School Psychology Commons^™

A Survey Of School Psychologists To Promote Support For Developing Self-Advocacy Skills In Students With Disabilities, Kiarra K. Steer

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Self-advocacy is a critical skill for effective communication and for individual assertion of interests, needs, and rights (Hengen & Weaver, 2018). It is especially important for people with disabilities to be able to self-advocate, which includes understanding their own abilities and rights and being able to voice when they need assistance or when their rights are being violated (Hengen & Weaver, 2018).

Even though self-advocacy has been determined to be a necessary skill for students with disabilities to develop, research indicates that self-advocacy instruction is often not provided to students with disabilities. Furthermore, while researchers have shown that teaching students …

The Application Of The Specific Learning Disability Exclusionary Clause As Practiced By Virginia School Psychologists, Kaitlynn Carter

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

When special education eligibility is being determined under Specific Learning Disability, the exclusionary clause needs to be carefully considered. The current study was concerned with the exclusions of cultural factors, environmental or economic disadvantage, and limited English proficiency. The study used a semi-structured interview to explore when and how the exclusionary clause is considered by school psychologists in Virginia and what type of impact it has on eligibility decisions. Ten school psychologists were contacted via the email database of the Virginia Department of Education and completed a phone interview. Grounded theory was used to investigate the themes and ideas regarding …

Exploring The Effects Of Positive Behavioral Supports On Disciplinary Practices In Schools And It's Potential To Mitigate Disproportionality In Disciplinary Outcomes For African American Students, E'Lexus Emily King

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Disproportionality in special education and school discipline in the U.S. Education system has been a crucial and complex issue. Research has shown that evidence-based interventions that lie within the positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework has been effective in improving educational outcomes for all students. In this study, the author investigated the impact of the School-Wide Benchmarks of Quality, a PBIS fidelity measure, on student disciplinary outcomes. 380 schools presented four years of disciplinary outcome data. Results showed that the PBIS fidelity measure had a modest effect on the overall student disciplinary outcomes but did not address the disproportionate …

Manifestation Determinations: An Interdisciplinary And User-Friendly Guide To Best Practices, Molly E. Knudsen

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Rates of suspensions and expulsions are increasing in public schools in the United States, despite research stating that such exclusions have negative effects on students and are generally ineffective in addressing misbehavior. There is an overrepresentation of students with disabilities in the population of excluded students, which poses a threat to their right to a free and appropriate education (FAPE). When a student with a disability faces an exclusion, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires a manifestation determination review (MDR) to be held by a committee of school personnel and the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) to determine the cause of …

Satisfaction Of Students With Visual Impairment Within Different School Settings, Jeremiah Jordan

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This is an investigation of the satisfaction of students with visual impairment attending school in different educational settings, including students attending school in a specialized educational setting, as well as students with visual impairment attending school in a mainstreamed educational setting. This paper explores research on the effectiveness and perceptions of inclusion for children with disabilities, particularly children with visual impairment. Specific research on this topic is sparse and the researcher proposed a new research study, in which the satisfaction of students with visual impairment was targeted and explored in both a specialized educational setting and mainstreamed educational setting. High …