Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Productive Uncertainty In The Laboratory Setting: Engaging Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Abigail Hollowell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The University of Akron recently began a study by the name of “Productive Uncertainty in a Laboratory Setting (PULSe): Engaging Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Scientific Research” that has aims to promote the science, technology, engineering, or mathematic (STEM) career pathway for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder by broadening their experiences with relevant scientific research. The study involved a student enrolled in a STEM program that was also diagnosed with ASD, a student studying to be an intervention specialist, and other relevant faculty and students that could offer relevant research and learning opportunities for the students involved. Since …

The Importance Of Administrative Support For Special Education Teachers, Shari E. Lujan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Since the inception of special education laws in the 1970’s, special education teachers have been given the responsibility of educating children with exceptional needs. Those needs range from children with mild to moderate disabilities to children with moderate to severe disabilities. There are 13 categories that a child can qualify for special education services through an Individual Education Program (IEP). The majority of children with exceptional needs are educated on general education campuses. With high stakes testing and the push for academic excellence, one may wonder how a child with exceptional needs fits into a general education campus. The Education …

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 …

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 …

Infographic: Students With Disability, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

Advocacy group Children and Young People with Disability Australia sought the views of almost 500 parents and carers of primary and secondary students with disability for its 2019 National Education Survey. Today’s infographic looks at some of the main findings.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration In Exemplary Counseling-Enriched High School Programs: Integrating College & Career Readiness And Mental Health Wellness For Students With Emotional Disturbance, Amira S. Mostafa

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods multiple-case study was to describe how interdisciplinary collaborative teams support the college and career readiness and the mental health wellness of adolescents with emotional disturbance. A secondary purpose was to explore how team members describe and rate the importance of their interdisciplinary collaboration using the four essential elements (reflection, flexibility, newly created roles, and interdependence) based on the model established by Mellin (Mellin et al., 2010). Lastly, this study sought recommendations from team members on improved practices supporting adolescents with emotional disturbance.

Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed methods multiple-case study design explored the …

Motivational Factors Leading To Exceptional Student Education As A Career Choice, Annissa Brockington

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Districts nationwide continue to face the challenge of recruiting and retaining quality teachers for the classroom. The teacher shortage issue is bleaker when seeking teachers to fill some of the most critical subject areas needed such as math, science, and exceptional student education. The purpose of this study was to understand the motivational factors that contribute to an ESE teacher’s decision to remain in the teaching field. Over 600 ESE teachers were surveyed and asked to rate their satisfaction level over a range of multiple factors, and 247 teachers responded to the survey. Using quantitative methodology, a one-sample t test …

Special Education In Catholic Schools Viewed From A Liberatory Hermeneutic, Mary Carlson, Jeffrey Labelle

Journal of Catholic Education

This study explores anew the issue of providing special education in Catholic schools by viewing the ethical implications from a liberatory hermeneutic. By utilizing an interdisciplinary perspective, the research draws upon liberation theology, liberation psychology, liberation pedagogy, and liberation ethics to support the moral mandate for providing education for all God’s children, including those persons with disabilities. The study challenges Catholic educational leaders to reimagine their positions on how schools might promote a more inclusive, liberatory approach to serving the special needs of children with disabilities. Finally, this research provides a Catholic, liberatory, ethical framework for inclusive Catholic education to …

Music Therapy’S Role In The Education System, Madison Riley, Tori L. Colson, Moriah Smothers

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Music therapy is a lesser-known and used related service, yet it provides significant benefits to students that have language, behavioral, and social needs. This article reviews the literature on music therapy, discusses its historical and theoretical roots, and examines its use in educational settings. Special attention is given to therapeutic practices that are geared toward students on the autism spectrum because their social and communication needs are often a good fit for music therapy practices. Recommendations on using music therapy in special and general education classrooms are also made. Additionally, recommendations for including music therapy content in teacher preparation programs …

Understanding Equitable Assessment: How Preservice Teachers Make Meaning Of Disability, Melissa K. Driver

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Disproportionality of historically marginalized populations in special education continues to be a critical concern. The identification of students with disabilities is reliant on valid and reliable assessment that is free of bias. The extent to which this is possible given measurement constraints and an increasingly diverse student population is unclear. How teachers are trained to design, select, administer, score, and interpret assessment data related to the identification of students with disabilities is vastly under-researched considering the significant implications of assessment practices. In this study, six special education preservice teachers engaged in an assessment methods course during their second semester of …

Exemplary Leadership: A Mixed-Methods Case Study Discovering How Special Education Administrators Create Meaning, Julia Vandervennet

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to identify and describe the

behaviors that exemplary Special Education administrators use to create personal and organizational meaning for themselves and their followers through character, vision, relationships, wisdom, and inspiration. In addition, it is the purpose of this study to determine the degree of importance to which special education teachers perceive the behaviors related to character, vision, relationships, wisdom, and inspiration help to create personal and organizational meaning.

Methodology: The current mixed-methods study obtained in depth qualitative data through interviews from 3 exemplary special education administrators. Following the qualitative interview …

The Impact Of Unified Enrollment On School Choice For Parents Of Students With Disabilities: A Phenomenology Of Real Choice, Bridget Denise Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to investigate the effects of a unified enrollment system on school choice for parents of students with disabilities in a charter-dominant school district. Previous research indicated that charter schools provide parents with enrollment choices outside of the traditional public school (Rhim & McLaughlin, 2000; Finn, Caldwell & Raub, 2006).

This study was conducted in an urban, southeastern district that transitioned from a traditional school district to a district of independent charter schools. Research questions examined the availability of resources for parents to identify and receive placement in schools that are appropriate for meeting …

Teacher’S Attitudes And Willingness To Refer Sexual Minority Students To Special Education, Diane' Forney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that cultural minority students are over-represented in special education services based on teacher bias and attitudes towards these cultural minority students. A cultural minority that has not been as widely researched is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ). The purpose of this study is to determine if teacher’s bias and attitude towards LGBTQ students interferes with their ability to make special education referrals for sexual minority students (Hebl, 2000), who are students identified as LGBTQ. For the purpose of this study, a variety of teachers were asked to complete, two qualifying questions, a detailed demographic questionnaire, …

Inclusion In Physical Education, Taylor Thompson-Hall

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Cross-age peer tutoring will be used to help create an inclusion setting for students with and without disabilities. The participants for the capstone project included five fifth graders and five students with special needs that are in grades first to third. The site the research was conducted at is an elementary school located in Seaside, California. Fifth graders were trained on how to be an effective tutor in order to be able to help the special need students increase their motor performance by teaching them how to throw a ball overhand. The research found that cross-age peer tutoring was an …

A Space To Learn, Amy R. Goods

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I explore what it means to different people, in different places throughout life’s spectrum to create a space to learn. This dissertation is a collection of work that I have written throughout my time at the CUNY Graduate Center. The chapters herein represent an arch of my learning over the past five years. The title, A Space to Learn, has multiple meanings. For one, writing this dissertation has provided me a space to explore and reflect on a variety of topics, ranging from memory loss, to teacher preparation programs, to eugenics and special education, to tracking and …

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 …

Inclusive Classrooms: From Access To Engagement

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Life In Inclusive Classrooms: Storytelling With Disability Studies In Education

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Disability Inclusive Education: Practitioner Level, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Education Analytics Service

This module is designed to inform those who engage with and lead policy dialogue with international and domestic partners of diverse implementation strategies and key priorities in disability-inclusive education. It is recommended that users complete the Disability-Inclusive Education: Foundation Level module as background information to this Practitioner Level Module.

Disability Inclusive Education: Foundation Level, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Education Analytics Service

The purpose of this module is to provide introductory information about the rationale, purpose, benefits, key issues and outcomes of disability-inclusive education. The module focusses on disability-inclusive primary and secondary education, with some reference to post-school education and training (PSET) and early childhood education (ECE). Whilst great gains have been made in access to quality primary education for general populations, fundamental reform is still required to enable access for children with disabilities. This module provides foundational information to enable engagement in this topic, and the provision of general advice. A deeper presentation of issues and approaches can be found in …

Increasing Self-Efficacy In Providing Inclusive Practices To Students With Diverse Learning Needs, Teresa K. Nagy

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was designed to determine if teachers in an elementary school in South Suburban School District in Chicago, Illinois increased their self-efficacy as it relates to serving students with disabilities in their least restrictive environment after receiving professional development. The study began with a historical review of students with disabilities and the current requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Reauthorization Act of 2004. Educational systems within the United States are required to provide services to students with diverse learning needs in the least restrictive environment. These supports are most commonly referred to as inclusive practices. …

Understanding Racial Inequity In School Discipline Across The Richmond Region, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Adai Tefera, David Naff, Ashlee Lester, Jesse Senechal, Rachel Levy, Virginia Palencia, Mitchell Parry, Morgan Debusk-Lane

MERC Publications

This report comes from the MERC Achieving Racial Equity in School Disciplinary Policies and Practices study. Launched in the spring of 2015, the purpose of this mixed- method study was to understand the factors related to disproportionate school discipline outcomes in MERC division schools. The study had two phases. Phase one (quantitative) used primary and secondary data to explore racial disparities in school discipline in the MERC region as well as discipline programs schools use to address them. Phase two (qualitative) explored the implementation of discipline programs in three MERC region schools, as well as educator and student perceptions …

Representation Of English Language Learners In Special Education: A Campus-Level Study, Ruby López, Diana Linn

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This study utilized relative risk ratios to examine the representation of English language learners in special education programs in elementary, middle, and high school campuses in a school district in South Texas. Results indicated that English language learners were both underrepresented and overrepresented in the school district. Furthermore, underrepresentation was greater at the elementary campuses and overrepresentation was greater at the secondary campuses. The use of disaggregated data on the campus level continues to be of importance in understanding the representation of English language learners in special education programs as it provides critical information that cannot be gleaned from data …

The Domino Effect Of Challenging Behaviors, Stephanie Montezuma

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Challenging behaviors in special education have been an issue in special education classroom settings. In recent years it has become more evident that there is a need for improvement, although schools around the country have worked diligently to implement behavioral support plans that could improve or eliminate challenging behaviors. Many teachers in special education are under or unprepared to tackle these issues. After conducting research and interviewing two special education teachers, it was determined that most classrooms were in need of extra personnel support, staff training, and/or more effective parental involvement. In order to implement one of these action options, …

The Effects Of Teacher Demographics, Self-Efficacy, And Student Gender On Behavioral Referrals, Morgan E. Hestand

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined the most common reason for behavioral referrals and the effects of student gender, teacher age, teacher experience, and school setting on reasons for behavioral referrals to the schools intervention team or the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team. Additionally, it examined the self-efficacy of teachers and compared the self-perceptions of teaching general education students with behavior problems with perceptions of teaching students identified as having an Emotional Disturbance (ED). Participants included 179 general education teachers, grades K-12, from the state of Kentucky and additional teachers recruited from Facebook from across the U.S. Participants completed a survey about …

An In-Depth Case Study Of A Prospective Black Male Teacher Candidate With An Undisclosed Disability At A Historically Black College And University, Julius Davis, Lynne Long, Sarah Green, Yvonne M. Crawford, Jeannette Blackwood

Journal of Research Initiatives

As scholarship of Black male collegians is growing, there is limited research attentive to Black males with disabilities and in teacher education programs. The research focused on pre-service Black male teachers with disabilities attending HBCUs and the federal laws impacting their education and supports is absent. This research study fills the void by examining the individual experiences of a Black male pre-service teacher with a disability attending an HBCU. The research team used Black males with disability theory and single-subject case study methodology to describe Christopher “CJ” Jackson’s journey navigating his program of study as an English education major. Four …

“Indefensible, Illogical, And Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies About The Potential Of Students With Learning Disabilities In Mathematics, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper describes two myths that circulate widely about the potential of students with Learning Disabilities to learn mathematics: (1) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot benefit from inquiry-based instruction in mathematics, and only from explicit instruction; and (2) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot construct their own mathematical strategies and do not benefit from engaging with multiple strategies. In this paper, I will describe how these myths have developed, and identify research that counters these myths. I argue that these myths are the unintended consequences of deficit constructions of students with Learning Disabilities in educational research. Using neurodiversity to …

What Makes A House A Home? Supported Living Environments For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rose Meadows

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

My research aims to address how supported living environments for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) can best support their stakeholders. This is an inherently human and personal problem, but existing research tackling this problem utilizing a person-centric and/or resiliency theory lens or framework is lacking. My research will use the perspective of parents/guardians and staff/caregivers in combination with existing knowledge and research to create ideas for how to maximize support in supported living environments for adults with ASD and their families. This is a qualitative study that uses a humanized approach and in-person interviews with stake-holders to highlight their …

Benefits Of Educational Services For Students With Disabilities, Miguel Zazueta-Ruiz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone research project examines the benefits of educational services that schools offer to students with disabilities for a smooth transition from elementary school level to middle school and high school level. Federal and state laws, e.g. the Re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) of 2004, ensure that students with disabilities receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) specifically designed to provide services to meet the needs of individual student with disabilities through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Through the use of relevant literature review and surveys …