A relationship between the perceptions of the Learning Assistance Teacher (LAT), the Classroom Teacher, the School Principal and the District Staff of the role of the LAT is examined through the use of a questionnaire employing a Likert-type scale. The study explored, described and attempted to compare the perceptions of these key observers in one school district in British Columbia. This study involved a comparative study method. Questionnaires were sent to key observers to obtain their perceptions of the role of the LAT within their school. The individuals represented two levels of district organizational structure - within school personnel and district personnel. The within school personnel could be further sub-divided into administrative and teaching personnel. The data were analyzed descriptively, a comparative analysis between the key observers was taken, the inter-group correlation for the key observers was examined, and the relative ranking of responses for the four groups was examined. It is argued that these findings can be attributed, in part, to the speculative conclusions in the following areas: 1. The consultation area of the LAT role is still a significant problem. 2. The out-of-school and within-school groups have differing perceptions. 3. The within-school personnel have highly correlated perceptions which may be due to the level of inservice training and/or written district policy and school objectives and goals for the LAT. 4. The increased level of education for the classroom teacher and LAT may have led to an increasing commonality of perception of the LAT role. 5. This district rates consultation and cooperative planning much higher than Dugoff, Ives and Shotel's (1985) research. This may be due to the increasing trend to service children with mild handicaps within the regular classroom. This district is moving toward total integration. Further research is needed to see to what extent the perceived role matches the actual role, what the desired or preferred role of the LAT is for these key observers, and what value the role has on learner outcomes. Possible pilot studies of other ways to meet students needs are suggested. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

A multidimensional study was conducted with learning disabled students to assess the effects of a social skills training program. Included were measures of self-concept, peer acceptance, and social competency as rated by parents and teachers. Forty-six intermediate grade children were evaluated prior to the program and after 13 weeks of either treatment, or no treatment. In addition, evaluation of the effect of different instructors was carried out. It was hypothesized that subjects would demonstrate significant (alpha=.05) increases in positive self-concept, peer acceptance, and ratings of social competency by parents and teachers. Support for this hypothesis was found for parent ratings. A secondary hypothesis was that there would be no significant difference at the .05 level between subjects receiving treatment or the placebo from Instructor A and those receiving treatment or the placebo from Instructor B. Partial confirmation was found on the parent and teacher ratings of social competency. The hypothesis was rejected for peer ratings and self-concept measures. Suggestions for practices in education include: (a) the expanding of social skills training throughout the elementary school by presenting it as a progressive skill building program, (b) ways to interest educators in teaching social behavior, (c) application of social skills assessment and training as a function of the counsellor or school psychologist's role, and (d) the practical logistics of setting up a social skills training program in an educational setting. Implications for future research suggest: (a) ways to refine the present study's design, (b) an examination of social behavior and peer acceptance in both the regular and special education class environments, and (c) the need for further understanding of the developmental stages in social competency. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the study is to investigate the picture book preferences of grade four Aboriginal students, to discover what books have the greatest appeal and to determine which specific factors influence their choices. The study took place at an inner city elementary school with a high population of Aboriginal students located in the heart of the Canadian prairies. Experienced educators know that the majority of Aboriginal chidlren come to school with little or no exposure to books. Studies have shown that the ability or lack of ability to read at grade level is a strong indicator of future academic success. Teachers and librarians have little information available to assist them in choosing literature that will be of interest to Aboriginal students and motivate them to read and through practice improve their reading skills. Provincial governments are looking for research that addresses the needs of this growing population. Twelve grade four Aboriginal students participated in the study, seven boys and five girls. The students viewed forty-five books that were divided into three sets of fifteen and chose one book from each set to read and respond to through writing and/or drawing. After the book selection and response sessions were complete, the researcher interviewed each child to determine the one book they would most want to take home. The study concludes that: 1) Students preferred to read picture books portraying Aboriginal characters that reflected their own image; 2) Students transposed the urban and rural settings in the Aboriginal books to make relevant connections with their lives; 3) Aboriginal books portraying Aboriginal characters was the genre with the greatest appeal; 4) Students preferred vivid realistic illustrations; 5) Students background experience frequently determined their preferences in books and also increased their motivation to read; 5) Realistic pictures with minimal amounts of text held great appeal for boys selecting information books. It is hoped that the study will assist teachers and librarians in selecting literature that will be of interest to Aboriginal students encouraging them to read more and by improving their reading skills raise the level of their general academic achievement. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Children with autism show deficits in communication skills, including joint attention, a component of which is following the line of regard. Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment examined how prompting and fading procedures effected following the line of regard in a child with autism. The second experiment examined this effect on the child's learning the names of novel objects. One 10-year-old boy, with a primary diagnosis of autism, participated. A changing criterion design was used in Experiment I. Experiment II used a succession of interventions to assess incidental learning of novel object names. Results indicate that prompting and fading with reinforcement was an effective training procedure for teaching this child to follow the line of regard. However, this skill did not automatically lead to the child's learning the names of novel objects.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how parents of students with autism perceived individualized education program (IEP) meetings. I determined factors that contributed to the belief held by parents that their children were or were not being properly served by IEP meetings. Parental relationships with educators, IEP meeting experiences, IEP outcomes, and treatment by educators were revealed through participant input. Parents were asked to share their experiences of previous IEP meetings. Additionally, parents provided input regarding practices that school districts could take to improve IEP meetings, and actions that parents could take to serve as better advocates for their children. Research findings indicated that parents did not perceive themselves as being treated as equals during IEP meetings. Parents believed that their input was not valued or welcomed by educators. Not having an equal voice toward their child's education prevented parents from positively influencing outcomes in their child's IEP meetings in terms of obtaining quality services and building positive relations with educators. Parents further revealed that educators failed to implement proper IEP protocol. According to parents, student objectives agreed upon in IEP meetings were often not always fully implemented for students receiving special education services. Research findings concluded that parents new to the IEP process often experienced difficulty understanding special education law, and were unaware of services that school districts should provide for their children.Suggestions for improving IEP meetings include: educators valuing parents as equal partners during IEP meetings, educators properly adhering to IEP objectives set forth in IEP meetings, and both educators and parents taking measures to becoming more knowledgeable of special education law and the IEP process.

The effects of two consequence delivery methods on task acquisition were evaluated within a multi-element design. A typical 3 year-old child and a 4 year-old child with autism participated in this study. The task for both children was to select a picture after the experimenter said its name. The consequence in one condition consisted of the experimenter handing the edible item to the children. The consequence in the other condition consisted of the children retrieving the edible item directly from the apparatus, located in a crevice underneath each picture. Results show slightly quicker acquisition in the condition where children retrieved the edible consequence. However, it is possible that other variables had greater influence on the task acquisition.

The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the effects of enhanced training and performance management methods for an autism coordinator who managed several paraprofessional therapists providing in-home behavior therapy for young children with autism. Intervention included task clarification, targeted skill development, and improved feedback from the coordinator to the therapists. Results showed that service delivery performance of in-home trainers increased and/or became more consistent after the intervention was implemented. The intervention provided the autism coordinator with an empirically validated training and feedback system that can be successfully utilized in a sporadically supervised environment.

Toy play represents one of many levels of play where children can expand their repertoires and socially interact with peers. Play typically increases in complexity as the child's repertoire develops; however, children with autism often have delayed play skills. The current study investigated the effects of using a 3-component play training procedure (choices, prompting, and consequences), replicated from a previous study, to increase simple and pretend toy play in three boys with autism. Additional measures were used to observe engagement with materials, children, and adults during a 10-minute session. Observations show increased toy play for two participants and increases in overall engagement for all participants. The findings suggest that the teaching program used is replicable across multiple populations, furthering the advancement of evidence-based practices.