Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

How Students From Non-Dominant Cultures Perceive Their Social And Cultural Experiences In Relation To School Success, Margaret Cooley

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study explores the shared narratives of males who are African American, come from low-income families, struggled with school success, and may have been identified as needing specialized instructional services or having learning disabilities. This study includes three participants' narratives on the obstacles and supports they faced during their high school years and when transitioning beyond. It identifies shared themes of sports, reputation, and instruction, transitioning, and mentoring -- including the relationship between each and how it impacted their school success.

The development of these thematic elements are related to developing networks and resources related to culture values, identities, and …

Children’S Attitudes Towards Peers With Disabilities: Associations With Personal And Parental Factors, Soo-Young Hong, Kyong-Ah Kwon, Hyun-Joo Jeon

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate the following: (i) associations among children’s prior contact with people with disabilities and the three dimensions of children’s attitudes towards people with disabilities: children’s understanding of and their feelings about people with disabilities and their behavioral intentions to make inclusion decisions; (ii) the relation between children’s behavioral intentions to make inclusion decisions and the demands of activity contexts and the types of disabilities; and (iii) the association between parents’ attitudes and children’s attitudes. Participants included 94 typically developing four- and five-year-old preschoolers. Children’s understanding of disabilities and their prior contact with people …

Training And Burnout Among Paraprofessionals Who Work With Children With Emotional Behavioral Disorders, Jenna Robinson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

To assist the Waseca school district in addressing the training and self-care needs of paraprofessionals, keeping the overall mission in mind of empowering students to succeed in the academic environment, this project examined the training received and factors related to subsequent professional burnout among paraprofessionals in Waseca schools.

How A Teacher Educator In The Field Of The Education Of Hearing-Impaired Children Provides Feedback To A Student Teacher, Hasan Gürgür

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this article was to investigate how an experienced teacher educator (TE) specialized in the education of hearing-impaired children provides feedback to a student teacher regarding a planned, one-to-one conversation activity. This case study was conducted at Anadolu University, Education and Research Center for Hearing-Impaired Children with the participation of a TE, a student teacher, and a hearing-impaired student. Based on the study results, main themes relating to the TE’s activities before, during, and after the conversation and his feedback were identified. The study findings were discussed in light of the current literature, and various recommendations were proposed.

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 …

Academic Staff’S Access And Use Of Technological Tools: A Challenge To Blended Learning Implementation In Tanzania’S Tertiary Institutions, Luka Mkonongwa

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper explores academic staff’s access to and ability to use technological tools in the course of implementing blended learning system in higher education. In a study, a survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 46 respondents. The results revealed that although academic staff had high self-efficacy towards learning and using technological tools, their access to and use of many technological tools were too limited. This affected their competence and confidence to use such technological tools to teach, and deterred the successful implementation of the blended learning approach. The study concluded that the success of blended learning will depend …

Bullying Prevention In Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports: A Review Of The Literature, Allen Garcia, Regina M. Oliver

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The literature has suggested that problem behavior in the schools is an ongoing problem (Sugai et. al., 2000). This is a major concern for schools that want to provide a safe learning environment that promotes positive behaviors and academic learning. Such problem requires a systematic response, thus, School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) was created to target and prevent problem behaviors. Another form of problem behaviors in schools is bullying, and within the framework of SW-PBIS, there is limited research on targeting bullying. The current review examines and evaluates current research of SW-PBIS, and it’s application to bullying. Searches …

Effects Of Pecs Phase Iii Application Training On Independent Mands In Young Children With Autism, Jessica June Love

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of PECS phase III application training on independent mands in young children with autism. Participants were five children with autism ranging from ages 2 to 4 years old. A multiple baseline across participants was used to evaluate acquisition of independent correct mands across baseline and treatment conditions during training with the PECS Phase III iPadTMapplication.

Data for Participant Four did not demonstrate experimental control directly, as he showed high levels of mands during baseline. The functional relationship for Participant One was questionable as she too likely learned to mand by …

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.

Perceived Classroom Management Needs Of Pre-Service Teachers, Nielsen Pereira, Jillian Gates

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

A disconnect exists between pre-service teachers’ expectations concerning classroom management course content and the reality of teaching in an elementary school. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived needs of pre-service teachers in a classroom management course for elementary education majors at a Midwestern university.

Behavioral Contracting For K-12 Students, Emily Blythe, Amanda Dennison

Applied Behavior Analysis (SPED 432) and Intervention Strategies for Literacy (SPED 431)

This poster provides examples to implement behavior contracting strategies in K-12 classrooms. These behavior contracting strategies will facilitate improved student behavior. Behavioral contracting refers to a written contract that describes a child’s behavioral obligations. In addition, reinforcers (teachers’ or parents’ obligations) are outlined for when the child has met the contract’s conditions. In research conducted by Cutrell (2010) middle-school students with emotional behavior disorders (EBD) were examined. The research demonstrated that behavioral contracts decreased the participants’ targeted, inappropriate behavior. The following details are outlined: For whom and why behavioral contracts are used; how to implement behavioral contracting in the classroom; …

Editor's Welcome And Introduction To Ktej, Wanda G. Chandler

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

The editor, Wanda G. Chandler, welcomes TED members and other readers to the reestablishment of KTEJ and the first issue be published at WKU's TopSCHOLAR® website. Call for papers is March 15, 2014.

Examining The Relationships Between Secondary General Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Professional Development, And Support From Special Education Personnel, Lynn Wogamon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This correlational research study examined the relationships between secondary general education teachers' attitudes toward inclusion, hours of professional development in topics related to special education and hours of support from special education personnel addressing the needs of students with disabilities received weekly. The research also investigated whether this information could be used to predict secondary general education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. General education teachers in six South Carolina high schools completed the Scale of Teacher Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC) and a demographic survey that asked about hours of professional development in special education topics and hours of support received …

Inclusion: Problems And Potential Solutions In Mathematics Instruction, Lynnea Marie Salscheider

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was (1) to identify and describe the attitudes and beliefs of general and special education teachers about inclusion and (2) to identify significant recommendations based on teacher attitudes for improving the teaching of mathematics to special needs students using inclusion.

Meeting The Needs Of Gifted Students By Providing Year-Long Professional Development On Differentiated Instruction, Barbara M. Rollins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focused on how teachers' planning and teaching methods changed after they acquired more confidence in applying differentiated strategies in their instructional units. Teachers were given a questionnaire about their skills, qualifications and teaching beliefs comparing teaching general education students and gifted education students within the typical classroom setting. Then teachers received several professional development opportunities within the school year exposing them to different forms of differentiation. Time was given between trainings so that teachers would have ample time to integrate what they learned into their planning and instructional design. At the end of the study, teachers were given …

Advance Organizers In Secondary Special Education Resource Classrooms: Effects On Student Engagement Behaviors, Lisa King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student engagement and appropriate behaviors are essential for effective instruction in secondary special education classrooms. Research suggests that proactive engagement strategies and interventions can have a greater effect on overall classroom behaviors than negative consequences. A single case experiment measured the effects of expository advance organizers on academically engaged behavior, respectful behavior, and disruptive behavior in the special education self-contained resource classroom. The single-case A-B-A-B design for this study evaluates these components of student engagement during academic instruction over a four-week period. Three secondary special education small-group resource Language Arts classes from a Northeast Georgia high school comprised the subject …

Increasing Choice-Making And Choice Awareness For Students With Intellectual Disability, Shannon Lynn Sparks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A number of studies have suggested that when children with disabilities are presented with choice-making opportunities, they can make choices (Bambara, 2004; Carlson, Luiselli, Slyman, & Markowski, 2008; Dibley & Lim, 1999; Manhertz, 2006). Teaching choice-making to students with intellectual disability is an important skill. Students with intellectual disability, when exposed to choice-making, tend to display these skills in future settings as they grow older (Lee, Palmer, Turnbull, & Wehmeyer, 2006). Choice-making research has been limited for high school students with mild to moderate intellectual disability (Dibley & Lim, 1999; Manhertz, 2006; Shevin & Klein, 2004).

The purpose of this …

Trainee Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Stuart Woodcock

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Policies on the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms have focused attention on how general education teachers perceive these students. Furthermore with specific learning disabilities forming a large group of diverse students, and teachers’ attitudes often not changing over the career span, preparing teachers for inclusive education is vitally important. This study aimed to identify the attitudes of trainee¹ teachers towards students with specific learning disabilities and differentiation of the curriculum. Significant differences were found between the attitudes of primary and secondary school trainee teachers, and the influence of training. There were no differences in …

Special Education Teacher Candidates And Mentors: Case Studies Of Collaboration In Pre-Service Field Experiences, Rebecca Lynn Schulte

Dissertations and Theses

Collaboration between general and special education teachers is essential for students with disabilities to have access to general education curriculum and instruction, and improved outcomes in school. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and No Child Left Behind Legislation, include mandates that increase demands for collaboration. However, many general and special education teachers report not feeling prepared to step outside traditional roles to collaborate to meet the needs of this population. Collaboration is also a strong element of teaching and special education standards for teacher preparation. Yet, research shows many teacher education programs lack coursework and field experiences that focus …

Accommodating Accommodations: How A Small Liberal Arts College Certification Program Redefines The New Ell State Mandates, Brent C. Talbot, Kaoru Miyazawa

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Collaborative Strategic Reading On Informational Text Comprehension And Metacognitive Awareness Of Fifth Grade Students, Margaret Mccown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on informational text comprehension and metacognitive awareness of fifth grade students. This study tested the theories of metacognition and social cognition with a focus on self-regulation and self-efficacy. Participating students included a heterogeneous mix of regular education students, students with disabilities, and English learners (ELs). Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design, this study examined the effects of CSR on informational text comprehension using the Qualitative Reading Inventory-5 (QRI-5) and Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Metacognitive awareness was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). Data …

The Use Of Graphing And An Effort And Achievement Rubric To Increase Students' Multiplication Fact Accuracy And Fluency, Joan Hackl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of self-graphing and an effort and achievement rubric on increasing students' multiplication fact accuracy and fluency. The research design was a two-group pretest/posttest research design. Data was collected from student multiplication math fact quizzes. Students were given the same math fact quiz for a month before a new set of facts was introduced the next month. For each month, the first quiz of the month served as baseline data as no interventions were introduced for those quizzes. The second month of quizzes served as the self-graphing alone data, and the …

Professional Development And Teacher Perception Of Efficacy For Inclusion, Susan E. Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed for the purpose of quantitatively examining the significant elements of reform-based professional development and their relationship to teachers’ self-efficacies for inclusion. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy and social cognitive theory in addition to pre-existing research pertaining to professional development and teacher efficacy for inclusion.

A web based survey was developed and made available for voluntary participation to a total population of 385 elementary school teachers in one East Tennessee school district. Data were collected from 79 elementary school teachers in 14 of the district’s elementary schools.

Findings included no …

The Leadership Role In Transitioning An Urban Secondary School From A Traditional Service Delivery Model To A Co-Teaching Service Delivery Model For Students With Disabilities: A Phenomenological Case Study, Ginni Elizabeth Mcdonald

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research studies the leadership role in transitioning from a traditional service delivery model to a co-teaching service delivery model for students with disabilities. While there is an abundant amount of information on the service delivery model of co-teaching, sustaining co-teaching programs, and effective co-teaching programs for students with disabilities, the actual studies for the leadership role in transitioning to co-teaching are fewer. This phenomenological case study explores the leadership role in effectively transitioning an urban high school from a traditional service delivery of special education services to a larger continuum of services, specifically co-teaching for students with disabilities. Participants …

An Evaluation Of A Computer-Based Training On The Visual Analysis Of Single-Subject Data, Katie Snyder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Federal education policies, such as No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, mandate the use of scientifically-proven or research-based curricula and interventions. Presumably, interventions that have a large amount of scientific evidence documenting their success are more likely to be effective when implemented with students in school settings.

In special education, single-subject research is the predominant methodology used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. In single-subject research, a target behavior is measured under baseline conditions (i.e., before the intervention of interest is implemented) and intervention conditions. The data for each condition are graphed, and analyzed …

The Challenges Of Implementing Best Practices: Experiences Of Dialogic Reading By Teachers Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students, Jacquelyn Urbani

Education | Faculty Conference Presentations

Deaf and hard of hearing children frequently have delayed language and little experience with books because they do not share a common language with their hearing parents. However, there is little research concerning their language and literacy development in the classroom and equally little discussion of teacher responsibilities to address these issues.

This study investigated the implementation of dialogic reading, which aims to engage students in active discussion and retellings of stories, using American Sign Language. Because dialogic reading research with language delayed, hearing preschool students resulted in significant improvement of language skill (Whitehurst, Arnold, et al., 1994; Whitehurst, et …

Pre-Service Secondary Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education, Shane Costello, Christopher Boyle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The attitudes held by pre-service teachers have been shown to affect their willingness and ability to implement an inclusive approach to education. A sample consisting of 193 pre-service secondary teachers enrolled in secondary education courses at an Australian university were surveyed to determine their attitudes towards inclusive education, with a particular focus on attitudinal changes across the years of study. Results indicated that pre-service secondary teachers held positive attitudes towards inclusive education; however there was a significant decline in positive attitudes through the years of study. Pre-service secondary teachers enrolled in postgraduate programs were more inclusive than those enrolled in …

A Collective Case Study Of The Perceptions And Implementation Of Self Advocacy From Four Educators Of Students With Disabilities, Heather Heap

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study identified four educators' perceptions and their implementation of teaching advocacy to students with disabilities within a public secondary educational setting. Federal mandates, such as Public Law 94-142, requested educators including administrators, counselors, special educators, and general educators to help facilitate self advocacy skills in the public educational setting. Using observations, comprehensive interviews, and available documentation, this collective case study identified four educators' experiences (an administrator, a counselor, a special educator, and a general educator) in developing student self advocacy as it pertains to the educators' perceived role in working with students with disabilities. This study identified their …

The Quality And Effects Of Secondary Transition Plans On Special Education Graduates' Postsecondary Outcomes And Their Effects On Secondary Transition, Vickie Miller

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the implementation of special education graduates' secondary transition plans by a team of supporters such as teachers, parents, administrators, and postsecondary mentors were well-constructed and in alignment with the graduates' high school curriculum and intended postsecondary goals, as well as whether the supporters followed through with helping the graduates achieve those postsecondary goals. The study also examined whether a loop existed between linking the secondary transition plans (indicator 13) to the postsecondary outcomes (indicator 14) and the feedback from the postsecondary outcomes back to the transition plans.

Under the …

A Review Of Choice And Preference Assessments To Increase Academic Attainment For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jamie Emery, Janet L. Applin, Marty Boman

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

Many schools use choice and preference assessments to decrease and/or increase behaviors of students with disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorders or ASD. Although there exists scant evidence from the literature exploring the relationship between utilizing choice and preference assessments as a tool to increase academic achievement, the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC ) “ Initial Level Special Educator Preparation Standards” require beginning special education professionals to, “select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance learning of individuals with exceptionalities,” (CEC, 2012). To contribute to the knowledge base regarding using choice and preference assessment as a …