The transition of students with moderate to severe handicaps from school to work and adult life has become a principal concern of special education over the last decade. Despite of these attentions, there has been little attention to the need for including plans for the student's communication needs in his or her Transition Plan. Thus, it is important to study the relationship between the inclusion of a student's communication needs in his or her Transition Plan and the effectiveness of communication programs. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the Transition Plan and the effectiveness of communication programs, considering the individual's functioning level, family involvement, and communication mode.

No description available.

Gender discrimination, such as sexual harassment, sexual assault and inequitable treatment has long been considered a prominent issue on higher education campuses and is regulated under the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, commonly known as Title IX. Title IX is enforced by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) who responds to gender discrimination complaints on campus through investigations resulting in what are called OCR Resolution Letters. These letters define numerous policies and procedures Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) must put in place pertaining to the prevention of gender discrimination. This qualitative study looks specifically at the ways that gender discrimination on campuses of higher education was defined by the OCR from 1997-2011. The study explores the research questions (1) How have the types of conduct determined to be gender discrimination changed over time? (2) How have expectations of IHE responsibilities for gender discrimination issues changed over time? and (3) What gender discrimination issues have surfaced as priorities in the implementation of Title IX, as reflected in OCR resolution letters? Analysis of the letters using a social construction framework demonstrates that while the definitions of specific types of gender discrimination remained constant, the context in which they occur and the types of behaviors determined to be gender discrimination have both expanded in response to societal attitudes. The OCR tends to take the stance of being an ally vs. a punishing body when aiding IHEs in implementing Title IX; however IHE’s required investment in addressing the problem in both response and preventive measures has grown. Finally, OCR Resolution letters demonstrate that student on student interactions have been less common than faculty on student interactions. Implications for IHE practices and future research are discussed.

Legislation, social awareness, and advancements in medicine and assistive technology have created meaningful postsecondary opportunities for students with disabilities over the past 30 years. Mainstreaming, inclusion, and transition planning in elementary and secondary schools also greatly contributed to the increased achievement of students with disabilities. Today, 15% of students with disabilities attend four-year colleges. Current federal data show 88% of private and 99% of public universities report students with disabilities enrolled at their institutions. Much of the current research focuses on institutional practice and need. There is a gap in the research when looking at student needs and experiences. This quantitative dissertation study analyzed the relationships between student perceptions, self-advocacy awareness and confidence levels, and available disability accommodations at two institutions of higher learning, one public and one private. One hundred and thirteen undergraduate students with disabilities completed an online survey. Thirty-four respondents attend the private university, and 79 respondents attend the public university. Descriptive and associative statistics were analyzed for comparative experiences between the two settings, knowledge and confidence of self-advocacy skills, and relationships between these variables and disclosure patterns. The sample population of undergraduate students with disabilities appears to have similar experiences. In both settings, public and private, students have similar identification patterns, accommodation experiences, and support experiences. Students in both settings are satisfied with their academic support office and staff. The accommodations students find useful are alternative exam formats, documentation sent to faculty, and registration assistance. Students report having an awareness of and confidence using self-advocacy skills, but have had little to no training in these skills. Students report weak understanding of their legal rights, disability, and accommodations. Students also report poor transition experiences from secondary to postsecondary education, a finding that matches current research. Transition planning at the secondary level must be purposeful in preparing students for four-year college settings when appropriate. Students need self-advocacy skills and disability awareness training before transitioning to postsecondary settings. Future research should also include revisiting the usefulness of accommodations offered in postsecondary settings, studying effective transition models, and looking at the relationship between self-advocacy confidence levels and postsecondary retention rates.

Native American students obtain the lowest on-time high school graduation rate among all races and ethnicities in the United States. Through an analysis of previously published literature and seven interviews conducted by the author, this paper sets out to identify the key barriers Native students face when working toward their high school diploma. This paper will argue that, together, a history of abusive educational tactics and an institutionally racist policies and practices adopted by the U.S. Department of Education have made it challenging for Native students to complete high school on time.

Parents in disenfranchised groups, namely African American parents of children with special needs, are less likely to be involved in their child’s education, although involvement is associated with positive educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate African American parents’ perceptions of special education programs, of teacher actions, and of school policies that influence parent involvement of African American parents of children with special needs. A phenomenological study was conducted with 15 African American mothers of children with special needs. These parents participated in individual face-to-face interviews, which included a discussion of the child’s Individualized Education Plan. Audio recordings from the interviews were transcribed and data from the transcriptions were thoroughly analyzed. The findings were categorized into four overall themes. In theme one, Perceptions of Parent Involvement, it was found that these mothers perceived themselves as being involved in their children’s education. In theme two, Facilitators of Parent Involvement, it was found that parents were more compelled to be involved in their children’s education when educators communicated effectively, valued parent input, and exhibited love and positive attitudes towards parents and children. Findings showed that the absence of these traits were Barriers of Parent Involvement, which was theme three. In the last theme, Recommendations to Teachers and School Administrators to Increase Parent Involvement, study participants shared several recommendations to increase parent involvement. My study concluded that professionals in the field should broaden their definition of parent involvement to include home-based activities of African American parents of children with special needs, such as engaging their children in home learning activities to teach them independence. Moreover, parents felt more compelled to visit the school and engage in other parent involvement activities, like attending school meetings, for example, when they perceived that school personnel valued parents’ contributions. These parents’ views were similar to insights gathered from African American parents in previous research. However, views that emerged from this current research that are different from previous studies include parents’ recommendations that school personnel communicate with parents using the parents’ preferred method, and that teachers and school staff exhibit love and positive attitudes towards parents and children.

The careless way some users Sector Education Center Library (BSCE) deal with material that is placed at their disposal highlight the urgent need to put in place a Heritage Education Program (PEP) with actions to raise awareness of users regarding the use of the acquis proposal arose because of the realization of a large number of damaged and missing even works. The Library System (SIB) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) available to the academic community stuff like books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters and DVDs, in addition to technological resources like internet and Journal Portal Capes that can be used in their activities teachers, students and technical-administrative. This material is relevant to user searches currently involved, but also for those prospective students or servers. We considered this research applied qualitative approach because the results of observations obtained through conceptual research, examples of applicability of Heritage Education and analysis of current legislation regarding the handling of public equity, can form a set of elements that provide knowledge to implement strategies to encourage the exercise of citizenship and the use of the library. Cultural or educational libraries and their functions were studied; concepts that guide the Heritage Education and public property; examples of applying local Heritage Education and abroad; harmful to the collection agents; legal aspects such as civil and criminal liability of the user; and diffusion methods in libraries, developing a Heritage Education Program that addresses educational and cultural activities, sensitizing staff and teachers, appropriate signage in the library and workshops for users, and thus strengthen the memory of the subject and appreciation of the university library. / A forma descuidada com que alguns usuários da Biblioteca Setorial do Centro de Educação (BSCE) tratam o material que é colocado a sua disposição evidenciam a necessidade urgente de colocar em prática um Programa de Educação Patrimonial (PEP) com ações voltadas para a sensibilização de usuários em relação ao uso do acervo, proposta surgida devido à constatação de um grande número de obras danificadas e até desaparecidas. O Sistema de Bibliotecas (SIB) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) disponibiliza para a comunidade acadêmica material como livros, periódicos, folhetos, cartazes e DVDs, além dos recursos tecnológicos como internet e Portal de Periódico Capes que podem ser usados em suas atividades docentes, discentes e técnico-administrativas. Este material é relevante para as pesquisas dos usuários vinculados atualmente, mas também para aqueles futuros alunos ou servidores. Considerou-se esta pesquisa aplicada de abordagem qualitativa, pois os resultados das observações obtidas através das pesquisas conceituais, exemplos de aplicabilidades de Educação Patrimonial e análise da legislação vigente quanto ao trato do Patrimônio público, pode-se formar um conjunto de elementos que proporcionam conhecimento para aplicar estratégias de incentivo ao exercício de cidadania quanto ao uso da biblioteca. Foram estudadas bibliotecas educacionais ou culturais e suas funções; conceitos que norteiam a Educação Patrimonial e patrimônio público; exemplos de aplicação de Educação Patrimonial local e no exterior; agentes nocivos ao acervo; aspectos legais como responsabilidade civil e penal do usuário; e métodos de difusão em bibliotecas, desenvolvendo um Programa de Educação Patrimonial que aborde ações educativas e culturais, sensibilização de equipe e professores, sinalização apropriada na biblioteca e oficinas para usuários, podendo assim fortalecer a memória do sujeito e a valorização do acervo da biblioteca universitária.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to explore the social and dating attitudes of university students who are able-bodied towards students with physical disabilities at California State University, San Bernardino.

The goal of this project is to suggest a way to combine a functional curricula (domains) with literacy experiences.