Accessibility Commons^™

Building Capacity And Inspiring Change: The Impact Of Louisiana’S Ucedd Across The Lifespan, Alicia Kowitz, Constance Alphonse, Phil Wilson, Maria Blanco

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Human Development Center (HDC), as the state’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), serves as a catalyst for inclusive systems change through interdisciplinary training, community engagement, and evidence-based service delivery. This manuscript highlights the breadth and impact of HDC’s initiatives across early childhood, education, transition, and community inclusion. Through programs such as Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood, PAYCheck, and LEND, HDC builds capacity among professionals, empowers individuals with disabilities and their families, and strengthens systems to be more responsive and equitable. The stories and outcomes shared illustrate how intentional, collaborative efforts …

Revisiting Least Restrictive Environment In Adapted Physical Education: A Framework For Evidence-Based Practice, Dillon R. Martinez, Samantha Charron

Essays in Education

This article addresses the implementation of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) principles in adapted physical education. Despite the legal mandates established by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the field faces significant challenges, including a shortage of qualified professionals, overemphasis on universal inclusion, and the exclusion of student voices from placement decisions. Through analysis of historical context, implementation challenges, and a proposed Student-Centered APE Placement Model (SCAPM), this article provides a preliminary framework for making evidence-based placement decisions that prioritize student success. By integrating perspectives from a preservice teacher education candidate and current higher education practice, the framework offers practitioners a …

Joy In Lifelong Learning: An Introduction To Planning For Learning Disabilities In Museum Education, Elaine L. Davis

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

For over a century, the role of museums as learning institutions has been considered alongside that of schools. However, special education practices are rarely adapted for museum education, requiring educators in museum contexts to undertake extra work to accommodate those with learning disabilities. This thesis used Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Textual Analysis to review pedagogical white papers and academic research on museum programs aimed at neurodivergent audiences. The findings were used to create a professional development guide for museum educators at a range of different types of museums.

Adaptive Art Teaching Strategies: Empowering Students And Paraprofessionals In The Inclusive Art Classroom, Kameran Dostal

Art 895 Research Papers

In the art room, differentiation for students with exceptional disabilities presents unique challenges. Some art educators teach in self-contained settings (e.g. adaptive art classes), other art educators teach in inclusive art room settings (where students with disabilities are integrated into the art room), and others teach a combination of both. The research on adaptive art programs and adaptive teaching practices has the potential to impact students with disabilities as a piece of advocacy to showcase the impact of the visual arts on their IEP goals and fine motor skills. The intention is that this research re-examines best practices in teaching …

Exploring Education Policy And Resources In Virginia Secondary Education, Gabrielle Lyon

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The study examines the intersection of federal special education policy within Virginia's secondary schools, specifically focusing on teachers’ compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study explores educators' awareness and usage of the Virginia Department of Education's hearing decisions index, which documents IDEA violations and due process decisions. Through analyzing federal education legislation, state implementation practices, and teacher perspectives, this study reveals critical gaps in educator preparation and resource awareness regarding special education policy compliance. The findings suggest that while the IDEA violations are being tracked and documented, there remains a significant disconnect between available resources and …

The Impact Of Educators’ Perceptions Of Neurodivegence On Their Self-Efficacy In Teaching Middle And High School Students With Adhd And Autism In Rural Minnesota, Nicolle D. Bettcher Erickson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore how we can best support our teachers in matching our ever-changing educational landscape, specifically our neurodivergent learners. When educating neurodivergent students (students with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), we must understand how to teach these creative, sometimes misunderstood individuals and unleash their full potential. To do so, we need educational practitioners who have healthy perceptions of what it means to be neurodivergent and educators who understand both the talents and hurdles that being neurodivergent may entail. This study examined how non-special education teachers' perceptions of neurodivergence correlated with …

Advocacy Agency Assignment (Aaa), Christopher D. Yawn

Open Educational Resources

As a special educator, it is important to be familiar with the various organizations that work to benefit individuals with disabilities. To that end, this assignment requires students to locate organizations that work for the benefit of individuals with disabilities and share out with their peers to add to their cache of helpful resources to provide to the families they serve.

Including Conscientiously: How Charter School Educators Experience Inclusion Education Implementation, Joe A. Petty

Dissertations

This narrative inquiry examined how charter school educators experience inclusive education implementation while confronting ableist systems that maintain exclusion through seemingly neutral practices. This research emerged from my lived experience of how educational structures systematically marginalize disabled students while appearing progressive. The study investigated two research questions: how support structures and leadership practices either perpetuate or dismantle ableist assumptions embedded in educational practice, and how educators negotiate tensions between implementing evidence-based inclusive strategies and addressing environmental factors that create the need for those strategies.

Data collection employed semistructured interviews with eight credentialed educators across two Southern California charter school sites, …

The Importance Of Endrew: Analyzing The Influence Of A New Legal Precedent In Pennsylvania Due Process Hearing Officer Decisions Before And After Covid-19 Closures, David H. Rush

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

In 2017, a new standard for determining substantive violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was established with the ruling for Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. Recently, the United States Department of Education and State Education Agencies have cited the Endrew decision as being important in defining what constitutes a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA, in light of mandated school closures due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Despite its noted importance, there has been limited analysis into how this new legal precedent has influenced special education due process hearing officer decisions. …

Empowering All Students To Participate: Utilizing Aac To Respond During Lessons, Robbie Cromwell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Previous research indicates that frequent and active participation of all students (including diverse student groups) improves student outcomes, as does using a variety of methods to respond during classroom instruction. Current research is limited in examining two key areas: 1) Increasing active participation of AAC users by encouraging engagement through frequent response opportunities during instruction and 2) Utilizing a variety of response methods to enable participation during instruction. Given the gaps that exist in the research, the purpose of this study is to examine whether incorporating a variety of opportunities to respond has an impact on AAC user’s engagement and …

Equalizing Postsecondary Transition For At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services: A Chance To Succeed, Karla R. Sanchez

Dissertations

Postsecondary transition can be difficult for At-Promise Youth Receiving Special Education Services (APYRSES). Special educators supporting postsecondary transition often manifest traditional and institutionalized forms of oppressive education while dismissing collective values and beliefs.

This qualitative case study examined the beliefs and attitudes shared by three special education teachers after being introduced to a justice-focused, humanizing intervention to facilitate postsecondary transition for APYRSES. The conceptualized intervention was grounded in liberatory educational frameworks and drew from critical, culturally affirming, sustaining, and humanizing theories that foster cultural reciprocity, self-determination skills, and antiracist social–emotional justice learning to afford opportunities for APYRSES to succeed. The …

Kindness Without Barriers: An Investigation Of The Benefits Of Social Organizations For Students With Disabilities, Abby Newton

Honors Theses

While legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) has made monumental progress in education for individuals with disabilities, there is still an evident need for increased accessibility and equity of opportunity within the K-12 environment. IDEA guarantees students with disabilities will receive a Free Appropriate Public Education, but this law does not include discussion on the evolving barriers to social participation students with disabilities often face, and sequentially, the impact this has on one’s learning environment. This report will examine the benefits of extracurricular activities for …

Inclusion For Students With Intellectual Disabilities: A Philosophical Reconstruction Of The Student To Expand Access And Its Benefits, Derek Thomas Myles Daskalakes

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation attempts a philosophical rethinking of the concept of the student in educationally relevant disability law for the sake of expanding access to general education settings for students with intellectual disabilities (ID), without committing to the approach known as full inclusion. I show that students with ID receive significantly less access to general education settings in comparison to other student populations, and that empirical studies show this to be harmful to their learning and developmental outcomes. Discussion of this problem in the inclusion literature assumes one of two positions that separately support either maintaining the status quo regarding the …

Does Teacher Bias Increase Referral Of Blacks To Special Education For A Reading Disability?, Blade Wise Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that Black students are over-represented in special education for a reading disability based on the inaccuracy of teacher referrals. Teachers' accuracy in referring Black students to special education for a reading disability is not an extensively researched area. This study aims to determine if teachers' biases and attitudes toward Black students impacted their ability to accurately make a special education referral for a reading disability for this population of students. For this study, teachers completed a questionnaire, cultural competence self-assessment checklist, four vignettes, and a post-vignette question to determine if their personal biases and attitudes impacted their willingness …

Collaborative Teaching And Inclusion In Northeast, Tn, Sherianne Pigeon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Collaborative teaching is a commonly used, research-based method to support inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, there is a lack of research describing current teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of collaborative teaching and inclusion. Results from a survey disseminated to teachers in Northeast TN school systems revealed that 64.3% of respondents have either never co-taught a class or have co-taught only one or two classes. Additionally, respondents agree that collaborative teaching is beneficial to support inclusion, enhance delivery of instruction, improve teacher relations and improve classroom management. However, teachers expressed collaborative teaching is more …

Cultivating Family Empowerment In Schools: The Experiences Of Marginalized Families In Special Education, Rachel-Marie F. Sinco

Honors Theses

The provision of special education services to special needs students is largely upheld by federal and state policies and regulations, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) which ensures that children with disabilities have the opportunity to access a free appropriate public education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). However, marginalized families of low-income and linguistically diverse backgrounds continue to face barriers and challenges to effectively participate in their child’s education and secure the necessary and appropriate services for their child. Family Empowerment Centers on Disability (FECs) in California provide a policy solution to assist families navigate …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Special Education: A Case Study, Megan Cercone

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this research project is to explore the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on special education by evaluating the experiences of one child with disabilities who attends public schools. METHODS: A semi-structured interview was conducted with the two parents of the child, who has physical disabilities and an IEP through his school, meaning he receives special education services through intervention teachers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. The interview was recorded and transcribed, and then interview transcripts were evaluated to identify themes in the subjects’ responses regarding their child’s experience with public education during the pandemic. …

Discipline Disproportionality Of Black Students With Disabilities: Principals' Perspectives, Wanda L. Van Dyke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the problem of practice found in discipline disproportionality of Black students with disabilities in an urban school district with a majority Black student and teacher population. Through personal interviews with building level administrators, data was gained to determine common themes that impact discipline disproportionality of Black students with disabilities. A qualitative inquiry approach, in the form of a case study was used to determine principals’ perspectives about factors that may impact discipline disproportionality. Student disciplinary records were examined to verify disproportionality and investigate patterns and categories related to students with and without …

Technology As A Tool For Support: Classroom Teachers And Resource Specialists In Collaboration And Communication Practices, Mackenzie Jones

Education | Master's Theses

Classroom teachers and resource specialists face hectic schedules that include supporting students and meeting the core curriculum standards. In order to support students with disabilities in the classroom, collaboration between classroom teachers and resource specialists is essential. With busy schedules and increasing demands that teachers face, there is an urgent need to support teachers with effective systems of collaboration. This research focuses on the problem of unorganized and ineffective systems of support, which teachers face when trying to collaborate and communicate with their colleagues. While many prior studies address the significance of providing time for educators to collaborate in the …

Building-Level Administrators And Collaborative Special Education Iep Meetings: Addressing Barriers To Active And Inclusive Participation, Trevor A. Addis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors serving as barriers to effective building-level administrator participation in special education individualized education program (IEP) meetings. For the purposes of this study, research was conducted in the multidisciplinary areas of social cognitive theory and self-efficacy, along with an examination of school-building administrators as instructional leaders, the role(s) of building-level leadership in special education and building administrator knowledge and understanding of special education policies and practices. A qualitative research approach was used to examine local building-level administrator participation in the special education IEP process. Building Level Administrators, in the district were …

A Study Of Student Experiences In The Secondary Transition Program Through Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions, Kelley M. Sells

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine and analyze the perceptions of students with mild-moderate disabilities, teachers, and parents regarding the students’ experiences related to their secondary transition plan. More specifically, the qualitative single-case study sought to identify areas of alignment and divergence of these three key members’ perspectives since experiences and perceptions are unique to an individual based on the context and individual’s perspective of the event. These findings suggested that the district showed experiences of valuable student presence and input in their IEP meetings and trusting supportive student-teacher relationships. The study also revealed that significant barriers …

Influences Impacting Child Study Team School Social Workers Decision-Making In A New Jersey Urban District On Placement Of Students Classified Emotionally Disturbed, Pia D. Moore

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research on students classified as Emotionally Disturbed (ED) shows that a disproportionate number of ED students are educated outside of the general education setting. In New Jersey a little more than half of students classified as ED are not educated in general education classrooms for most of their school day. The academic performance of ED students is often lower in self-contained environments than in the general education setting (Oelrich, 2012). ED students overall have poor academic and life experiences. The educational program and setting in which an ED student is primarily educated might have an impact on their current and …

Exploring The Impact Of Musical Mnemonic Strategies On Student Achievement And Engagement In Inclusive Science Classes, Zinna Eaton

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Students with disabilities often struggle with comprehending material and performing at grade level, and teachers often find new ways to help their students comprehend the curriculum. A common challenge for special education teachers is incorporating different learning styles and various instructional strategies to better assist their students. One teaching strategy and resource that many teachers incorporate is the use of music in their instruction. This research project examines how incorporating music teaching strategies into daily instruction impacts the level of engagement and the academic achievement level of sixth-grade students with and without mild/moderate disabilities within inclusive science classrooms. The study …

Exploring Stem Kit Diagrams For Braille Readers In Inclusive Classrooms, Sariat A. Adelakun Dr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Diagrams appears in many school subjects but more prominent in science and mathematics taught in schools. Accessing these diagrams in an inclusive classroom has been identified to be problematic for blind students partly due to the teaching resources available and personnel type, support and sufficiency. Diagrams are mostly omitted by teachers leaving the blind person out in such classroom to access portion of education received by their peers. In many instances, questions with diagrams are treated as bonus for blind students in some countries which is not fair to them. This study explored the efficacy of STEM Kit diagrams on …

Implementing Writers’ Workshop Into The Special Education Classroom, Taylor Denning

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Writers’ Workshop has developed prominence as a method towards providing authentic writing experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine what happens to student perceptions and quantity of writing when Writers’ Workshop is implemented into a special education setting. This study took place in a self-contained special education classroom of third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Data was collected through focus group interviews with the teachers, focus groups with two students from every grade, perception surveys, and writing samples.

Surveys and focus group interviews were completed before and after the implementation. Writing samples were collected at the beginning, middle, and end …

Placement Of Students With Extensive Support Needs In California School Districts: The State Of Inclusion And Exclusion, Meghan Cosier, Audri Sandoval-Gomez, Donald N. Cardinal, Shayne Brophy

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Access to general education settings for students with disabilities varies greatly among and within states across the United States and worldwide. The variability in placement and lack of access to general education for students with disabilities, particularly students with extensive support needs, are reasons to identify factors associated with placement and then address the role of current policy. Explored in this study were the placement of students with extensive support needs in 938 school districts across the State of California in the United States and the relationship between placement and economic and demographic factors. Results suggest alarmingly low access to …

Co-Teaching As A Vehicle To Inclusion In A Diverse Suburban Middle School: A Case Study, Luis Correa

Dissertations

Many school districts across the United States have adopted, or are considering adopting, full inclusion to meet academic and social-emotional needs of increasingly diverse student populations. Co-teaching has become a popular approach for districts committed to inclusion. This study is about a Midwestern school district which more than 10 years ago committed itself to inclusion and co-teaching. The primary research question was: How do we make co-teaching more effective in the Fairview School District? A survey was sent to 120 co-teachers from three middle schools about their experiences with co-teaching in the areas of sharing responsibilities, co-teaching relationships, planning time, …

Teacher Perception Toward Students With Certain Disabilities In The General Education Setting, Tara Lynn Broussard-Harshaw

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

Teacher expectation for student success in the classroom is an effect size that can be used as an indicator of student success. Students with disabilities such as Autism, emotional disturbance, specific learning disabilities or other health impairments are often viewed as being unable to be as successful in a general education classroom than their peers. There were 11 participants in this study. Participants were from the northwest corridor of the state. Participants were public school general education teachers. They varied in range from Kindergarten through grade 12. This study reinforces the need for general education teachers to have a better …

The Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In The General Education Classroom, Megan Walsh

Senior Theses

The inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom has been a major topic of discussion for many years. Inclusion education means that all students are part of the school community, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses (“Sec. 300.8 Child With a Disability.” n.d.). These students deserve to have full access to all resources and social interactions that are present in the general education classroom. The ultimate goal of many schools is to create a classroom that has the least restrictive environment to meet the needs of all students, including those with special needs. However, many teachers …

The Inclusive Classroom: Perceptions Of General And Special Educators’ Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Students With Disabilities, Allecia Frizzell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine whether kindergarten through eighth grade general education teachers and special education teachers were prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Conducted in Northeast Tennessee, an online survey was used to collect responses from participants in six school districts. The survey focused on four dimensions including perceptions of preparedness, attitudes towards inclusion, perceptions of administrator support and perceptions of self-efficacy. Data collected from 180 respondents were analyzed and informed the results of this study.

Findings indicated that special education teachers reported significantly higher levels of preparedness to meet the needs …