Browsing by Subject "Special Education"
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Item A Self-advocacy Program for Students with Disabilities: Adult Outcomes and Advocacy Involvement One to Six Years after Involvement(2013-03-08) Roberts, EricThe Texas Statewide Youth Leadership Forum (TXYLF) provides self-advocacy training to high school youths with disabilities. TXYLF is an enhanced version of the Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) that is comprised of an initial five day training, a nine month support phase, regional YLFs, and the opportunity for participants to return to the five day training to serve as a mentor to their peers. This study?s purpose was to examine the TXYLF participants? post-training outcomes and the relationships among advocacy involvement and adult outcomes. To achieve this purpose, former TXYLF participants were surveyed between one and six years after their participation in TXYLF. The correlational study analyzed descriptively the participants? outcomes and inferentially, through logistic regression, the relationships among participants? adult outcomes, self-advocacy involvement, and the various TXYLF participation components. The results demonstrated that TXYLF participants? post-training postsecondary education attendance was higher than the national average for adults with disabilities. Participants with low incidence disabilities were involved in inclusive employment more often than the national average. A minority status increased the likelihood of involvement in secondary education advocacy, having a high incident disability increased the likelihood of post-training employment, and being under 21 years old increased the likelihood of living independently post-training, involvement in postsecondary education advocacy, and involvement in employment advocacy. Involvement in TXYLF for one full year, including involvement as a mentor, increased the likelihood of post-training employment; involvement in TXYLF?s nine month support phase and involvement as a mentor increased the likelihood of post-training postsecondary education attendance, postsecondary education advocacy, and employment advocacy. Attending a regional YLF further increased the likelihood of postsecondary education and postsecondary education advocacy. Furthermore, involvement in TXYLF as a mentor increased the likelihood of post-training employment, postsecondary education, and independent living. No significant relationships were observed for self-advocacy and adult-outcomes. Future research is needed that takes the findings of this study and establishes a causal relationship through a randomized group experimental design.Item A survey of reading services provided to students with reading disabilities(2009-05-15) Christen, Margaret HardingThis research investigated the extent of special education reading services provided to students with a diagnosed reading disability, and examined potential demographic differences in service delivery. Special education eligibility folders of 512 students from 11 Texas school districts were examined. Trained research teams utilizing a reliable data collection template conducted on-site visits and recorded student folder data during a six-week period. National statistics report that 37% of fourth grade students do not possess basic reading skills. Half of the students presently receiving special education services are qualified as a student with a learning disability and 80% of these students are reported to be learning disabled in the areas of basic reading or reading comprehension. Previous research studies have reported that students with a diagnosed disability in reading are not always provided the specialized instruction needed. This study reported on: (a) current practices in Texas for the 512 students whose files were reviewed with respect to special education reading services: (b) what state demographics may have influenced the provision of services; and (c) to what extent the amount of a student?s reading delay influenced the amount of special education services provided. Results showed that there was minimal provision of special education services for reading disabled students. When the results were analyzed by degree of disability the correlation was weak while the analysis by demographic membership showed a somwhat increased correlation.Item An Examination of the Professional Challenges, Job Satisfaction, and Intention to Leave the Profession of Urban Elementary Special Education Teachers(2012-10-19) Meloncon, BrendaSpecial education teachers are under tremendous pressure to deliver a personalized educational experience to special needs children while, at the same time, operating within an equal opportunity, politically driven educational system. Urban teachers are under even more constraints since urban public schools do not typically have the resources, materials, and support from parents needed to deliver the best possible educational experience to students. In 2000, Coleman suggested that caseloads followed closely by paperwork are the biggest concerns of special education teachers. This author further suggests that, on average, special education teachers prepare fifty lessons per day for special needs children, and spend one to two days per week managing paperwork. Budgetary constraints in urban schools further place obstacles in front of special education teachers who must make do with materials and training that are incomplete or out of date. Professional challenges may be the reason behind a lack of special education teachers in urban areas, and the fact that the demand for special education teachers was outpacing the number of special education teachers entering the field. The purpose of this study is to explore five research questions that examine the antecedents to an urban elementary special education teacher's intentions to leave the special education profession. Five professional challenges were developed from extant literature to test their influence on job satisfaction and three constructs from the theory of planned behavior. Job satisfaction and these three constructs were tested for their predictive validity influencing a subject's behavior intention to leave the profession. Using a non-random, purposeful sample of 79 certified special education teachers in urban Texan school districts, a quantitative method using multiple regression was used to test nine correlations. Results suggest that professional challenges significantly influence job satisfaction and perceived behavioral control from the theory of planned behavior. Behavior intention to leave the profession was significantly influenced by job satisfaction, attitudes about leaving the profession, and perceived behavioral control. Attitudes about leaving the profession were significantly influenced by job satisfaction. The subjective norms construct was not a significant predictor of behavior intention, and neither attitude nor subjective norms was influenced by professional challenges.Item CHANGE IN TIME UTILIZATION BY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICE PROVIDERS IN SCHOOLS(2012-01-10) Goodrich, Elizabeth; Hawkins, Jacqueline; Burridge, Andrea; Johnson, Sharon; White, Cathryn; Yu, ShirleyOccupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) are related services that are provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). Related services are provided under the IDEA to assist children with disabilities to benefit from special education. Nationally, there is a critical shortage of qualified personnel to provide related services in schools. Due to budget constraints, public school systems also experience challenges in competing with medical facilities to hire these personnel. Due to this combination of the critical shortage of qualified personnel and budgetary constraints, public school systems often times operate with staffing shortages. Therefore, it is important to develop evidence based practices that facilitate the efficient utilization of both personnel time and talent to provide these services in schools. To contribute to this evidence, the researcher investigated change in how OT and PT service providers utilized time in a large urban school district across four school years. These years are consistent with the years investigated by Goodrich, Hawkins, Burridge, and White (2009), who reported an increase across these years in the number of appropriate as opposed to inappropriate referrals generated for OT and PT services in this school district. In the later three years, three interventions designed to facilitate appropriate referrals were implemented. The interventions included training on using an education based decision making process when generating a referral, a modified referral form to guide campus personnel through using an education based decision making process, and the addition of a classroom based support service to the continuum of services provided by OT and PT services. In the current study, a longitudinal analysis was conducted to measure if a significant change occurred in the proportion of time OT and PT service providers spent in various activities performed as a part of their work responsibilities when the increase in the proportion of appropriate referrals was reported. Therapy personnel increased the time spent in providing campus or classroom based support services and in travel. Time spent in providing screening and evaluation services remained stable across the years. The interventions implemented in this school district across these four years were supported as effective practices to improve the efficient utilization of OT and PT services provided in schools. These personnel were able to increase the proportion of time they were able to spend in providing the campus or classroom based support services, offering a proactive model of support in addition to the reactionary, referral driven, model. The referral process improved because less, more appropriate referrals were generated by campus teams (Goodrich, et al. 2009) the time spent in responding to these referrals remained relatively consistent across these years. This time was spent in responding to more appropriate referrals as opposed to being unnecessarily expended to respond to inappropriate referrals. In addition to these two changes in how these service personnel spent time across these years, the number of children recommended to receive OT and/or PT services as a part of the child’s IEP increased.Item Dependability and acceptability of handheld computers in school-based data collection(2009-05-15) Adiguzel, TufanGiven the increasing influence of technology and the explosion in data collection demands, the acceptance and assimilation of new paradigms and technologies require today?s educators, researchers, and evaluators to select appropriate tools and apply them effectively. One of these technologies?handheld computers?makes the benefits of computerized data collection more accessible to field-based researchers. Three related studies were conducted to evaluate handheld-based data collection system for use in special education settings and to highlight the acceptability factors to effectively use this emerging technology. The first study reviewed the recent literature on the dependability and willingness of teachers to adopt handheld data collection systems and emphasized five important factors: (1) perceived ease of use; (2) perceived usefulness; (3) intention to use; (4) dependability; and (5) subjective norms. The second study discussed the dependability of handheld computers used by special education teachers for collecting self-report data by addressing four dependability attributes: reliability, maintainability, availability, and safety. Data were collected from five sources: (1) self-reports of time use by 19 special education teachers using Pocket PC computers, (2) observations of time use from eight external data collectors, (3) teacher interviews, (4) technical reports prepared by the researcher, and (5) teacher satisfaction. Results indicated that data collection via handheld computers yielded accurate, complete, and timely data, and was appropriate for these four dependability attributes. The last study investigated teachers? acceptance of handheld computer use by testing the relationship among five factors that influence intention to use this technology which was based on a modified version of the technology acceptance model using the handheld computer acceptance survey responses from 45 special education teachers. The results showed that intention to use handheld computer was directly affected by the devices? perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The issue of dependability had a direct and indirect statistically significant effect on perceived ease of use and usefulness, and intention to use a handheld computer, respectively. Overall, three studies demonstrated that handheld computers can be effectively used in the direct observation of behavior in a school environment, without requirements of any settings.Item Preparing the Novice Teacher for the First ARD Meeting: The Role of the Module, Mentor and Multimedia(2013-08-28) Dyke, April LynetteThe focus of this study was on the factors that play a role in preparing novice teachers for their first Admission Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting. A mixed methods approach was used to answer the research question: Which resource plays a stronger role in the preparation of novice teachers for their first ARD meeting, previous college preparation courses, involvement in a mentoring program, or a Mock ARD Training Video specific to the district?s current expectations of an ARD meeting? This study incorporated pre- and post-surveys and interviews with novice teachers in various departments and grade levels after participating in their first ARD committee meeting. Due to the small sample size available of novice special education teachers in the district in one school year (three in 2012-2013), this study involved both general education and special education novice teachers during the 2012-2013 school year. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations were made to the district to address the identified areas of continued need as they apply to the ARD meeting process.Item Stress and self-efficacy of special education and general education student teachers during and after the student teaching internship(2009-05-15) Dickerson, Kimberly LynnThe purpose of this study was to determine if special education and general education student teachers differed significantly in stress and selfefficacy during and following the student teaching semester. The institutional population was special education and general education student teachers at the top ten teacher producing universities in Texas and the sample was drawn from the four institutions which agreed to participate. Student teachers in these institutions were emailed a link to the survey site. The pretest resulted in a response rate of 16.5%, with 59 analyzable responses from participants. The posttest resulted in a response rate of 10%, with 36 analyzable responses from participants. Data from 23 student teachers completed the stress pretest and posttest survey, and 22 student teachers completed the self-efficacy pretest and posttest survey. Data were analyzed using Friedman?s ANOVA and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. The survey contained two instruments, the Teacher Stress Inventory, and the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale; and a researcher-developed demographic information sheet. Student teachers were asked to respond to questions pertaining to stress, as well as to how much influence student teachers have with certain aspects of the learning environment. Data analysis utilized descriptive and nonparametric inferential statistics to draw conclusions. Among the major research findings were: 1. General and special education student teachers were significantly more stressed and demonstrated higher levels of self-efficacy from pretest to posttest. 2. Stress was most often caused by poorly motivated students and by students not trying to the best of their abilities. 3. Self-efficacy was highest for the Disciplinary Self-Efficacy Subscale. 4. Special education student teachers did not differ significantly in either stress or self-efficacy from pretest to posttest. 5. General education student teachers differed significantly in both stress and self-efficacy from pretest to posttest. The results of this study may provide a catalyst for further research examining the interplay between stress and self-efficacy, specifically for special education student teachers, and ultimately produce additional findings that may inform student teacher curricula. Additionally, the results may help inform teacher preparation programs about methods to help mediate stress in the early stages of stress onset.Item The Effects of Structured Work Experience on the Work-Readiness Skills of Students with Disabilities(2013-05-03) Pacha, Jacqueline KIt is common knowledge that employment is a large part of participation in society for all adults; and, one role of public education is to prepare students for these adult roles. Despite increasing school accountability measures for post-school outcomes of students with disabilities, a significant gap in employment between those with and those without disabilities remains. Work experience during high school has been established as the most consistent predictor of post-school employment. The problem is the lack of intervention research demonstrating ways of implementing programs that are associated with acquisition of work-readiness skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of structured work experience on the work-readiness skills of students with disabilities, and examine whether or not disability, or type of program, affected student outcomes while controlling for number of participant contact hours. To accomplish this purpose, a quasi- experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was selected and used. The target population for this study was high school students with disabilities in three high schools in Texas. The final sample included 37 students. The Becker Work Adjustment Profile: 2 was the instrument used to measure the participants? work-readiness skills. The pretest was administered within two weeks of student entry into the program. The posttest was administered within two weeks of student exit from the program. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted to answer the primary and exploratory research questions. Inferential analyses included a dependent sample t test and an ANCOVA using number of participant contact hours as the covariate. Results indicated participation in a structured work experience program had a positive effect on the work-readiness skills of these participants. ANCOVA results indicated (a) disability type was not a significant factor affecting the work-readiness of the participants, (b) program type produced a statistically significant main effect, (c) there was no statistically significant interaction effect between disability type and program type, and (d) number of contact hours produced a statistically significant main effect. Future research studies should focus on replication of the current study results and examination of the long-term effects of participation in structured work experience programs on post-school outcomes.Item Underrepresentation of Hispanic/Latino Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance in IDEIA: What's the Teacher's Role?(2011-10-21) Massa, IdaliaHistorically, Hispanic/Latino (H/L) students have been under-referred, under-identified, and under-served by the U.S. Special Education (SPED) system, particularly under the emotional behavioral disturbance (EBD) category. This finding is alarming given that numerous federal sources report that H/L students continue a disturbing trend of struggling academically as well as being at a higher risk for poor mental health outcomes such as elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality when compared to their peers. Unfortunately, the existing mental health and education literature on H/L students provides limited guidance in understanding the disproportionate underrepresentation of H/L in the EBD category of the SPED system; an underrepresentation well-documented in the report to congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). Using survey methods, the purpose of this study was to shed light on the possible mediating role teachers' perceptions have on the SPED referral and identification decisions by looking at teacher ratings of risk for EBD-like behaviors of students across behavioral conditions (i.e., internalizing versus externalizing types of behaviors) and across ethnic/racial groups (i.e., White, African Americans, and H/L students) using a response-to-intervention framework. Using the Qualtrics software, an online survey tool, 114 self-selected pre-service teachers were surveyed; data was collected and analyzed using a One-way Analysis of Variance. Two main effects and two interaction effects were explored: does the students' ethnic/racial background moderate the teachers' at risk score (ARS) regardless of the behavior displayed?; does the type of behavioral expression moderate the ARS regardless of ethnic/race?; is there an interaction effect between H/L students exhibiting internalizing behaviors that systematically results in a lower ARS and AA students exhibiting externalizing behaviors that systematically results in a higher ARS? Results indicated that (a) when compared to White, Hispanic/Latino students are indeed less likely to be perceived by the pre-service teachers as exhibiting EBD-like behaviors regardless of the behavior (externalizing, internalizing, or neutral) displayed, (b) externalizing behaviors was the strongest predictor for perceiving someone as at-risk for having EBD-like behaviors, and (c) no interaction effects were found.Item What's So Special about Special Education? A Critical Study of White General Education Teachers' Perceptions Regarding the Referrals of African American Students for Special Education Services(2010-01-16) Alexander, Dustyn R.This study addressed the problem of the disproportionality of African Americans in special education by conducting critical white research. A review of literature revealed that research using this methodology had not been conducted with this problem in mind and that critical white theory might be a wise choice in order to understand this issue more fully. This study sought to fill that gap by providing information on the perspectives of white general education teachers regarding the referral and potential placement of African American students in special education. White teachers were selected in order to explore this phenomenon from a critical white perspective. Since most teachers are white, this population is critical in the development of an understanding of the problem of disproportionality. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of white general education teachers regarding the: 1. ability, behavior, and school readiness of African American students; 2. instruction, referral, and potential placement of African American students in special education; 3. gaps that exist in the preparation of general education teachers regarding the instruction of African American students. The constant comparative (Glaser & Strauss, 1965) technique resulted in the identification of six themes. These themes supported the current research and confirmed that a lack of cultural responsiveness, a deficit view, and a misunderstanding of the special education referral process and potential services contributes to the gross disproportionality of African Americans in special education. The added perspective of my being a special education administrative practitioner and parent added a depth of understanding to this crisis that has not been previously explored in-depth literature. Also, a useful model called the pipeline to special education was developed to understand what occurs between general education and special education. Finally, a critical white perspective revealed that dominant white values in the classroom may perpetuate marginalization in the form of privilege on the part of the teacher to be permitted to abdicate responsibility for struggling African American students by referring them to special education.