The present study was an explorative summative program evaluation of the preschool to kindergarten transition process used by a school district in the Denver-metro area. Surveys were provided to parents, preschool staff, and elementary school staff who were involved in the transition process for 57 young children with special needs moving into kindergarten placements for the 1998-99 school year. Respondents were asked to indicate their satisfaction with, and identify the importance of, each specific transition activity within the transition process. Follow-up measures of reported satisfaction with, and importance of, various transition activities, as well as a measure of each child's adjustment to kindergarten was obtained from the respondents two months following the beginning of the school year. All respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with the overall transition process and rated nearly all of the individual transition activities as important to the overall transition process. However, parents were significantly more satisfied with the transition process than were the preschool or elementary school teams. In general, elementary school teams appeared less satisfied with their ability to understand the student's needs and family concerns, while preschool teams were less satisfied with their ability to make systemic decisions for their students. The data suggest that by incorporating a district-wide preschool to kindergarten transition process, parents and educators were able to provide satisfactory transitions for a group of young children with special needs. Limitations of the present study, as well as future directions for research, are also discussed.

This dissertation documents historical patterns of language planning activities in American deaf education during the 19th century from a sociolinguistic perspective. This comprehensive study begins in the early 1800s, prior to the opening of the first public school for the deaf in Connecticut, tracing and categorizing available literature related to the language of signs and English as the languages of instruction for the deaf through 1900. Borg and Gall's (1989) historical research methodology was employed to ensure that a consistent historical approach was maintained based upon adequate and/or primary references whenever possible. Utilizing Cooper's (1989) language planning framework, each article in this extensive historical collection was categorized according to one of three major types of language planning activities: status planning (SP), acquisition planning (AP), or corpus planning (CP). Until this time, a comprehensive study of this nature has never been pursued in the field of deaf education. As a result, language planning patterns were discovered and a number of myths based upon inaccurate historical evidence that have long misguided educators of the deaf as well as the Deaf community were revealed. More specifically, these myths are related to the belief that 19th century linguistic analysis and scientific descriptions of the language of signs were nonexistent, and that 19th century literature related to the role, use and structure of the language of signs in education was extremely limited. Additionally this study discovered myths related to the status and use of sign language in this country, the history of deaf education programs, the growth and development of oralism and its impact upon existing programs for the deaf and the employment of deaf teachers. It was also revealed that several terms used in the 19th century have been misinterpreted by educational practitioners today who mistakenly believe they are using strategies that were developed long ago. Therefore, this study attempts to 'correct the record' by using primary sources to bring to light a new understanding of the history of deaf education from a language planning perspective.

In this study the behaviors observed and the products created by Hispanic and Navajo children, ages four to five, are described. Each child participated in a performance-based assessment of problem solving designed to identify young children with gifts and talents. The assessment process entails careful observation of children's problem solving and resultant products to determine an individual's abilities and interests in each of the intelligences posited by Gardner (1983). All children were videotaped in the classroom while engaged in solving problems on the spatial activity of the assessment. An embedded, multiple case study design (Yin, 1994) was used as the formal research strategy to address the research questions posed. Case study methods and qualitative techniques were used. Thus, a total of eight single case studies were conducted. The primary purpose of the study was to describe in detail the behaviors that could be observed and the characteristics of the products created by young culturally diverse children on a problem solving task involving spatial abilities. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine if careful observation of the spatial problem solving behaviors exhibited by the children, combined with an evaluation of final products constructed, could clarify and extend the understanding of the spatial area of intelligence. The researcher delineated three broad categories of observed behaviors and three broad categories of characteristics of finished products. No sex-related differences were found between young female and male children. However, clear qualitative differences between young Navajo and Hispanic children were found in the spatial problem solving behaviors and in the ways that spatial representations were characterized. Similarly qualitative differences were found in the eye patterns and solution strategies used by young children who were characterized as highly able problem solvers on the spatial task. The behaviors noted and the characteristics of products created by the children in this study allowed the researchers to further define spatial intelligence children across the core capacities of the spatial domain.

This comparative ethnographic study examined factors hypothesized to be relevant to the success or failure to graduate from high school. Student participants were male Mexicans with learning disabilities (LD), enrolled in U.S. middle schools, who were nominated by two of their teachers as either "Likely to Graduate from High School," (LGHS) or "Unlikely to Graduate from High School," (UGHS). The theoretical perspective was that students' life circumstances are all intricately related and academic outcomes are mediated by the overall evaluation students have of their contextual events (Alva & Padilla, 1989). The objectives for the in-depth interviews with students and their parents, were developed from an ecological perspective of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Through interviews and archival reviews, an understanding was sought of the personal, social, and familial resources these students access to survive and eventually academically succeed. Among the findings were that students nominated as LGHS and their parents were comparatively more receptive to the exigencies of U.S. culture than their counterparts, the UGHS students and their parents. This greater receptivity contributed to the LGHS' greater progress in overcoming initial language limitations and effectively utilizing available resources. Also, parents of the LGHS group of students had attained a substantially higher average level of education than the parents of the UGHS students. The perceptions of the parents of the LGHS students had of themselves in terms of capacity to assist their children in their learning, differed markedly from the self-perceptions of the parents of the UGHS students who believed they were unable to support their children's learning-related experiences. Whereas LGHS students displayed social competence, problem-solving skills, autonomy, and orientation towards goals, UGHS students were commonly off-task, impulsive, and unable to self-regulate behaviors. Their maladaptive behaviors also negatively affected their acquisition of academic knowledge and development of skills. Among the recommendations are the implementation of intervention programs to enculturate parents into the social and literacy practices of the classroom and the school, and the promotion of cooperative linkages between school and families. Parents are the precursors of improvement in special education programs for minority students.

This dissertation contributes to the area of Applied Linguistics and foreign language teaching and learning by investigating whether formal instruction, as opposed to no specific instruction, plays a significant role in the acquisition of Spanish spatial prepositions: "en", "sobre", "de," and "a." The study investigates the effect of formal instruction for spatial concepts for which English native speakers could use the L1 to generate correct responses in the L2 and for spatial concepts that created confusion between the L1 and the L2. It also investigates the effect of formal instruction when prepositions are taught by rules. The study introduces a visual/spatial/kinesthetic methodology based on the Davis Symbol MasteryRTM program, originally designed to be used with juvenile and adult dyslexics. The study investigates whether 3-D clay modeling can create new mental representations of spatial concepts not existent in the L1 or resolve overlapping spatial concepts between the L1 and the L2. Advanced university learners of Spanish as a Second Language participated in this study. Results show that (a) formal instruction has a significant general effect for the mixed spatial concepts chosen for this study; (b) formal instruction has no significant effect over no specific instruction for concepts for which English native speakers could use the L1 to generate correct responses in the L2; (c) formal instruction, specifically 3-D clay intervention, can either help resolve the confusion in case of overlapping of spatial concepts between the L1 and L2 or create new mental representations not existent in the L1; and (d) formal instruction has no significant effect in the case of instruction by rules. The dissertation offers a novel theoretical explanation for why 3-D clay modeling may help resolve confusion in the case of overlapping of spatial concepts between the L1 and L2 or create new mental representations not existent in the L1. Vygotsky's Tools for Cognitive Development are extended: 3-D clay modeling provides a tool that is both concretely grounded and consciously systematically accessible. The dissertation also discusses motivation in learning based on Csikszentmihalyi's "Flow Theory".

To meet requirements of Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities must be included in standardized assessment to measure their progress in the general curriculum (Public Law 107-110, 2002; Education Development Center, 1999). When implementing standardized assessments, all aspects of the assessment are to be standardized, to include administration procedures and time (Packer, 1989). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of testing modifications, a type of adaptation that may be necessary for students with disabilities, and the effects of demographic information on test scores for students with visual impairments. Ethnicity, home language, reading medium, and disability classification were considered. Typical testing modifications and possible re-occurring cluster data were analyzed. The sample consisted of 71 students in grades two through nine who attended a specialized school for the visually impaired or a public school with support from teachers of the visually impaired. Students' 2001--02 stanine scores for Total Reading, Total Mathematics, and Language from the Stanford Achievement Test, 9th edition were analyzed. A factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze previously collected data. A principal components analysis was completed on modification data to reduce the modifications into common reoccurring clusters. ANOVA and ANCOVA results indicated that reading medium, alone or in a cluster, has an effect on Total Mathematics and Language scores. In both the ANOVA for Language and the ANCOVA for Total Mathematics the reading medium of large print had the highest mean score followed by print then Braille. The ANOVA for Total Mathematics results showed print had a slightly higher mean score than large print, followed by Braille. When analyzing testing modification an effect was found in the area of Total Mathematics when reading medium was combined or clustered with other variables. When completing the principal component analysis the 19 variables were clustered and reduced to 4 components.

This study proposes an adaptation of Hunt's (1965) Terminal Miminal Syntactic Unit (T-Unit) to measure syntactic complexity in American Sign Language (ASL) syntax. Criterion for determining an American Sign Language T-Unit is based upon research into the linguistic structure and development of ASL. Nine deaf elementary aged students watched a non-verbal film and retold the story in ASL on videotape (Newport et al., in press). The stories were then transcribed into the Vista Glossing System (Smith, Lentz & Mikos, 1988). Transcriptions were segmented into T-Units and further analyzed for syntactic complexity. Results reveal an increase in ASL T-Units for all children from the fall to the spring. An increase in ASL T-Units translates to greater syntactic complexity. Results from the study suggest that an ASL T-unit analysis is an effective measure of ASL proficiency.

<p> Few studies have examined the intersection of charter school and special education policies. The concerns around the serving of special education students in charter schools must be carefully studied, especially as charter schools continue to grow in numbers and continue to serve a greater percentage of public school students. New policies must not only address equity in access for special education students in charter schools but must also study how charter schools can be leveraged to generate innovative and promising practices in the area of special education. </p><p> This study examines a recent policy change in the Los Angeles Unified School District that provides great autonomy and increased accountability for charter schools in their provision of special education services. This policy change promotes key tenets of charter schools: (a) autonomy and decentralization, (b) choice and competition, and (c) performance-based accountability with the aim of increasing access for students with special needs and increasing the capacity of charter schools to serve them. The research design utilizes a mixed method approach to collect qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the goals of this major policy change within this particular school district. </p>

<p> Universal developmental screening during pediatric well child care detects early delays in development and is a critical gateway to early intervention for young children at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Developmental screening practices are highly variable, and few studies have examined screening utilization for children at risk for ASD. Currently, a two to four year gap exists between first recognition of concern and referral for diagnostic evaluation of ASD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of developmental screening practices on timing of ASD diagnoses in the state of New Hampshire through health care administrative claims data from the New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Care Information System. The study examined differences in mean age of ASD diagnosis for a sample of 144 children who were born between January 2007 and December 2010 who received or did not receive universal screening during well child care, as well as those who received screening at multiple time points and those who received screening at one time point. Further, the study examined the association between gender, geographic region and provider type on age at diagnosis of ASD. The data suggested no significant differences in mean age of ASD diagnosis for children who received a standardized developmental screening during well-child care and those who did not. Statistically significant differences in mean age of diagnosis were found between children who were screened at one time point and children who were screened at more than one time point. Children screened at more than one time point were diagnosed later than those screened at one time point. Geographic region was a significant predictor on age of ASD diagnosis accounting for approximately 31% of the variance. Continued efforts to measure screening practices through use of administrative claims data may increase utilization and improve access to intervention for young children at risk for ASD.</p>

<p> This thesis describes a preexperimental, within-subject, pretest-posttest design used to measure the impact of an in-service training about computerized language sample analysis (CLSA) on the knowledge, comfort level, and implementation practices of21 graduate students in Communicative Disorders enrolled at California State University, Long Beach. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through three surveys: one delivered during clinical practicum didactic sessions prior to the training, one on the day ofthe training, and one survey delivered 12 weeks post-training after the graduate student clinicians had an opportunity to use the computer program they learned about in the training. Results indicated that CLSA knowledge, comfort level and likelihood of implementation increased slightly immediately following the training, but were found to decline over time due to lack of exposure and practice. However, these results were not statistically significant. Findings are discussed as they relate to the current speech-language pathology literature, and possible avenues for further research into this area are explored.</p>