School Psychology Commons^™

Exploration Of Gifted Subtypes Differentiated Across Standardized Cognitive Variables, Bridgette M. Vecchio

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The field of gifted education has evolved through the 20th century, with legislative efforts by the federal government providing the framework necessary to highlight the needs of gifted learners. Gifted and talented learners are not a homogeneous group, to the contrary, they are varied and unique (Reis & Sullivan, 2010). Ideally, researchers and educators could collaborate to compile a conclusive list of characteristics of gifted learners, which could guide identification, teaching strategies, and curriculum selection for this population (Reis & Sullivan, 2010). Little is known about the cognitive profiles of gifted children. This study will review the utilization of the …

Cultural Differences Between Parent And Teacher Report Of Adhd Symptoms: Implications For Disparities In Diagnosis, Elisabeth Troffo

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Despite lack of empirical support for differing incidence of ADHD, African American children are diagnosed with ADHD at significantly lower rates than Caucasian children. Research suggests that parents of African American children report ADHD symptoms less frequently than parents of Caucasian children; however, teachers are more likely to report more symptoms and more behavioral problems for African American children than for Caucasian children. The present study attempted to discern what some of these differences can be attributed to by controlling for the variables of age, gender, IQ score, diagnosis, and socioeconomic factors. The present study did not find differences in …

Identifying Emotional Disturbance: Implications For Consistent Practice, Ramona L. Patillo

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Determining eligibility for special education services under the educational classification of Emotional Disturbance (ED) has historically posed difficulties for school psychologists. The federal law provides vague eligibility criteria and a clear exclusion for students with Social Maladjustment (SM). This study evaluated the results of an online survey that required participants to identify behaviors that are most commonly associated with the constructs of ED and SM. This study further proposed to assess levels of comfort in determining eligibility based on a constellation of behavioral symptoms presented in short case vignettes. The study sought to reveal any differences in symptom identification based …

A Self-Regulated Learning Approach For The Remediation Of Behavioral Issues In Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Richard G. Allen

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Behavioral-based interventions have long been demonstrated to be effective for
addressing behavioral difficulties for children with ADHD; however, such interventions do not always include explicit procedures to develop self-regulated learning. This is surprising, considering the strong evidence-based literature related to behaviorally-based self-management interventions. Considering the neurocognitive basis of ADHD, current assessment and intervention practices should emphasize the identification of self-regulatory deficits and evidence-based interventions to build such capacities. The current outcome study examined archival data from 12 cases to determine the clinical effectiveness of a function-based self-management intervention model for children diagnosed with ADHD in a community behavioral health program. …

Integrated Health Care Collaboration And Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated With Streptococcal Infections: A Working Model For Case Consultation, Tara M. Habecker-Tumilty

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Historically, integrated health care, often referred to as interdisciplinary health care, has been an approach characterized by a high degree of collaboration and communication among health care professionals. While numerous researchers have explored the benefits of including clinical psychologists as team members, a limited body of research has explored the partnership between school psychologists and physicians, even though school health services can be an effective venue for integrating psychosocial care and education with medical care. As more chronically ill children are reintegrated into school, school psychologists must be prepared to work with these children at school. Children
diagnosed with complex …

Teachers' Awareness And Skills In Addressing Students With Anxiety Symptoms, Looyee Figueroa

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study explored teachers' awareness toward students who may have mental-health needs, specifically with anxiety issues. This study also examined whether the teachers' training backgrounds, acquired degrees, stress levels, and years of teaching influenced their awareness and use of strategies in addressing students with attitudinal and behavioral issues and anxiety issues. In addition, this study examined teachers' perceptions on the importance of building relationships with students who have behavioral and attitudinal issues and anxiety issues. Results from the study found that teachers' awareness levels were inconsistent when teaching students who may have anxiety issues, and they were more consistent in …

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of And Expectations For School Readiness: Self-Regulation And Success, Latoya Mccrea

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Early childhood education plays a very important role in influencing the success of a child later in the learning process. Because of this, scholars in the field of education have consistently sought to predict factors that ensure school readiness. Unfortunately, there is not enough information on factors that ensure school readiness and particularly on how teachers perceive school readiness. This study examines teachers' perceptions regarding the specific readiness skills and self-regulation needed by children entering kindergarten, as well as their familiarity with and their training in early childhood learning programs and executive functions. The study reviews the current literature on …

School Wide Positive Behavioral And Intervention Supports : The Effectiveness Of Tier 1 Strategies, Gregory James Halsor

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This literature review critically examines the effectiveness of Tier 1 Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (SWPBIS). Managing problem behavior in the school setting has been a major focus of educators, with the goal of lowering classroom disruptions and increasing the effectiveness of learning.

Over the years, school wide behavior management programs have not been consistent or widespread leading educators to identify disruptive behavior as a primary concern in their classrooms. SWPBIS emphasizes the integration of measurable outcomes, data-based decision making, and evidence based interventions. Research on the implementation of SWPBIS in schools has displayed positive effects related to decreasing the …

Assessing Intern Impact Factors For Program Evaluation And Improvement, John Brady, Randy T. Busse, Jeanne Anne Carriere, Michael Hass, Kelly S. Kennedy

Education Faculty Articles and Research

We present the results of a program evaluation system for examining school psychology interns' impact on the academic and behavioral functioning of children. Outcome data from a variety of single-case problem-solving interventions conducted from 2008-2012 indicated overall moderate, positive effects. Global supervisor ratings indicated strong perceptions of the interns' positive impact on the children they served.

The Caterpillar Game: A Classroom-Wide Behavior Intervention, Angela L. Boyle

Masters Theses

The Caterpillar Game, which was developed specifically for this study, is a classroom-wide behavior management system that uses reinforcement principles. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the Caterpillar Game on first grade students' disruptive behavior. A concurrent multiple-baseline across settings was used to evaluate this intervention. Changes in disruptive behavior and teacher praise were evaluated through live classroom observations. Results suggest that the Caterpillar Game decreased student disruptive classroom behavior and increased teacher praise. Teacher satisfaction for the Caterpillar Game was also positive.

An Analysis Of The Re-Education Philosophy And The Applicability To Individual And Group Therapy, Psychoeducation And Skills, Sarah Manthei

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

An evaluation was conducted of the Re-Education philosophy, current practices of individual and group therapy, skills training, and psychoeducation for Level IV special education students diagnosed with an emotional behavioral disorder and/or mental health diagnosis. An assessment of current evidenced based practices for school-based mental health services was integrated. This provided the foundation for recommendations that are congruent with the Re-Education philosophy and for an evaluation tool to measure student success in learning and comprehending the skills curriculums.

Identification Of Specific Learning Disability Profiles: Consideration Of Patterns Across Cognitive, Academic, Socio-Emotional, And Executive Variables, Amanda M. Garrett

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

During recent years, there has been a growing urgency and a heightened demand for increased accountability for all students to demonstrate academic success in school, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2002). An integral part of helping students to meet success in school includes providing them with a free and appropriate education; this also includes those students who have educational disabilities, through the provision of specially designed instruction and supports. In the past, SLD had been studied as a homogenous classification (Rourke, 1999). However, as more recent research has evolved, it has become clearer that students …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Validity Of Time-Based Measures Of Sustained Attention For Children, Michael R. Kulfan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study is a preliminary investigation of the validity of using time-based measures to quantify sustained attention in children ages 6-12. Problems with sustained attention negatively affect childhood learning and development. The prevalence of disorders known to impact sustained attention performance continue to rise in the United States. Currently, commercially available, objective measures of sustained attention use normative comparisons that provide limited information about the effect such problems have on child performance in natural settings. We reviewed test data from 290 charts of children ages 6-12 referred for neuropsychological evaluation. The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) is an …

A Look Into The Lived Experiences Of College Students With Asperger's Disorder, Joshua Bryan Lafortune

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Currently there is confusion about how to meet the educational needs of students diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder (AD). This is a growing concern for schools where there has been a significant increase in the use of this diagnostic category (Barnhill, 2001). This research project was developed to investigate the lived experiences of college students with a previously identified diagnosis of AD. The aim of this study was to gain a greater understanding of how these students managed the academic and social demands of middle school and high school. Of particular importance were the transitional years during adolescence, where social competence …

Do Military Personnel Feel Excluded And Ignored In Post-Secondary Education, Clark Ryan-Gonzalez

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study was conducted to investigate whether returning veterans feel ostracized (excluded and ignored) and if they experience its immediate negative impact (reflexive pain response and thwarted basic needs) on university campuses. Additionally, this study was designed to investigate veteran students’ feelings of perceived burdensomeness, and three caveats of student engagement: student faculty engagement, community-based activities, and transformational learning opportunities. Participants in the study were 118 civilian and veteran students at the University of North Florida. All data were collected through a world wide web surveying program that allowed each participant to respond on computers from any location. Both …

An In Depth Analyses Of Specific Language Impairment As Compared To Other Developmental Disorders, Adam W. Stein Mr.

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Specific language impairment (SLI), defined as a disproportionate difficulty in learning language despite having normal hearing, intelligence, and no known neurological or emotional impairment, has been shown to share similar cognitive characteristics with individuals with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). However, little research has investigated the dissimilarities in these two different developmental disorders. Children with SLI also show many similar symptoms with individuals diagnosed with dyslexia. The aim of these studies is to get a better understanding of cognitive differences between SLI and ADHD, and the cognitive similarities between SLI and dyslexia. Tests of both verbal and non-verbal measures of …

A Review Of A School Psychologist's Roles In The Implementation Of An Rti System, Leigh Ann Thul

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As schools continue to move into this era of accountability, they must consider system level changes that will address the needs of students as a whole. Using the problem solving model through a system of Response to Intervention (Rtl), schools can use data to monitor discrepancies between expectations of learning and actual student outcomes. Not only can individual student data be used to problem solve about students but also, aggregated data as a whole can help inform system level decision making to reach accountability goals.

Moving to a system of Rtl takes many system level changes that can be daunting …

The Effects Of Check-In/Check-Out And Check-In/Check-Out In Combination With Social Skills Training For Students Who Exhibit Disruptive Classroom Behavior, Aimee Maldonado

Master's Theses

The purpose was to investigate the additive effects of Social Skills Training (SST) to Check-in/Check-out (CICO) on academic engagement of students. Participants were 3 elementary students who exhibited disruptive behavior who were nominated by teachers. The two dependent variables were the level of Appropriately Engaged Behavior (AEB) of the student as well as the student's behavior ratings indicated by teacher responses on the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) with and without SST. A noncurrent multiple baseline across students design was used to examine both dependent variables. Goldstein and McGinnis' program, Skillstreaming the Elementary School Child, was used during SST. The …

Evaluation Of Multiple Schedules With Naturally Occurring And Contrived Discriminative Stimuli Following Functional Communication Training, Kenneth D. Shamlian Psyd

All Student Scholarship

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe a doctoral research study designed to compare use of contrived and naturally occurring discriminative stimuli when using multiple schedules to thin reinforcement following functional communication training and their subsequent efficacy when introduced to novel contexts. Results indicated for one participant training with contrived stimuli was most effective, both contrived and naturally occurring stimuli were similarly effective for a second, and further modifications of a) pairing specific therapists to training conditions and, (b) adding toys during EXT components were necessary for either training condition to be effective for a third. For one participant, …

Gender Differences In Written Expression At The Elementary Level, Ashley D. Melloy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences …