published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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No description available.

No description available.

The effects of a gymnastic unit on stereotypic, on-task, and off task behaviors of two children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and two children with Down syndrome were examined using structured teaching, based on adaptations by the TEACCH model. Structured teaching consisted of individual pictorial activity schedules and work systems. The stereotypic, on-task, and off task behaviors were observed during three phases: baseline, treatment, and post-treatment. / Inter-rater reliability of stereotypic, on-task, and off task behaviors was 82.2%. The results indicated reductions on the levels of stereotypic behaviors of both participants with ASD, while no significant changes were observed in the levels of on-task behaviors for these participants. This was probably due to the fact that the gymnastic unit was fairly structured even before the implementation of the treatment. No effects were found on the levels of on-task behaviors of both participants with Down syndrome.

This study examined the effects of the second level (intermediate acoustical processing of rhyming words) and the third level (deep-semantic processing of words in sentences) of "levels of processing" framework on memory performance of four types of students (52 "normal" students, 50 students with learning disabilities, 25 students with mild mental handicap, and 25 students with emotional handicap). Statistical analysis revealed that "normal" students and students with emotional handicap performed significantly higher than students with mild mental handicap. However, the analysis did not reveal significant differences among "normal" students, students with learning disabilities, and students with emotional handicap. Nor were there significant differences between students with learning disabilities and those with mild mental handicap. Further, the statistical analysis revealed that the interaction among the four groups of students, encoding levels of processing, and types of retrieval cues was not significant. However, a significant interaction was found between types of retrieval cues and encoding levels of processing. The data on the memory test showed that the mean number correct for all students was the highest when stimulus words were presented and encoded semantically and retrieved using a congruent semantic cue. A mismatch between encoding processing conditions and retrieval cues produced poor memory performance regardless of levels of processing. The findings indicate that appropriate use of levels of processing, congruity, and encoding specificity for retrieval cues enhances recall of information. Recommendations for classroom instructions and future research are discussed. / Department of Special Education

The purposes of this study were to determine if the following factors pertaining to elementary school principals; amount of undergraduate/graduate training in special education, previous experience with disabled students, and professional development training, had a relationship to their attitudes regarding the education of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. The study also sought to determine if differences existed between principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of different categories of disabled students into the regular classroom.The population of the study consisted of 230 randomly selected elementary school principals. Principals selected for the study were sent the data-collection instrument, The Building Administrator Survey, which was developed by the researcher. The survey instrument consisted of demographic questions which addressed the study's independent variables and 12 statements which were designed to ascertain the study's dependent variable, attitude toward the education disabled students in the regular classroom. Respondents were asked to rate each statement on a five-point Likerttype scale reflecting perceived attitudes toward each of five different categories of disability: emotional handicap, learning disability, mild mental handicap, moderate mental handicap, and severe mental handicap. A multivariate analysis of variance procedure was used to determine the of significance of relationships between the study's independent variables and principals' attitudes toward inclusion. A post hoc procedure was used to identify significant differences in principals' attitudes toward inclusionary practices relative to the study's five categories of disabled students.The following conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study:1. There is a statistically significant relationship between attitudes toward the inclusion of different categories of disabled students. Attitudes toward inclusion become less positive as the level of student disability increases.2. Principals receiving minimal amounts of professional development training tend to have more negative attitudes toward inclusion than principals receiving more extensive training.3. There is not a statistically significant relationship between principals' attitudes toward inclusion and the type of professional development training they have received, the amount of professional training in special education they have received, or their previous experience with students with disabilities in teaching and administrative settings. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level and degree of satisfaction of parents whose mentally handicapped child was receiving special education and/or related services provided by public school systems.One-hundred and thirty parents responded to three instruments constructed for this study.Findings MANOVA results revealed significant differences among the three parental groups (parents of mild, moderate, and severe/profound children) on the attitude measure toward the special education placement of their children. Post hoc tests and mean comparison data indicated that parents of mildly mentally handicapped children were more satisfied with the special education services than were the two other comparison groups.Data analysis using ANOVA indicated that sex of parents and level of retardation of the child had no significant main effect on the knowledge level of services mandated by Public Law 94-142.Pearson correlation coefficient results suggested that the special education program variables indicated higher positive linear correlation with the degree of parental satisfaction with the special education placement of their mentally handicapped children, than did the demographic variables.Conclusions and Recommendations Parents in this study lacked knowledge of their legal rights pertaining to special education programming and related services. Future research should be directed to understand the interactions among factors that might affect parents' knowledge of PL 94-142.Workshops and inservice programs should be organized and on-going to inform parents of their rights and responsibilities under state and federal special education laws, as well as implementing ways for increasing their involvement in supporting their child's education in the least restrictive educational setting.Inservice workshops should be carried out for regular teachers to ensure that those involved with the education of exceptional children possess competencies necessary to perform their jobs adequately. An array of service alternatives and placement options is necessary to meet the varied needs of all young mentally handicapped children.Future research on parental attitudes toward the special education placement of their mentally handicapped children should take into consideration cause-effect relationships, as well as the interrelatedness of child, parent, and program variables. / Department of Special Education