This survey-based, quantitative research investigated Early Intervention teachers' perception about Early Intervention services in Mecca Region in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research focused on three dimensions of Early Intervention including attitude toward Early Intervention services, the cultural influences in the provision of services, and the recommended practices that were used by professionals. Two options were offered to subjects to complete the survey: 1) an online survey and 2) a hard copy of the survey which was distributed to teachers in Early Intervention Centers. The majority of the participants completed the online survey. Data was collected and analyzed. The results showed that the teachers in Mecca Region in Saudi Arabia did not follow recommended practices. However, they had positive attitudes about Early Intervention services and indicated that they considered the culture of the children and families when determining curriculum and services in their programs.

This thesis deals with the issue of equal educational opportunities in Finland. Both, Czech and foreign sources as well as my own research data were used for the purpose of this study. The main objectives are to find the answers to the questions of how the idea of equal opportunities in education is carried out at different stages of the Finnish educational system, what is the role of comprehensive school, which specific tools are used for addressing the equity issues systematically or what is the opinion of our experts on the possible inspiration from the Finnish educational model in the Czech conditions. Using the comparison of results of the PISA assessment programme I am trying to reveal the positive and negative effects of two different types of primary schools - comprehensive in Finland and selective in the Czech Republic - mainly focusing on the field of distribution of equal educational opportunities.

Already in its Education Strategy, adopted by the Executive Board in 2007, UNICEF fully obligates to the international commitment to universal education and defines its contribution to national efforts to fulfil children’s right to education. In September 2010, UNICEF further published a special report on a study showing that an equity-focused approach to child survival and development is the most practical and cost-effective way of meeting the health MDGs for children. For the modelling process of the research a simulation was run employing the Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks (MBB) model, jointly developed by the World Bank and UNICEF. This model has been widely used in international public health research to design and test development strategies. In its consistency with the human-right based approach, the MBB model addresses bottlenecks in the capacity of duty-bearers to fulfil human-rights as well as barriers of the capacity of right-holders to claim their rights. Using the MBB model, policymakers and researchers can simulate varying configurations of service delivery modes to expand access of coverage and measures to encourage usage. For each strategy, the model generates the predicted impact on intervention coverage and outcomes, overall cost and cost-effectiveness. UNICEF’s global refocus on equity and the most disadvantaged children makes it necessary to introduce improved planning and monitoring instruments. In this context, the MBB model is used as a budgeting and simulation tool for UNICEF interventions in health and nutrition. UNICEF aims to use harmonized tools across different sectors to reduce transaction costs and to improve comparison and sharing of lessons learned between the different sectors. However, it is also important to adapt and develop instruments based on the diverse needs of different sectors to ensure best results. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to find an answer to following question: Can, and if so, how can the Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks model, developed for the health sector, be adapted for planning, costing and budgeting allocations in the education sector? An adapted Marginal Budgeting for Bottleneck model for education could be applied for a comprehensive sector analysis, comparing intervention alternatives and setting policy goals and strategies. It could further be used to monitor the implementation of major sector reforms with regard to the comparison of potential versus actual impact of interventions on learning achievements. Applying two production functions, the MBB model applies the basic principle of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, comparing the costs of education interventions with the corresponding expected impact on increased service coverage. However, detailed inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts and the corresponding correlations would need to be defined for an Service Production Function (inputoutput) and an Education Production Function (output-outcome/impact). Further, a selection of globally proved remedial actions to overcome sector bottlenecks need to be specified. Education interventions largely depend on the country context and different countries and regions apply different remedial actions. Since the relationship of input and impact is not as linear as the illness-treatment relationship in health, international research and comparison of effective interventions would need to be conducted. The MBB model is applying service coverage determinants of both, supply and demand side. Therefore the approach could be a helpful instrument in the context of the Human Rights-based Approach as used within programming of the United Nations and UNICEF. However, applying further analysis on humanitarian aspects of programming always depends on the availability of disaggregated information. Based on the outline of the Service Coverage Concept and the Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks model and the conceptual adaptation of the MBB model for its use in education, following suggestions can be made for the Service Delivery Modes and Service Coverage Determinants: Overall, an MBB model in education could have added value for education planning, budgeting and impact simulation. However, it has to be considered that applying the model requires extensive data input for all six Service Coverage Determinants for each of the five Service Deliver Modes. Although, the MBB model could be adjusted to only cover a certain sub-sector within Quality Education for All. Five Service Delivery Modes Ten Sub-Packages 1. Pre-School Education 1.1 Public Early Childhood Education 1.2 Private Early Childhood Education 2. Formal Basic Education 2.1 Public Formal Basic Education 2.2 Private Basic Education 3. Non-Formal Basic Education 3.1 Public Non-Formal Basic Education 3.2 Private Non-Formal Basic Education 4. (Lower) Secondary Education 4.1 Public Secondary Education 4.2 Private Secondary Education 5. Adult Literacy, Continuing Education 5.1 Youth and Adult Literacy Interventions 5.2 Continuing Education Six Service Coverage Determinants Indicator Supply side 1. Availability of essential commodities Pupil-Classroom Ratio by grade Pupil-Textbook Ratio 2. Availability of human resources Pupil-Teacher Ratio (or Pupilqualified Teacher Ratio) by grade 3. Geographic and financial accessibility School-Distance School-Costs by grade Demand side 4. Initial Utilization Net-Enrolment Ratio (or Gross- Enrolment Ratio) by grade 5. Continuous Utilization Survival Rate by grade 6. Effective Utilization Graduation Ratio Graduation Test Scores Overall, an MBB model in education could have added value for education planning, budgeting and impact simulation. However, it has to be considered that applying the model requires extensive data input for all six Service Coverage Determinants for each of the five Service Deliver Modes. Although, the MBB model could be adjusted to only cover a certain sub-sector within Quality Education for All.

This study explored the level of involvement of school social workers in the 504-Plan process as it relates to the administrative culture of school administrators, collaboration with school personnel, training on the 504-Plan process, and finally knowledge of Section 504. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder affects over six-million children in the world today that may benefit from the use of a 504-Plan. A total of 147 school social workers participated in this study. A self-administered survey was used, and data analysis was conducted on two levels: descriptive which employed frequency and percent distributions of respondents and analytical procedures. The Kruskal-Wallis H test utilized for this study which indicated a statistically significant relationship which rejected the null hypotheses of all four research questions. A second test was then performed, Mann Whitney U test, to determine where the significance of the hypotheses lied. Findings revealed that overall there is a low level of involvement of school social workers in the 504-Plan process of 64.8%. Twenty-nine and a third percent reported a moderate level of involvement. There was a low to moderate level of administrative culture, moderate level of collaboration, training and knowledge among the school social workers.

It is estimated that autism affects 1% of the world’s population (Elsabbagh, 2012). Given the increased numbers of children being identified with the disorder, many believe that there is a global public health crisis looming. This is in part due to the need for expanded capacity in the area of professional development for teachers and improved educational service delivery systems in many parts of the world. The purpose of this paper will be to describe how to design effective educational interventions for children with autism with an emphasis on building capacity among professionals in underdeveloped regions of the world.

This is a discussion of panelists from different universities who learned to navigate their institutes of higher education to create quality online special education certification programs to reach teacher candidates in rural areas. Each panelist will detail her university’s technology, process for approval, and financial incentives to create online programs.

Students with significant disabilities are most at risk for exclusion from grade-aligned content due to the barriers imposed by traditional instruction. This presentation will provide special and general education teachers with effective, research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies. Learner outcomes: • Participants will learn about research-based strategies to increase comprehension in content areas, including math, science, ELA, and social studies; • Participants will learn about results from a recent review of the literature focused on comprehension strategies targeting Common Core content areas for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability; and • Participants will be provided with specific comprehension strategies and ways to increase opportunities for comprehension in inclusive contexts for students across a variety of diverse backgrounds.

The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with moderate or severe intellectual disability (ID) are quite unique and complex. CLD students with moderate or severe ID face many of the same issues as their non-disabled CLD peers; however, due to the nature of their disability this may lead to even less access to the general curriculum, appropriate services, materials, and meaningful collaboration between families and educators. The purpose of this article is to provide a culturally responsive framework for facilitating academic instruction for CLD students with moderate or severe ID that also includes appropriate supports in an effort to increase access to postsecondary outcomes for this population. Suggestions for accessing the general curriculum and a discussion about increasing parental involvement and accessing appropriate adult agencies to further enhance these outcomes are provided.

This course is part of the Nancy McKinley Lecture Series, Aligning Literacy Instruction to Standards for Students with Moderate-to-Severe Disabilities (Including Autism), and is presented in partnership with University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This course will provide attendees with best practices to teach grade aligned middle and high school English/Language Arts (ELA) content. The best practices highlighted have been derived from rigorous studies conducted with a wide range of students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities and autism.

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