Although all organizations and institutions should consider accessibility when developing online content, inaccessibility is a recurring issue in recent literature pertaining to online learning environments (OLEs) and faculty accessibility awareness. The goal was to describe how online faculty gain knowledge regarding accessibility, to explore the lived experiences of online faculty who have worked with students who have disabilities, and to gain a better understanding of how faculty experience the process of accessibility implementation. The following research questions guided this study: How do faculty in OLEs experience encounters regarding accessibility for students who have print related disabilities? How do faculty in OLEs experience the journey of developing the skills needed to provide accessibility for students with print related disabilities? What aspects of accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) do faculty members practice in OLEs and what meaning do they ascribe to the lived experience of providing these accommodations? An interview guide was used to address the research questions. Participants were recruited from the Online Learning Consortium and Assistive Technology Industry Association for participation in phenomenological interviews, which were recorded and then transcribed verbatim. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed to determine eight super-ordinate themes: Accessibility and usability awareness of online faculty; interactions and relationships between faculty, students, various departments, and outside organizations relating to SWDs and accessibility; different perspectives and experiences of faculty who teach courses within programs that have an emphasis on accessibility, AT, or working with people with disabilities; faculty experiences and perspectives of working with SWDs and providing accessible materials in OLEs; faculty training and experience with accessibility and people with disabilities; faculty autonomy within OLEs as it relates to creating accessible content; accommodations and accessibility features used in OLEs; as well as LMS accessibility and usability. The results of this study led to several implications regarding training and support services for faculty, students, other staff, and administration within online programs, best practices for implementing accessibility, as well as recommendations for future studies.

Despite the rapid proliferation of assistive technology implementation, studies have revealed that a number of professionals that provide assistive technology services do not have adequate competencies to recommend and deliver assistive technologies in school settings. The purpose of the study was to examine the competencies of assistive technology specialists in Florida K-12 public schools, and identify training opportunities that may have helped them achieve professional competence in the evaluation and provision of assistive technology devices and services across AT service providers from different preparations. The study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to determine answers to the following six research questions: (1) to what extent does the perceived level of AT knowledge differ among AT specialists from different occupations in the Florida public school setting, (2) to what extent does the perceived level of AT skills differ among AT specialists from different occupations in the Florida public school setting, (3) what are the AT specialists’ perceptions about their AT knowledge and skill levels, (4) what common competency sets are needed for the AT specialist, regardless of their occupational role, (5) what are the training opportunities among AT specialists from different occupations in the Florida public schools setting, and (6) what type of training opportunities are essential among AT specialists from different occupations in the Florida school setting. In order to gather data of breadth and depth, the researcher disseminated an online survey, which 39 AT providers from the five Florida school regions completed. Interviews were conducted with seven of the survey respondents to triangulate interview data with the survey data. Results suggested that assistive technology specialists possess different levels of assistive technology knowledge and skills. Assistive technology specialists from different professional backgrounds and years of experience identified a lack of competence in several areas where they currently provide AT services. Assistive technology specialists should seek continuous in-service training to increase their assistive technology knowledge in the evaluation and recommendation of AT equipment and services for students with special needs in schools. This training is vital to meet their students’ assistive technology needs and legislation requirements for assistive technology services for students with disabilities. Recommendations for the improvement of assistive technology professional practice in schools are included in the study.

This collective case study explored the impact of a later-in-life learning disability (LD) diagnosis on women in poverty. The study focused on the perspectives of four women who were not identified with LD as children but accessed assessment services as adults receiving Oregon's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). All four reported painful awareness of learning differences as youths; as adults they voluntarily engaged in a "labeling event," furthering a process toward personal transformation and enhanced well-being initiated by their own awareness and curiosity. The women described critical social and emotional support systems and relationships that helped them integrate understanding of the LD construct, education and employment opportunities that came in the wake of the diagnosis, and decisions made regarding disclosure. Self- determination theory and interpersonal neurobiology undergird reflections on narratives and themes. Recommendations for practice include providing low-income women assessed with LD (1) access to an LD specialist; (2) case planning and case management with a strength-based focus; and (3) assistance working with the public schools for those who are parents. The study underscores the significant services provided by Oregon DHS to low-income women with learning disabilities who have not been identified by K-12 school systems and recommends that DHS undertake further quantitative and qualitative research in collaboration with a research institution.

We as teacher of English are faced with the task of preparing students for the world they will meet when they leave the classroom—a world that will judge them in part by their ability to manipulate the language to their advantage. And yet to measure the use of language, we rely almost exclusively on written measurements. It seems likely that students may easily learn to give the teacher the answer he wants on written tests of English usage. Oral tests are commercially available, but many are prohibitively expensive; others require hours of instruction before the teacher can consider himself qualified to administer the test; and still others include the measurement of so many varied objectives that they do not allow the teacher to pinpoint a particular language problem on which he may want to concentrate. Some oral tests have all of these drawback. It is hopes that a test of spoken English usage—one which directs itself to a specific language problem—can be constructed that will overcome the drawbacks mentioned above. And it is hoped that such a test will prove to be adaptable to classroom uses in much the same way that a written test would be; that is, it can be constructed by any classroom teacher. It is hoped that such a test can be proven valid. What form should a test take that is designed to measure spoken English usage and at the same time, is designed to be specific, usable, and readily adaptable to classroom use?

Abstract Childhood development has always been a major topic when studying psychology and biology. This makes sense because the brain develops from the time a child is conceived to the time that child has reached around the age of twenty-seven. Doctors, psychologists, and sociologists look at numerous things when studying childhood development. However, how common is it for researchers to study how the fine and performing arts affect childhood development? Sociologists tend to be extremely open and mindful of all aspects of things such as culture, sexuality, religion, and even age. By taking a sociological standpoint when studying the arts and studying childhood development, society is able to make connections between the two that leads to better understanding of a child's development socially, mentally, and academically.

This study examined K-12 school administrators' attitudes toward speech language pathology services in public schools. Elementary, middle, and secondary school based administrators, employed in 63 school districts throughout Florida, were solicited to participate in the study in a letter of invitation generated by a web-based design program, Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) Community. Administrators volunteering in the study were given an assurance of confidentiality and fair treatment concerning their participation. A survey instrument, the Scale of Educators 'Attitudes toward Speech Pathology (SEASP) consisting of 10 demographic items and 34 positive and negative statements about speech and language programs in schools was used to gather data. Participants were asked to provide their reactions along a favorable/unfavorable continuum to the survey. The results obtained from this study duplicated measurements used by previous researchers and examined the mean scores and standard deviations of item responses. Analyses of"between group" and "within group" differences examined attitudes among variables relative to professional levels, building size, and additional certification areas and were conducted using one-way and two-way ANOV As. Descriptive statistics were included to provide a profile of the participant population - means, frequencies and consensus of responses. Overall, among administrative participants, there existed minimal differences in attitudes toward speech-language pathology programs in public schools. This was true at elementary, middle and secondary levels, and included (as a secondary group) those "other personnel" who might, at times, supervise speech-language pathology professionals. Thus, school administrators generally agreed in their attitudes toward speech language pathology programs. The means of responses measuring attitudes in predetermined categories yielded results that demonstrated a consensus of agreement in the areas of(a) the impact services on student success, (b) program quality, and (c) the role of the speech-language pathologist, respectively. Results yielded no statistically significant differences in respondents' attitudes toward speech-language pathologists among school administrators employed at building sites having small and non-small populations, and among school administrators having, or not having, additional certification in exceptional student education. Because speech-language pathologists are evaluated by school administrators and other non-field personnel, suggestions are provided concerning the use of performance appraisals, ways to enhance the quality and delivery of school services, and enhancing university programs in communication sciences and disorders, to include components in supervision.

Persistent gender disparity limits the available contributors to advancing some science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. While higher education can be an influential time-point for ensuring adequate participation, many physics programs across the U.S. have few women in classroom or lab settings. Prior research indicates that these women face considerable barriers. For university students, faculty, and administration to appropriately address these issues, it is important to understand the experiences of women as they navigate male-dominated STEM fields. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored undergraduate female physics majors’ experiences with their male-dominated academic and research spaces in the U.S. The conceptual framework consisted of physics identity, gender role congruity, assumptions about the “ideal” scientist, and self-reported plans to persist in the field (measured by bachelor’s degree completion, graduate school plans, and physics-related career plans). Utilizing the American Physical Society (APS) 2016 Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) pre-conference survey data, responses from 900 females were analyzed using regressions followed by 18 semi-structured interviews with CUWiP sample participants. Physics identity was highly predictive of participants’ self-reported persistence plans. A factor analysis revealed that gender role congruity is comprised of three distinct social roles: extrinsic agentic (e.g., power, financial rewards, status), intrinsic agentic (e.g., self-direction, demonstrating skills, independence), and communal (e.g., working with people, helping others). Intrinsic agency was highly correlated with physics identity and long-term persistence (graduate school and career), and communal roles were negatively correlated with students’ short-term persistence (undergraduate physics degree completion). Extrinsic agency was correlated with neither identity nor persistence. The 18 interviews were phenomenographically analyzed revealing that participants experience relationships with the conceptual framework in five qualitatively different ways, called categories of experience. These categories are: The Assured, The Solitary, The Communal, The Reflective, and The Ambassadors. The categories elaborate on the quantitative results by providing nuanced explanations of how women negotiate aspects of their gender identity related to the conceptual framework. The results provide a broad vantage point of women’s experiences as physics majors which may aid university faculty and administration with gender equity goals for physics and other male-dominated STEM fields.

This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California.

No description available.

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are educated in general education classrooms. As a result, these students are faced with more challenging instructional curricula. Although some students with SLD perform as well in mathematics as students without disabilities, most perform below state standards despite being provided instructional and testing accommodations. Policy makers have envisioned the implementation of instructional accommodations as a primary means of ensuring an appropriate education (Mcleskey, Hoppey, Williamson & Rentz, 2004; Scalon & Baker, 2012) for students with disabilities in general education classrooms (Mc Guire, Scott, & Shaw, 2006). The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto research design to investigate the research hypothesis to determine the relationship between the five most frequently used accommodations by general education teachers who teach students with SLD and student achievement in Algebra 1. At the beginning of the 2016 – 2017 school year, the collection of data began by emailing the Qualtrics Survey Software (V.23) to 185 general education mathematics teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Four main instructional accommodation constructs were assessed using a 15-item questionnaire. From the responses to the survey, the five of the most frequently used accommodations were determined. Nine general education Algebra 1 teachers from six high schools across the county who reported using similar accommodations and taught three or more students with SLD in mathematics participated in the study. The researcher and two peer researchers conducted in-class observations on the participants’ fidelity of implementation of accommodations (FOI) using a checklist during the period in which they taught students with SLD. An Algebra I test was used for pre- and post-testing to determine student mathematics achievement. The results of the survey indicated that teachers most frequently provided: (a) sample problems of varying levels, (b) guides or prompts or personal (teacher/peer) assistance, (c) extended access to instructional resources and equipment, (d) provided preferential seating and (e) additional time to complete assignment or class projects. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between teacher FOI of accommodations and student achievement (p < .05).