Special Education Administration Commons^™

Feasibility Study For Special Education Services In Clark And Edgar Counties, Michael F. Watts

Masters Theses

The goal of this project was to determine if the eight local school districts in Clark and Edgar counties could provide special education services as effectively as the Eastern Illinois Special Education Cooperative. The study answered this question and provided the districts involved with sufficient data and analysis to recommend to their individual Boards of Education the way in which they would offer these services in the future. This project provided the districts with such alternatives to the current delivery system as to suggest the possibility that the centralized system of special education services has viable alternatives. Districts were able …

Effective Secondary Special Education Programs: Administrative And Instructional Practices In Identified Iowa Schools, Robyn Lynn Moen Kramer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This descriptive study with exclusive focus on identified secondary special education programs in Iowa, investigated the interactions of administrators, general classroom and special education teachers to determine common administrative and instructional practices and behaviors within three characteristics -- Facilities Leadership, General Classroom Teaching Behavior, and Special Education Teaching Behavior. Directors of Special Education from six Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) were asked to select five schools form their respective AEAs with exemplary secondary special education programs. From that initial population of 30 schools, 11 schools were selected to participate in this study.

A survey was administered to 354 secondary school …

Case Studies On Teaching, Theodore J. Kowalski, Roy A. Weaver, Kenneth T. Henson

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Case Studies on Teaching is a unique book designed to infuse reality into the process of preparing teachers. The contents are based on real issues and needs faced by new teachers at they commence their professional careers in elementary and secondary school classrooms. The thirty-six cases offer myriad opportunities for utilizing the case method of instruction. This method has received acclaim in law, medicine, and business curricula. Regardless of the professional context, case studies create interactions that mandate active learning.

Collective Bargaining In Illinois Special Education Cooperatives, Wayne E. Savageau

Masters Theses

The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA) took effect on January 1, 1984. By the 1988-89 school year, the number of Illinois public school districts with negotiated contracts had increased by nearly 68%, from 507 to 850. The effect of the Act on multi-district special education cooperatives is not as easily determined.

Directors of Illinois' 54 multi-district special education cooperatives outside Cook County were surveyed to obtain demographic data and information on the collective bargaining experiences of these cooperatives. Responses were received from 41 directors (76%).

These directors reported geographic sizes ranging from 144 to 4,000 square miles, with enrollments …

Social Status And The Play Interactions Of Students Labelled Learning Disabled And Their Peers, Tammy S. Bryant

Masters Theses

The relationship between social status and play interactions of students labelled learning disabled and their peers is an area which has received much attention. However, most of the research has focused on students in resource settings. The current study focused on students labelled learning disabled in self-contained settings. The study involved administering the Play With Rating Scale to 41 second and third graders in regular classrooms and to 11 same-aged peers who were learning disabled in self-contained settings. The results were divided into popular/average and unpopular status groups. Thirty-three children were observed at play utilizing an observation tool developed by …

Planning And Managing School Facilities, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Theodore Kowalski addresses the administrative procedures associated with planning and managing school facilities. Practitioner interest in school facilities has been growing rapidly in recent years because decades of neglect, poor planning, and cost cutting have created a situation in which large numbers of America's school buildings are in need of major repair or replacement.

At the same time, the realization that costs related to repair and replacement have escalated significantly has fueled a new concern among school facility planning and management.

Writing for school administrators, superintendents, and board members as well as graduate students in education, Kowalski discusses planning from …

Special Ideas, Marlene Ashby

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Special Ideas is a composite of practical strategies and techniques assembled for the primary-grade teacher’s use with the learning disabled student, slow learner and underachiever. The focal point of this material is the basic skills of reading, math, spelling, handwriting and general ideas on classroom management, behavior management and motivation. The purpose of the material is to provide the classroom teacher with practical ideas that may serve as a guide to help the teacher adapt and/or modify the curriculum, the materials, and the methods of instruction to the needs of the special child. The sources for these ideas include personal …

The Special Education Administrator Role As Perceived By Principals, Superintendents And Special Education Administrators In West Virginia, Michael Edward Sullivan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study was designed to examine the expectations held by key administrative personnel within West Virginia’s county school systems regarding the role of the special education administrator. Seven functional areas of administration containing forty specific tasks were examined to identify potential areas of conflict among and between special education administrators, superintendents and principals. Data resulting from 202 returns of the questionnaires and demographic surveys from the 260 individuals contacted were analyzed to test fourteen null hypotheses. Respondents were asked to rate perceived performance of tasks as well as their perception of the degree of importance of each. Demographic data were …

Community Education: Processes And Programs, Theodore J. Kowalski

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

"Community education is on the threshold of a major breakthrough. It has captured the imagination of both educational and lay leaders throughout the U.S."

Although these words are an appropriate description of community education today, they were written by V. M. Kerensky 14 years ago. An idea that never took hold to the degree its advocates predicted, community education, nevertheless, refuses to die. Over the past two or three years, the interest of educationalleaders has been stimulated once again by this proposal for expanding the mission and decision-making processes of public schools. In 49 of the 50 states (Hawaii being …

Interactive Pharmacological And Behavioral Management Of A Hyperactive Attention Deficit Disordered Child In An Elective Pharmacy Clerkship, John W. Hill, Dick R. Gourley

Educational Leadership Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The principles of behavior analysis and basic behavioral definitions were utilized by clinical pharmacy students within an interdisciplinary setting to recognize and reinforce the spontaneously occurring on-task desirable behaviors of an 8-year-old hyperactive, attention deficit disordered child. Data gathered by pharmacy students from a case study under supervision of their preceptors, a clinical pharmacist, and a special educator, facilitated the physician's decision to reduce the medication for the child as behavioral intervention was implemented at home and school. Findings indicated that while the subject was taking psychostimulant medication, often recommended for children with hyperactive behaviors, the drug alone did not …

An International Exchange Program: Self-Esteem Building And Relationship Development For Youth And Staff, Norman Powell, Tony Maciocia

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

Troubled youth can manage, and benefit from, short intensive relationship-centered experiences. This article reports on an innovative staff and client exchange program involving groups from Montreal, Quebec and Washington, D.C. Such experiences, as well as enhancing the youths' cultural awareness and self-esteem, provide exciting staff-development opportunities.

The Relationship Between Sex-Role Bias And The Disproportionate Percentage Of Males In Special Education Classrooms, Melanie Brumfield Vickers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

It was the purpose of this study to determine whether a bias toward female behaviors exists in the school environment that academically handicaps males and results in a higher ratio of males to females being placed in special education classrooms. In addition, the study examined the administrative implications related to sex-role bias and the ratio of males to females in special education classes.

A stratified random sample was used to select respondents from three subgroups, administrators, teachers, and special personnel, from four counties in West Virginia. The individuals in the study responded to the Chasen Diagnostic Sex-Role Bias Scale which …

A Study Of Olga Smyth, Director, High Valley School: 1934 Graduate Of Bank Street, Deborah Stone

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A study is made of the educator Olga Smyth, 1934 graduate of Bank Street. Examins her particular style of working with children, and what it is based on in her history, education, and personality. The continuity of her work and the consistency of her approach is shown, from her days at Bank Street through the making of "Incitement to Reading" (film by L. J. Stone showing her teaching first graders at the Poughkeepsie Day School in the 1950's) to her work at her own school with children whose emotional and learning problems make it impossible for them to succeed in …

Regular-Classroom Teachers' Attitudes Toward Mainstreaming Handicapped Students: A Study Of The Stated Attitude And Its Relation To Selected Variables And Acceptance Behaviors, Alice Crayton Alexander

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study were to (1) investigate the attitude and acceptance behaviors of the regular-classroom teachers toward the present movement of educating handicapped students in the regular classroom, and (2) to investigate selected variables that may affect the attitude and acceptance behaviors, in order to have the findings of the study serve as one basis for future curriculum planning in teacher education programs as well as for in-service program development for local education systems.

The stated attitude data was collected from the responses of 187 regular-classroom teachers and student interns to the questionnaire, A Survey of Teachers’ Opinions …

The Development Of A Special Education Handbook For Community Unit School District No. 20, Lawrenceville, Illinois 62739, Mary M. Shaffer

Masters Theses

The obligation to provide a free appropriate education to all children regardless of their physical or mental capabilities resides with those officials responsible for administering the education program. This study was done to write a special education handbook for parents of handicapped children. The handbook will be used to inform parents about special education programs and explain how parents can be involved in the educational process. There is a definite need for an introduction process for parents. Previously in Unit District No. 20, information was mailed to parents or sent home by the child. The handbook will provide a tool …

A Planning-Budgeting System For The South Eastern Special Education Joint Agreement, George C. Dudley

Masters Theses

Special education cost studies since the mid-nineteen fifties report problems in obtaining accurate financial information relative to programs and pupils. The author addresses similiar difficulties encountered when restrictive sources of revenue are maintained as separate from the special education joint agreement budget.

This study was conducted for two purposes: (1) To develop a planning-budgeting system which would organize multi-sources of revenue into one joint agreement financial plan; and (2) To develop a planning-budgeting chart of accounts.

Five criteria were applied to the development of the planning-budgeting system: (1) It must allow for planning the total scope of joint agreement operations; …

An Elementary Special Education Program, Community Unit District #3, Georgetown, Illinois, Nancy B. Thompson

Masters Theses

In February, 1977 Supportive Services (SS) was designed as a special education program for the elementary schools in Community Unit District #3, Georgetown, Illinois. Georgetown has 900 students in grades kindergarten through eight.

Three special education teachers developed the supportive services program with input from other district specialists who work with exceptional children. Following study sessions and writing the program, approval was sought from the director of the special education district, the school principal, and the school district superintendent. Upon request of the superintendent, the teachers presented the program to the school board for approval. After approval was received from …

The Development Of A Proposed Policy And Procedures Manual For The South Eastern Special Education District, Paul Thomas Homan

Masters Theses

The purpose of this field study was to develop a coherent, comprehensive, and codified policy and procedures manual to propose for adoption by the South Eastern Special Education Joint Agreement District. Prior to completion of this field study there existed no single source of reference for policies established by the Governing Council of South Eastern Special Education. Also, procedures meant to govern operation of the district, administrative directives, and forms affecting students and personnel were neither organized nor available in one convenient place.

The problem was to compose a useful working document to serve as a guide for future activities …

Administrative Accountability In Special Education: A Survey Of Area Middle-Management Personnel In Iowa, Arnold Ernie Lang

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The past decade has recorded increased demands by parents and legislators for leadership accountability in special education. However, contemporary research on special education leadership accountability has been largely directed at instructional or support professional personnel. Literature on accountability concerns at supervisory, middle-management, and top management positions is noticeably sparse. This study centered on the collection and comparison of survey data concerning middle-management accountability attitudes and practices utilized in Iowa's fifteen area education agencies (AEAs). The major concern of this study was how middle-management/supervisory functions in special education were viewed and held accountable by both top management and middle-management/supervisory personnel.

Participants …

An Analysis Of The Optimum Learning In Regular Classrooms Project In Charleston, Illinois, Patricia Tucker Chaney

Masters Theses

The Optimum Learning in Regular Classrooms Project is an adoptive-adaptive ESEA Title IV-C project with two purposes: (1) to provide more effective educational service to children with special needs through training the mainstream teacher to diagnose these special needs as well as implement solutions for such children on an ongoing basis, and (2) to provide more efficient support services to the mainstream teacher in his/her efforts to meet the special needs of exceptional children, whether handicapped or gifted.

Four main aspects of the project are examined:

Classroom organization. All classrooms were organized at least in part into learning centers. This …

"Project Dial": An Early Childhood Screening Program, Lewis S. Sarff

Masters Theses

This field study addressed the problem of "actively seeking" out and identifying children (ages 3 to 5 years) likely to develop late learning problems upon school enrollment. The procedures developed and reported in this paper deal with initial public relations, facilities, personnel, an evaluation instrument Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL), hearing and vision testing, and reporting of results to parents and school personnel.

The paper also includes means and standard deviations for DIAL subtest scores by one year age groups and by sex, as well as simple and multiple r's for each of the DIAL variables individually …

A Work-Study Program For Educable Mentally Retarded In Lincoln Junior High--Salt Lake City, Utah, Jay Elmo Christensen

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

In the spring of 1968 this writer was assigned to teach a group of seventh, eighth and ninth grade students who had been labeled Educable Mentally Retarded at Lincoln Junior High School. The students ranged from twelve to sixteen years of age, and many of them were from lower income homes.

In attempting to set up a work-study program the administration had decided that they preferred a work-study orientation program for these pupils. It was hoped that this type of program would motivate the students to become more involved in the school program.

The Relationship Between The Self-Concept And School Achievement In The Disadvantaged Child, Aneesi B. Nakhle

Master's Theses

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent of the relationship between the self-concept and the academic achievement of the disadvantaged child.

METHOD AND PROCEDURES

The subjects studied were randomly selected from an inner city elementary school. The sample consisted of 97 black and 8 white children of ages 9 to 13, in a nongraded school. The pupils were administered the California Achievement Test Level 3 Form B, and the California Test of Personality, Level 2, Form AA. Both tests were administered during the month of April 1972. The statistical treatment of the data consisted of obtaining …

Special Education In Eastern Illinois Area, Beulah Wenthe

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Influencing Factors Causing Experienced Special Education Teachers To Change To Regular Programs, Jon R. Gobiet

All Master's Theses

This study was done to determine basic reasons why qualified special education personnel in three similar school districts in Washington State have changed to the regular programs.

A Survey And Comparison Of Current Follow-Up Practices And Curriculum In Special Education Programs In The State Of Washington, Richard Beaudreau

All Master's Theses

The study surveyed twenty-six districts in the State of Washington that had developed high school special education programs. These districts were surveyed to determine the amount of follow-up that had been conducted in high school special education programs and to provide an evaluation of the program in the districts in which follow-up studies have been conducted.

Job Descriptions And Job Specifications For Directors Of Special Education, Andrew D. Ray

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study to analyze the available literature in the area of special education in an effort to compile a descriptive taxonomy of job descriptions and job specifications for directors of special education.