of the candidates toward working with children identifying as LGBTQIA+. However, we also encountered resistance and/or apathy that led us to develop an analytical framework for disrupting teacher candidate …

Unpacking "Giftedness": Research And Strategies For Promoting Racial And Socioeconomic Equity, David B. Naff, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Amy Jefferson, Michael Schad, Morgan Saxby, Kathryn Haines, Zoey Lu

MERC Publications

Giftedness as a construct continues to be contested in academia, in the classroom and around kitchen tables. It means different things to different communities and, as a result, acquiring the "gifted" label looks different around the country. Once labeled, student giftedness produces different responses depending on state and district guidelines. A constant among the patchwork of defining, identifying and responding to student giftedness, though, is a serious racial and economic disparity in who is considered gifted and who is not. This report provides key takeaways from research literature on gifted and talented (GT) programs. It is organized according to five …

Digital Equity In The Time Of Covid-19: The Access Issue, Jonathan D. Becker, Joy Washington, David Naff, Andrea Woodard, Joan A. Rhodes

MERC Publications

This report is a part of a series of reports on digital equity in the time of COVID-19 written by members of the MERC SY20 study team. MERC launched the SY20 project to provide rapid response, iterative research to help address immediate and enduring needs by school divisions in metropolitan Richmond. The project has the following goals: (1) To convene conversations between scholars and practitioners on critical topics in public education relevant to the moment, (2) To share examples of local efforts that illustrate innovation and best practice, (3) To encourage community engagement and dialogue on our work through broad …

The Lived Experiences Of People With Disabilities And Their Families: Transitioning To Adulthood And The Role Of Independent Facilitation, Emily Christine Tang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Objective

Emerging adulthood can be a stressful life stage due to the many life choices available and is especially challenging for emerging adults with disabilities (EADs) who face additional barriers in accessing supports and information regarding adult opportunities. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of transitioning to adulthood, and the role of a person-directed facilitation service, for EADs and their families.

Methods

Fourteen participants were recruited through purposeful and convenience sampling. Data collection procedures consisted of background questionnaires and one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were then thematically analyzed. Field notes, member checks and triangulation were used throughout the analysis process …