Browsing by Subject "special education"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A case study of an employment training program for students with disabilities aged 18–21: Strengths, barriers, and suggestions for improvement
    (2017-12) Horton, Ashley
    People with disabilities, across all age groups, are much less likely to be employed than those without a disability (Bureau of Statistics, 2017; Mourssi-Asfash, 2013; Erickson, Lee, & von Schrader, 2016). Historically, people with disabilities have been regarded as lesser human beings in the medical and social community. These views are social constructs (ableism and othering) that negatively impact the access to employment and job retention of people with disabilities. However, transition programs (for students with disabilities aged 18–21) in school districts are available to teach individuals with disabilities employment skills to expand employment rates and retention, thus increasing independence and contribution to self and society. One particular transition program has been successful for individuals with disabilities to become employed. This study aims to explore and understand how the program is successfully training individuals with disabilities to improve access to and retention of employment, as well as the drawbacks and next steps of the program. The participants in this case study were parents/guardians of individuals with disabilities who recently graduated from this transition program (in the past 2 years). Parents/guardians were interviewed about their personal experiences with the transition program, focusing in particular on employment training. The findings include: (a) teacher care, advocacy, and emphasizing success; (b) program positives, specifically the employment variety and the skills learned at those jobs and recommendation of the program to upcoming students and parents/guardians based on their employment experiences, support and advocacy from teachers, and genuine care from the teachers and staff from the program; and (c) areas of improvement including more variety and quantity of employment opportunities and communication about information regarding government resources and programming. Recommended improvement strategies for the program include: (a) develop peer support groups for parents/guardians and students; (b) have key people in the program to having a list of resources available to parents from the government agencies; (c) train students and parents/guardians to be better advocates; (d) have tangible copies of frequently asked questions and answers from parents, guardians, and students readily available at IEP meetings; (e) have a vocational rehabilitation service representative at every IEP meeting and, if this is not possible, have information that the representative would like to provide based on the individual's’ needs; (f) create a website with transitional guidelines to adulthood that parents/guardians and students could complete during their time with the transition program; (g) have a representative from the transition program working within the community and surrounding communities to build relationships for future job placements; (h) educate companies and employers about the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities; and (i) continue the philosophy and culture of care, advocacy, and support for students and parents/guardians through the hiring process and a culture/climate committee. Keywords: transition, transition programs, special education, education, ableism, othering, employment, discrimination, disability, special education law, disability law
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    Effects of Data-Based Writing Instruction on the Reading Outcomes of Elementary Students with Writing Difficulties
    (2023) Shanahan, Emma
    Difficulties in writing can emerge as early as preschool, and often coincide with developing difficulties in reading (Berninger et al., 1997; Graham & Santangelo, 2014; Graham et al., 2020), as reading and writing are fundamentally connected skills (e.g., Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000). Writing instruction in general has had positive effects on reading outcomes of students across grade levels (Graham & Hebert, 2011). However, more research is needed to examine whether writing instruction can support the reading skills of elementary students with writing difficulties (Graham, 2020). Data-based instruction (DBI) in writing, which includes research-based writing instruction activities, frequent progress monitoring using curriculum-based measures (CBM) in writing, and data-based decision-making (DBDM) to individualize instruction, has been found to have promising effects on the writing outcomes of students with significant writing difficulties (McMaster et al., 2020), and may similarly support reading. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether DBI in writing can play a positive role in the foundational reading development of elementary students who benefit from intensive writing support. The current study used data from one cohort of participants in a multi-cohort randomized control trial evaluating the effects of DBI professional development on teachers’ use of DBI in writing and students’ writing outcomes. Participants in this study included 42 teachers (19 treatment, 23 control) and their 105 students with significant writing difficulties in Grades 1 to 5 (46 treatment, 59 control). Treatment teachers implemented writing instruction, collected CBM-writing data, and engaged in DBDM with fidelity while receiving ongoing, collaborative support via learning modules and twice-monthly coaching. Treatment students received an average of 37.3 hours of DBI in writing across 20 weeks of study participation. Depending on teachers’ assessment of students’ needs, teachers typically targeted spelling, but also taught handwriting and/or text generation. Pretest correlations indicated that the two reading outcomes, letter sound knowledge and decodable word reading, as measured by FastBridge Letter Sounds correct letter sounds per minute (LS CLSPM) and Decodable Words correct words per minute (DW CWPM), were associated with writing skills spanning from spelling to written expression. Hierarchical linear models controlling for the effect of teacher intercept indicated that DBI in writing did not have a positive effect on LS CLSPM. DBI did, however, have a significant positive effect on log-transformed DW CWPM after controlling for log-transformed pretest scores, meaning that DBI in writing had the strongest effect on the reading of students with higher initial decoding skills. Future research should investigate the effects of more specific letter sound writing interventions on letter sound knowledge and examine whether and why Matthew effects (Stanovich, 1986) may occur in DBI. Implications for teachers’ integration of reading and writing interventions as well as next steps for system-level writing assessment are discussed.
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    An Examination of the Role of Leaders in Special Education Teachers' Implementation of High-Leverage Instructional Practices
    (2020-06) Schaller, Melissa
    This study investigated leaders’ influence and impact on the efficacy of special education teachers’ implementation of high-leverage instructional practices. The study considered the preparation of leaders and teachers to implement the practices, and the beliefs or self-efficacy of both leaders and teachers that implementing high-leverage instructional practices can have a positive association on student growth. The study is not a study of the fidelity of implementation of high-leverage instructional practices, nor of student outcomes when those practices are used. Rather, it is a study of levels of preparedness or knowledge, the beliefs that using those strategies have a positive association on learning, and the degree of confidence or self-efficacy that teachers have to improve their instructional skills by using them. This study collected survey data from leaders and teachers, and interview data from leaders which allowed them to elaborate on their survey responses. Findings from the study reveal, that when high-leverage instructional practices for which preparation has been provided, leaders and teachers are more likely to believe those practices are important and that they can be implemented. The study also found that teachers perceived a greater degree of implementation of high-leverage instructional practices than did leaders. It appears that while leaders intend to use classroom observation to monitor implementation, they are not observing often enough to judge the frequency of implementation and rely, instead, on written documentation, such as lesson plans submitted by the teachers. The findings suggest that leaders may need to develop a structured observation protocol to ensure they are sufficiently monitoring implementation.
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    Examining Special Educators Verbal Responsiveness in Groups of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (2015-10) Qian, Xueqin
    This study aimed to examine whether verbal responsiveness to students’ attentional focus and verbal/vocal acts in special educators varied among subgroups of preschool students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (n = 112). Participants were divided into clusters using cluster analysis based on their standardized scores from the Preschool Language Scale-4 and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. For each student, a 15-minute video of free play in school setting was collected. Three types of responsive utterances were coded: follow-in directives for behavior, follow-in directives for language, and follow-in comments. Results showed that the clusters did not differ in the rate of overall responsive utterances. Additionally, the groups did not differ in follow-in directives for behavior after controlling for classroom types. However, compared with a cluster of students with ASD who scored within normal range on standardized cognitive and language tests, the cluster of students with more severe cognitive and language impairments received a significantly higher rate of follow-in directives for language from special educators. Moreover, student engagement was positively associated with the amount of responsive utterances from the teacher. Students with more cognitive and language impairments produced significantly fewer vocal/verbal acts, which may have resulted in receiving fewer verbal responses from their teachers.
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    The IEP Data Collection Intentions Scale (IDCIS): Scale Development and Validation for Intended Score Interpretation and Use in Early Childhood
    (2019-08) Rudolph, Brenna
    There is evidence to suggest a research-to-practice gap exists in regard to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers’ collection of data highlighting students’ progress toward meeting their Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and objectives (i.e., IEP data collection). Due to the negligible amount of research in this area in addition to the limitations present in the literature, however, it is unclear what factors are responsible for causing and maintaining this gap. Given that teachers are ultimately responsible for deciding whether and how to engage in IEP data collection, a focus on better understanding teachers’ intentions to collect IEP data is a logical first step. With an emphasis on enhancing the measurement techniques employed in previous studies, this application of a cross-sectional survey design aimed to validate the intended interpretations and uses of scores resulting from administration of a newly developed scale—the IEP Data Collection Intentions Scale (IDCIS). Following survey completion by 368 ECSE teachers across the state of Minnesota, confirmatory factor analysis, item analysis, and item response modeling were performed to support scale development. Results indicated that following minor adjustments, the IDCIS can be used to produce precise measures of teachers’ attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy, controllability, and intentions related to the collection of IEP data. Furthermore, the scores produced by IDCIS administration can be used to make valid and reliable inferences about teachers’ levels of each construct in order to inform the creation and modification of future implementation supports, thus decreasing the gap between what is known and what is practiced in today’s classrooms related to data collection.
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    Parental and Teacher Perspectives on Assistive Technology
    (2017-06) Peterson, Darrell
    The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 demands that assistive technology be considered for all students with disabilities, yet it is vastly underutilized amongst people with mental retardation (Arc, 1993; Wehmeyer, 1995), learning disabilities (Jeffs, Behrmann, & Bannan-Ritland, 2006; Lewis, 1998; Raskind, Higgins, Slaff, & Shaw, 1998), and infants and toddlers (Dugan, Campbell, & Wilcox, 2006; Wilcox, Guimond, Camhpbell, & Moore, 2006). This underutilization may be depriving these students of important tools that can help them achieve their potential. Why is this happening? To answer that question, I undertook a Grounded Theory study (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) to obtain a detailed description of the perception parents and special education teachers have of assistive technology for students with cognitive disabilities such as, but not limited to, Autism, ADD/ADHD, or FASD. That perception can have a very real impact on the utilization of assistive technology utilization. The results of this study have implications for creating a new emphasis on assistive technology in teacher preparation programs and teacher professional development. Beyond teacher preparation and development, the results of this study also suggest a new framework for how schools fund and support assistive technology in their special education programs.
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    School Psychologists’ Consistency and Confidence in Learning Disability Identification: The Impact of Identification Methodology and Inconclusive Student Data
    (2015-05) Maki, Kathrin
    Students with learning disabilities (LD) are a heterogeneous group of learners who exhibit below-average achievement theoretically caused by an underlying psychological processing deficit (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2007). School-based identification of LD is necessary if students are to receive specialized supports and instruction through special education services (Burns & Ysseldyke, 2009; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1995; Ysseldyke, Burns, Scholin, & Parker, 2010). However, LD identification is convoluted due to variable practices and the psychometric and conceptual issues underlying identification methodologies. This study examined school psychologists’ decision-making regarding LD identification. Participants on both study 1 and study 2 included 376 practicing school psychologists from across the United States. Study 1 examined the consistency of school psychologists’ LD identification decisions across three identification methods (i.e., ability-achievement discrepancy, response to intervention, and pattern of strengths and weaknesses) and across student evaluation data conclusive levels (i.e., conclusive-not LD, inconclusive, conclusive-LD). Results showed that although there were not differences in identification consistency across identification methods, there were differences in identification consistency across conclusiveness levels of student evaluation data. Study 2 examined differences in school psychologists’ confidence in their identification decisions across identification methods, student evaluation data conclusiveness level, school psychologist experience, and identification consistency. Significant differences in school psychologist confidence across identification method and conclusiveness level were found with school psychologists reporting being the most confident using ability-achievement discrepancy and lower levels of confidence when student data were inconclusive. Significant differences in confidence were not found across school psychologists’ experience or identification consistency. The findings from study 1 and study 2 were discussed in the context of previous research as well as implications for future research, school psychological practice, and special education policy. Specifically, the need for further research regarding LD identification methods in order to ensure identification decisions are reliable and valid is discussed. Moreover, the potential impact on school psychologists’ LD identification practices and consequential student special education servicing are addressed. Limitations of the current research and conclusions are also outlined.