Special Education Administration Commons^™

How Do Administrators Of New York City Early Intervention Programs Conceptualize And Implement Family-Centered Care?, Jennifer M. Longley

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Family-centered care, the mandated delivery approach outlined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C, is considered best practice in providing services to families with children under three with special needs. It has been shown to benefit children and families through numerous positive outcomes. Yet, family-centered care is not implemented in all programs universally, and significant variation exists in how programs deliver family-centered services, to the detriment of families. Much of that variation can be attributed to programmatic leadership, as administrators establish the philosophy, policies, practices, and organizational climate of an agency.

This project intended to build on the …

Examining The Relationships Among Parents’ Perceptions Of Their Children’S Special Educational Needs, Their Beliefs About Parental Involvement, And Their Decision To Homeschool, Mary Lee Morse

Doctoral Dissertations

The school choice option of homeschooling has grown rapidly over the past two decades. An estimated 1.77 million K-12 students in the United States (3.4% of the total school-age population) were being homeschooled during the 2011-2012 school year. The purpose of this study was to gather data from homeschooling parents that would contribute to the understanding of parental involvement with school choice and of parental involvement with educational organizations. More specifically, this study determined the proportion of families in the sample (N = 333) who had children enrolled in public or private school before making the decision to homeschool …

Professional Qualifications And Gender, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Literature comparing male and female superintendents rather consistently has reported differences in professional qualifications. Most notably, females have higher levels of professional experience, especially as teachers, before becoming a superintendent. Logically, authors studying this topic conclude that females usually must have superior credentials to enter the position. Two findings in AASA's latest decennial study of superintendents, one pertaining to teaching experience and the other to age upon entering the position, suggest the conclusion remains valid. In 2010, 28 percent of males and 13 percent of females had fewer than 6 years of teaching experience. In 2000, those figures were 41 …

Reflections Of Self: Images Of People With Specific Learning Disabilities And Attention Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder In Children's Literature, Elizabeth R. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explored the portrayals of people with a specific learning disability or with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children's literature. Eighteen books were analyzed to determine what themes and messages were being conveyed to children.

The major themes were about friendship, and overcoming issues associated with a SLD or AD/HD. In addtion, the portrayals suggest that children with SLD and AD/HD have similar problems like their peers with these conditions. However, there were portrayals of stereotypical roles and usage of negative language.

Student Motives For Taking Online Courses In Educational Administration, Theodore J. Kowalski, David Alan Dolph, Ila Phillip Young

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This study was conducted with students enrolled in a master’s degree program in educational administration at a private research university that offered all required courses in both online and in-class formats. The purposes were to determine (a) the extent to which online courses were selected, (b) the level of importance students placed on four common motives for taking online courses, and (c) levels of association between the importance of values and two demographic variables (employment level and years of teaching experience). The extent to which students took online courses varied considerably. Convenience and flexibility were the most important motives and …

Superintendent Mobility, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

A study nearly 50 years ago categorized superintendents as being either career-bound or place-bound. The former consisted of administrators inclined to advance their career by relocating to a new school district or state. The latter group consisted of administrators who sought internal promotions over relocation.

Two findings from AASA:s latest decennial superintendents' study reveal virtually no change in mobility since 2000. This outcome is somewhat surprising in light of the increases in the number of post-retirement individuals continuing to serve in the superintendency by accepting a job covered by another state's pension system.

Child Maltreatment: What Attitudinal Factors Of Commitment, Confidence, And Concern Predict Reporting Practices Of Preservice Speech-Language Pathologists?, Alan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The pervasiveness of child maltreatment is a global issue, although its impact on the United States is markedly severe. The mortality rate for children four years of age and younger continues to rise annually, with an especially alarming increase present for children with disabilities. Although inservice and preservice educators, including speech-language pathologists, are mandated to report suspected maltreatment, several obstacles appear to hinder their actions. Understanding the factors that predict an individuals' likelihood of reporting malfeasance may help minimize maltreatment occurrence and child mortality. Preservice speech- language pathologists attending accredited programs in the United States were surveyed regarding their attitudes …

Providing The Fuel (And Passing The Flame), Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

At the risk of opening with a cliché statement- at the heart of the most effective mentor is a burning passion. The fuel for this passion is a desire to convince, not just try to, but actually convince your mentee that you care about their success (be it in the classroom, career, or personal life). I am guilty of believing in, and living by, this cliché. However, despite passion being my primary motivator, I am not unwilling to admit that rationale for mentoring can sometimes transcend this ethically normative line of thinking. I believe that there are also sometimes quantitative, …

Perceptions Of State Education Agencies, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Relationships between state government and school districts reflect long-standing tensions involving liberty and equity. In states where the former is emphasized, the authority and scope of responsibilities relegated to state agencies are limited, so local boards and superintendents have considerable leeway to make decisions. In states that exercise centralized controls to provide reasonably equal educational opportunities, localities have less flexibility. Consequently, superintendent survey ratings should be considered in light of such dissimilarities across state education departments.

An AASA superintendency study indicated superintendents held widely differing views of their state education agencies. In general, district enrollment, with one exception, was not …

Use Of An Interdependent Group Contingency To Improve Homework Completion, Homework Accuracy, And Achievement Of High School Students With Disabilities, Maria Carrino Kennedy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Homework is a frequently utilized teaching strategy in elementary and secondary classrooms. The completion of homework has been shown to have a strong positive effect on students' academic achievement across content and ability levels. Moreover, research suggests a stronger positive relationship between homework and achievement at the upper grade levels. Numerous interventions, both at home and at school, have been employed to increase students' level of homework completion and/or accuracy. The present investigation employed a single-subject reversal design to examine the effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency, with randomized components, on the homework completion, homework accuracy, and the academic achievement …

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 …

Policy Brief: Keeping All Students Safe Act Of 2014, Nancy Bergerson

Policy Analysis

Senator Harkin (D-IA), Senator Murphy (D-CT), Senator Baldwin (D-WI), and Senator Hirono (D-HI) introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S.2036) in the Senate on Feb. 24, 2014. Rep. Miller (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1893 on May 9, 2013. The Act would produce limitations for the use of restraints in public and private schools. Currently, 19 states have no policies in place to address this issue. The law would require better training, monitoring and enforcement of these standards, as well as the collection of related data which would be available to the public. We are asking you to co-sponsor the Keeping …

The Sprouts Early Childhood Program: An Evaluation Of Child Outcomes, Lauryn Michele Toby

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examines the cognitive, adaptive, communicative, social and autism-related outcomes for those enrolled in an early childhood intervention program for children age three to five with autism spectrum disorders. First, relevant literature on autism spectrum disorders, early intervention, evidence-based practice, and published investigations of existing comprehensive treatment programs for young children with autism are reviewed, the current investigation is outlined, and results and implications are discussed.

Using developmental trajectory analyses to investigate changes in each child's trajectory over time, as well as by comparing changes in scores over time on standardized measures of communication, adaptive skills, cognitive skills, social …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Self-Monitoring On Academic Engagement Of Students With Emotional Disturbance, Clayton Theisinger

Theses and Dissertations

Students with emotional disturbance (ED) demonstrate educational needs in the domains of behavior and academics. Self-monitoring has been determined to be an effective learning strategy for addressing both of these crucial domains for students with ED. However, the characteristics associated with ED lead to a diverse population of these learners. As a result, further replication of self-monitoring studies are needed to determine the effectiveness on the differing needs of students. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of self-monitoring on the academic engagement of secondary students with ED during mathematics. In addition, the accuracy of self-monitoring by …

Evaluating Factors That Influence Treatment Integrity During Peer Consultation, Jennifer Ann Arms

Theses and Dissertations

Many schools are using consultation in order to provide students with disabilities adequate services mandated by IDEA (2004). However, consultation is only effective if consultee's implement treatment plans with high levels of treatment integrity (Noell et al., 2005 & Sanetti & Kratochwill, 2008). There are many factors that influence consultee's treatment integrity. The current study examines teacher respondent's answers to the Evaluating Factors that Influence Treatment Integrity During Consultation Survey. Results indicate the teacher consultee's believe peer educational consultants to have more knowledge in the area of behavior. Further results indicate that there are up to 19 factors that teacher's …

Administrators As Change Agents In Implementing Mtss: Beliefs, Skills, And Challenges, Tasha Frigmanski

Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RTI) is traditionally known as an alternative to the IQ-discrepancy model used for the identification of students suspected of having a specific learning disability. The focus of the study is to examine the challenges of RTI implementation, finding the perceptions and beliefs of administrators regarding RTI and determining if they are equipped with the skills necessary to serve as a change agent in implementing successful practices in RTI. This study uses survey research in a mixed-method design to collect information from administrators in the state of Michigan. Findings from this study indicate that (1) administrators believe RTI …

Exploratory Study Of The Perspectives Of Midlife Adults With Intellectual Disability, Their Parents, And Case Managers Regarding Quality Of Life And Needed Supports And Services, Jane L. Lurquin

Theses and Dissertations

Given that all people are living longer, increased opportunities are needed for services and supports to enhance one's quality of life both at midlife and in later years. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the quality of life perspectives of individuals with intellectual disability in midlife, their parents or guardians, and their day program case managers. Using an interview process, the study participants provided quality of life descriptors for participating individuals with intellectual disability, as well as perspectives regarding needed current and future supports and services.

The study included three triads, each consisting of an individual with …

From The Co-Editors

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Metalinguistic Strategy Instruction On The Oral And Written Expression Of School-Aged Children, Karen Lara Dudek

Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge is critical for academic success; and research has indicated that students with low vocabularies can learn metalinguistic strategies that can improve their performance in school. In this study, I investigated the impact of metalinguistic strategy instruction on the oral and written expression abilities of elementary-aged children (third grade). The strategy was the Expanding Expression Tool (EET; Smith), which can help students to increase their oral and written expression by describing words using semantic features. I used a pretest-posttest-posttest between groups design to investigate the impact of three experimental conditions on oral and written expression over a nine week …

Superintendent Search Assistance, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

About 46 percent of school boards conducted their most recent superintendent search without a professional consultant. In 2000, some 54 percent went it alone on their search, according to AASI!(s decennial superintendency surveys. During the past decade, the percentage of districts hiring private help to fill their CEO vacancy increased from about 18 percent to 24 percent. School districts retaining the state school boards association for this purpose increased from 19 percent in 2000 to 22 percent in 2010.

Loose Coupling Within Special Education, Christina Sedrel

Master's Theses

Since the Salamanca Framework was established in 1994, countries have made a concerted effort to work to promote special education, namely inclusive education or inclusion. The recognition of students with special educational needs (SEN) has lead to national policies in which students with SEN are brought into the classroom along side their peers. Despite these efforts, there is an interruption between policy and practice which ultimately prevent students with SEN to enter the classroom or to receive an education. This thesis looks at the loose coupling of policy and practice with in special education by analyzing the practices of nine …

Combating Autism Reauthorization Act Of 2014, Kassandra Mores

Policy Analysis

On May 9, 2014, Representative Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Doyle (D-PA) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act (H.R. 4631) for five years. Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) are planning to introduce a Senate bill of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act. The Combating Autism Act of 2011, due to sunset September 30, 2014, provides federal funding for autism research, public education, and early detection and intervention in Maine. We are hoping that you will consider voting in support of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act.

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 …

In Defense Of Idea Due Process, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

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 …

Idea Class Actions After Wal-Mart V. Dukes, Mark C. Weber

Mark C. Weber

Wal-Mart v. Dukes overturned the certification of a class of a million and a half female employees alleging sex discrimination in Wal-Mart’s salary and promotion decisions. The Supreme Court ruled that the case did not satisfy the requirement that a class have a common question of law or fact, and said that the remedy sought was not the type of relief available under the portion of the class action rule permitting mandatory class actions. Over the last two years, courts have struggled with how to apply the ruling, especially how to apply it beyond its immediate context of employment discrimination …

Perspectives Of Parents Of Students With Disabilities Toward Public And Homeschool Learning Environments, Angie Marie Delaney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeschool delivery to students is on the rise, particularly in regards to the education of students with disabilities. At this time, there is a lack of research on homeschooled students with disabilities. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how parents choose a model of education for their children with disabilities. A purposeful sample of 3 distinct groups comprising 13 parents of children with disabilities was assembled: (a) parents who are homeschooling their child with a disability, (b) parents who have decided to enroll their child in the public school system after previously homeschooling, and (c) parents who …