Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Adolescents With Sensory Processing Disorder In Middle School Settings : A Guidebook For Learning Support Coordinators, Jenna Borden

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explores how sensory processing disorder (SPD) impacts adolescents' lives and their success in school and provides special educators with resources to support students with SPD.

A Phenomenological Study Of Cultural Responsiveness In Special Education, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods, Marquis Carter Grant

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the factors affecting elementary teacher’s ability to understand the academic needs of their racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse special education students and the ways in which their values and beliefs influenced their use of culturally responsive practices in the special education classroom. This study revealed five major reasons for the disproportionate number of Black students in special education as perceived by three White teachers in North Carolina: (a) the inadequate coursework in teacher education programs regarding teaching strategies to effectively teach racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse (RCED) students, (b) the cultural …

Talking With Symbols, Elizabeth Helfman

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Discusses a classroom of seven children with cerebral palsy and the effective communication techniques they learned through the language of symbols.

A Mainstreaming Story: What The Labels Leave Out, Susan Goetz

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Case study of a kindergarten child who defied the labels and evaluation reports and surprised his teachers and classmates.

The Fisher-Landau/Dalton Program: A Pilot Study Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Learning Disabilities, Herbert Zimiles, Sylvia Ross

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the two major objectives of the Fisher-Landau program at Dalton: 1. To achieve early identification of specific learning abilities in otherwise intellectually gifted children in order to help them compensate for and thereby forestall some of their difficulties and academic defeats earlier in their school careers, and 2. to improve the effectiveness with which schools are able to meet the educational and developmental needs of learning-disabled children.

The Role Of The Teacher In The Interdisciplinary Team, Sue S. Suratt

Thought and Practice: (1987-1991) the Journal of the Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education

Describes the author's impression that teachers are inadequately prepared to assume leadership roles in clinical settings, especially as members of interdisciplinary teams.

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 …

A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Framework For Improving Academic And Postsecondary Outcomes Of Students With Moderate Or Severe Intellectual Disability, Christopher J. Rivera, Bree A. Jimenez, Joshua N. Baker, Tracy Spies, Pamela J. Mims, Ginevra Courtade

ETSU Faculty Works

The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with moderate or severe intellectual disability (ID) are quite unique and complex. CLD students with moderate or severe ID face many of the same issues as their non-disabled CLD peers; however, due to the nature of their disability this may lead to even less access to the general curriculum, appropriate services, materials, and meaningful collaboration between families and educators. The purpose of this article is to provide a culturally responsive framework for facilitating academic instruction for CLD students with moderate or severe ID that also includes appropriate supports in an effort …

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

How To Implement Visual Activity Schedules For Students With Disabilities, Amy D. Spriggs, Wilhelmina Van Dijk, Pamela J. Mims

ETSU Faculty Works

Based on recent literature reviews on the use of Visual Activity Schedules (VAS) for students with intellectual disability and autism, the strategy has been deemed an evidence based practice. Using the literature highlighted in the recent reviews, this article provides an overview of VAS and common skills VAS has been used to teach. Additionally, the authors provide guidelines on schedules variations, creating schedules, and implementing the schedules. Finally, several examples of VAS are included.

Male Gender Disparity Gap: Does Gender Impact Education, Laura D. Smith

EDL Sixth Year Theses

This case study focuses on male gender disparity in education and the large numbers of males referred and receiving special education services. The data indicates that females outperform males academically, and that the males behaviors impacts their academic success. The connection to males at a young age being placed in low ability reading groups based upon behaviors, and their motivation and academic achievement is affected negatively. The eighth grade students at a PK - 8th grade rural Connecticut school participated in this researcher’s case study. The case study looked at, how students perceived their education, and what role their education …

Toward A Deeper Understanding Of Disability: Physical Therapy Educators’ Reflections, Clarence Chan, Debra Engel, Jacqueline Ross

Publications and Research

This article describes the unique journey both of a blind student in our Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program and of the faculty who taught him as they all navigated through uncharted territories. Despite the fact that the physical therapy profession trains practitioners to help clients with disabilities to maximize their physical function and teaches them how to adapt to the challenges of daily activity, we initially assumed that a blind student would not be able to complete the program or be able to become a self-sufficient practitioner. We were very wrong. This article describes our learning process over the course …

The Impact Of Co-Teaching On General Education Students In Seventh Grade Math, Kenneth Lamar James

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Federal legislation has mandated that all students, including students with disabilities, perform at or above a certain level on standardized tests. Students with disabilities consistently have scored below the required minimum score. Educators have begun implementing co-teaching strategies in the general education classroom in order to better serve the students with disabilities. This has caused concern among some parents and other educators as to how the inclusion of special education students in the general classroom will affect the achievement of general education students. This quantitative study is designed to gather data from the math section of the Criterion Referenced Competency …

Parents Of Students With Disabilities Views Of Schools’ Efforts To Facilitate Their Involvement In Their Child’S Educational Progress, Stephanie A. Lessard

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The objective of this Senior Honors Project was to investigate schools’ efforts to collaborate with parents of children receiving special education services within Harrisonburg City Public Schools in the State of Virginia. The study had two primary purposes.

The first was to empower parents by educating them about special education laws and their rights concerning how to obtain services for their child. The workshops, presented by the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC), addressed areas such as communication skills and interpersonal skills for the purposes of bolstering relationships between schools and parents.

Second, since schools sometimes fail to effectively involve …

Preschool Experience Vs. No Preschool Experience: Long Term Effects On Academic And Social Readiness Of Children, Dionne C. Estes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Despite federal and state investments in early education intervention programs,achievement gaps continue to afflict the education system with children from low-income families having an increased need for high quality preschool education. When children from underprivileged families move through the education system, the chances of academic success becomes difficult as the education gap increases year after year, and they fall farther behind. By the time these students enter high school, they are behind academically and unable to meet grade level requirements. Many of them to give up and quit attending school, leading to an increase in the dropout rate.

Research indicates …

Knowledge Of Special Education Law Among Administrators In A Southern California Special Education Local Plan Area, Suruchi Singh

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was (a) to identify the knowledge of special education law among administrators within a SELPA in California and (b) to identify the training needs of administrators; 65 administrators participated in this quantitative study, yielding a response rate of 84%. A survey created on the six principles of IDEA was used with administrators (principals and assistant principals) who serve approximately 42,000 students at 50 public schools. Analysis of data revealed that Hypothesis 1, which projected that 51% or more administrators would perceive their knowledge of special education law as average or better, was supported. Hypothesis 2, …

Constructing And Resisting Disability In Mathematics Classrooms: A Case Study Exploring The Impact Of Different Pedagogies, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study demonstrates the importance of a critical lens on disability in mathematics educational research. This ethnographic and interview study investigated how ability and disability were constructed over 1 year in a middle school mathematics classroom. Children participated in two kinds of mathematical pedagogy that positioned children differently: procedural and discussion-based. These practices shifted over time, as the teacher increasingly focused on memorization of procedures to prepare for state testing. Two Latino/a children with learning disabilities, Ana and Luis, used multiple cultural practices as resources, mixing and remixing their engagement in and identifications with mathematics. Ana, though mastering the procedural …

Labeling: Student Self-Esteem And The Stigma Of A Label, Amanda Kay Sowards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Labels help to provide educational support to students who struggle academically, physically, emotionally and socially. The decision to use a label should be carefully considered due to the possibility of negative connotations regarding social relationships, personal preferences and the effects on self-esteem. The author discusses a study that examines the effects of labeling in regard to the impact on the self-esteem of students with disabilities and will scrutinizes if students with disabilities are negatively perceived by their peers. Current research of labeling, self-esteem and social disadvantage is discussed. Due to the overwhelming number of students being labeled and a lack …

A Study Of The Social And Emotional Growth And Development Of Students With Disabilities In An Inclusive Setting In An Inner-City Middle School, Heather Rachelle Lemmons

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this retrospective, explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to determine the impact of an inclusive educational setting on the behavioral, social, and emotional growth and development of students with various disabilities. Many aspects of a student’s educational experiences can be affected by a proper placement in an inclusive setting with non-disabled peers including discipline rates and referrals, need for behavioral goals and plans, and perceptions concerning personal social growth and development.

The setting for this research study was an inner-city middle school serving Grades 7 and 8 in western North Carolina. Eighth-grade middle school students identified as students …

A Factor Analytic Validation Study Of The Scale Of Teachers' Attitudes Towards Inclusive Classrooms (Static)), Trisha Sugita Nishimura, Randy T. Busse

Education Faculty Articles and Research

General and special education teachers (N = 125) completed the Scale of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC). The internal consistency of the instrument was strong with an alpha of .89. The measure demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (r = .99) and a dependent t-test was non-significant, indicating mean group temporal stability. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in a five-factor scale accounting for 61.6% of the variance versus the original four factors identified by the author of the instrument. Future research and potential use of the instrument are discussed.

Collaborative Teaching: A Delivery Model To Increase Responsiveness To The Needs Of All Learners Through Academic And Social Inclusion, Dayna Reilly

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Students with special needs often miss out on classroom curricula for specialized instruction. While these services are valued for educational benefits, this instruction method often has negative impacts on social-emotional development and targets students for their differing needs.

Integrated collaborative teaching models include collaborative teaching among general and special educators in an inclusive environment. In this descriptive study, the author examined integrated collaborative teaching as a delivery model to increase responsiveness to the needs of all learners through academic and social inclusion.

This study involved students with a wide range of disabilities from two different grade leveled collaborative classrooms, who …

Implementing A Flexible Approach To Teacher Assignments And Placement Of Students With Special Needs: A Policy Advocacy Document, Kim M. Morley

Dissertations

In February 2013, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) informed school districts that they were considering changing the rules related to special education class size and the percentage of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) who can be enrolled in regular education classrooms. As of January 17, 2014, the rules related to special education staffing and the percentage of regular and special education students in classrooms are still pending approval by ISBE (Special Education Today, 2014). The purposes of this project are as follows: to advocate for the maintenance of the current rule while building in some flexibility, to …

A Special Educators Insight On Stigma, Student Performance And Job Satisfaction : Who Determines Educational Success?, Claudette Mincey

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study describes the views, perceptions and thoughts of special education teachers at a New York City public school in Brooklyn, NY.

Teaching The Universal Language Of Creativity: A Guide To Training., Carlie R. Arnone

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Teaching the Universal Language of Creativity: A Guide to Training.

The purpose of education in any regard is to provide knowledge and information, to teach something. Parents, educators, and professionals alike are experiencing some difficulty in education, in that they are not being properly taught how to nurture some particular needs of individuals with developmental disabilities, specifically on how to use creativity to do so. Educators, parents, and professionals in the field need to start advocating for a balance between strict regulations and creativity. In the recent years, there has been quite the push for creativity and innovation in businesses, …

Comparing The Perceptions Of Inclusion Between General Education And Special Education Teachers, Debra Bruster

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This causal-comparative, quantitative study compared the perceptions of inclusion of students with disabilities in the mainstream classroom that are held by high school general education teachers and high school special education teachers that teach in inclusive settings. The study determined there is a difference between the perceptions of inclusive education between teachers with different teaching assignments. Special education teachers were clearly more positive than general education teachers about the inclusion of students with disabilities, the influence of students with disabilities on the general education classroom and its students, and the management of behavior in the inclusive classroom. There was no …

Creating The Continuum: J. E. Wallace Wallin And The Role Of Clinical Psychology In The Emergence Of Public School Special Education In America, Philip M. Ferguson

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper reviews the history of the continuum of services in intellectual disability programs. The emergence of public school special education in the United States in the first two decades of the 20th century is used as a case study of this history by focusing on events and personalities connected to the St. Louis Public Schools. Using Annual Reports from the era along with the abundant publications and personal papers of J.E. Wallace Wallin, the author explores how the growing class of specialists in clinical psychology and psychometrics gained a foothold in the schools as educational gatekeepers for student placements …

In Defense Of Idea Due Process, Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

Due Process hearing rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are under attack. A major professional group and several academic commentators charge that the hearings system advantages middle class parents, that it is expensive, that it is futile, and that it is unmanageable. Some critics would abandon individual rights to a hearing and review in favor of bureaucratic enforcement or administrative mechanisms that do not include the right to an individual hearing before a neutral decision maker. This Article defends the right to a due process hearing. It contends that some criticisms of hearing rights are simply erroneous, and …

Intrusiveness Of Behavioral Treatments For Children With Autism And Developmental Disabilities: An Initial Investigation, Michael R. Mayton, Stacy L. Carter, Jie Zhang, John J. Wheeler

ETSU Faculty Works

The behaviors frequently displayed by students with autism can place them at risk for overly reactive behavior interventions with unwanted side effects. The current study examined the level of intrusiveness of behavioral treatments developed for 198 students with disabilities from 13 different states. Results demonstrated that students diagnosed with autism had proportionally more intrusive behavior interventions when compared to students in five other disability categories and indicated that many students with autism were unnecessarily subjected to highly intrusive behavior interventions. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.

The Perceptions Of Caucasian Female Elementary Teachers And The Overrepresentation Of African-American Males In Special Education, Thomas Seaberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a disproportionate amount of African-American males in special education programs. Several factors have been offered by researchers as to why this phenomenon continues to be a problem throughout the county. The purpose of this study was to understand how Caucasian female teachers' perceptions of African-American male students might influence their overrepresentation in special education. This qualitative study employed an ethnographic case study method, and relied primarily on a pilot study and teacher interviews to obtain data related to this phenomenon. Using this research design, the researcher established six themes related to the research phenomenon: (1) cultural discontinuity between …

Kyted President's Letter, Steve Crites

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

Read a letter from the president.