It is well known that individuals with disabilities have poor postsecondary outcomes. As a result, state and local education agencies are held accountable for the post-school achievements of their students with disabilities. The purposes of this study were (a) to determine the extent to which the transition components of Individualized Education Program (IEP) documents were compliant with the transition requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA), (b) to determine the extent to which the transition components of the IEP documents provided evidence of best practices, (c) to determine the effects that disability category and ethnicity had on compliance and practices as evidenced in the transition components of the IEP documents, and (d) to determine the relationship between overall compliance and best practices. The sample for the study included 212 secondary students who had a developmental disability, an emotional disorder, or a learning disability and who were African American, Caucasian, or Hispanic. Several types of analyses were conducted including descriptive, multiple logistic regression, and Spearman's rho correlation. The overall level of compliance was 2.03 (SD = 1.238). The range of possible scores was 0 - 5, with 0 indicating that none of the components of compliance were 100 percent compliant, and 5 indicating that all of the components were 100 percent compliant. The overall level of best practices as evidenced in the IEP documents was 4.89 (SD = 1.569). The range of possible scores was 0 - 8, with 0 indicating that there was no evidence of any of the practices in the IEP document, and 8 indicating that evidence of all the practices was found in the IEP document. A student's disability category and ethnicity were found to be influencing characteristics for increasing or decreasing the probability of an IEP document being compliant and/or having evidence of best practices. A statistically significant correlation of r = .429 was found between the overall levels of compliance and best practices, indicating that as the level of compliance increased, so too did the level of best practices evident in the IEP document.

This study aimed to investigate the psychological adjustment of children with learning disabilities (LD) / to examine the group and gender differences of the psychological adjustment between children with LD and diabetes / and to investigate group differences in the way mothers experience having children with LD and diabetes in terms of their adjustment levels. In order to test the above aims, 2 (Gender) x 2 (Diagnosis) ANCOVA&rsquo / s were conducted to evaluate the diagnosis and gender differences on the psychological adjustment levels of children, separately. Significant diagnosis main effects were found for all of the study variables, indicating that children with a learning disability had worse psychological adjustment compared to children with diabetes. Regression analyses were conducted in order to find out the variables associated with the symptoms of depression and anxiety for children with learning disabilities and diabetes groups, separately. Separate regression analyses were run to examine the mediator role of self-esteem between parental rejection and learned helplessness and depression in children with LD. In order to evaluate the diagnosis differences (LD, diabetes) on the psychological adjustment levels of mothers ANCOVA&rsquo / s were conducted. Significant diagnosis main effects were found for all of the study variables regarding mothers, indicating that mothers of children with a learning disability had worse psychological adjustment compared to mothers of children with diabetes. The results were discussed in terms of the treatment needs of children with LD, helping parents and children cope with LD, and the importance of early identification of these children for the prevention of psychosocial problems.

<p>Syftet med arbetet var att åskådliggöra innebörden av att vara i matematiksvårigheter och elevers syn på hur de hanterar sin vardag. Undersökningen utgår från ett elevperspektiv och ambitionen var att elevens egna tankar och känslor skulle komma fram. Jag har använt mig av en kvalitativ ansats med observationer och semistandardiserade intervjuer. För alla eleverna i studien påverkas vardagen och skolan av att de har svårigheter i matematik. Det är allt från att planera sina fritidsaktiviteter till att veta när ett arbete i skolan ska vara inlämnat. Detta gör att föräldrar måste hjälpa till i denna planering i stor utsträckning även nu när barnen är tonåringar och borde klara sig själva lite mer. Eleverna själva är ofta inte medvetna om sina strategier för att klara de svårigheter som uppstår på grund av matematiksvårigheterna. Föräldrarna kan dock berätta mer om hur dessa strategier tar sig ut. Känslorna inför matematiklektionerna är ofta en uppgivenhet, ska de misslyckas idag igen och de känner sig stressade inför att kanske inte uppnå målen. Lärarens bemötande spelar här en stor roll och ett icke positivt bemötande gör att eleverna upplever att de är till besvär för läraren. Det leder till att eleverna får ett svagt självförtroende och olustkänslor inför matematiken. I jämförelse med andra studier så upplever eleverna i min studie inte att de blir stämplade till följd av att de får särskilt stöd, utan tvärtom så är det en lättnad att gå till stödgruppen.</p> / <p>This study focuses on pupil’s view how they handle mathematics learning disabilities in their daily life. The study is from pupil’s point of view and the ambition was to capture the pupil’s own thoughts and feelings. Observations and interviews were carried out with three pupils, in the age of 13, and their parents. The results show that all three of the pupils have difficulty in their daily life due to the mathematics learning disabilities. They have different problems from to plan their free time to plan when schoolwork should be submitted. The result of this is that the parents have to plan for them, even now when they are teenager’s and should be able to handle things like this by themselves. The pupils are not aware of the strategies they use to cope with the difficulties in mathematics. However, their parents are able to explain the strategies their children have developed. The emotions the pupils feel when they think about math class are that they feel dejected and they are under stress with thoughts as “will I fail again today”. It is very important how the teacher do talk to the pupils and this will affect the pupil’s self-confidence and they develop discomfort to mathematics. This study, unlike some other studies, does not show that pupils feel uncomfortable because they have special support. Instead they feel relief in visiting the support group.</p>

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-86).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1998. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-72). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ39231.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-200). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3024510.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Opv. Sielk.)--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Children with mild disabilities are known to have difficulties with developing mathematical skills (Hoard, Geary, & Hamson, 1999). Yet, children with mild intellectual disabilities (MIDs) have rarely been included in rigorous scientific research. The present study has three goals. The first goal was to determine the structure of mathematics achievement in elementary aged children with MIDs and children with reading disabilities (RDs) without accompanying mathematics disabilities. The second goal was to establish the measurement stability of mathematics achievement. The third goal was to evaluate students’ response to a mathematics intervention. The participants were 265 children with MIDs and 137 children with RDs. Confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance evaluation was utilized to determine the structure of mathematics achievement and to ensure reliable and valid measurement of mathematics achievement between groups across three time points. The results of measurement invariance evaluation indicated that a joint model specification, characterized by two groups, both of which included children with MIDs and children with RDs who were differentiated according to intervention condition participation (not disability status), provided the best account of the underlying data structure. Further, the structure of mathematics achievement in the present sample was unidimensional, and the measurement of mathematics achievement was temporally stable between groups. Finally, latent mathematics achievement growth was evaluated. The results indicated that students in the mathematics intervention condition evidenced an advantage over those in a reading intervention condition at mid- and post-intervention evaluation, while also evidencing more growth in this conceptual domain. Instructional implications are discussed in terms of topic choice and pacing.

The number of students with learning disabilities (SLD) at post-secondary institutions continues to grow. Research has found that SLD who use accommodations at their post-secondary institution are more successful in university than those who do not. Yet, research suggests that SLD do not request accommodations at expected levels. Disability self-disclosure is important to SLD because they need to self-disclose their disability to university personnel to obtain accommodations. The reasons for lower levels of self-disclosure by SLDs to university personnel remain unclear. Self-determination, attitudes towards requesting accommodations, and level of self-disclosure (i.e., psychological factors) has individually been identified as possible factors that affect disability disclosure. To date, no study has investigated the effects of these factors on SLD disability disclosure in higher education. This study’s purpose was to investigate differences in psychological factors between two SLD disclosure groups (i.e., no disclosure and university and classroom disclosure). In addition, the study examined what factors SLDs consider when deciding if they will self-disclose their disability to university personnel. To achieve these goals, 31 undergraduate students with learning disabilities completed a mixed methods study comprised of quantitative scales and a qualitative interview. The Self-Disclosure Scale, the Attitudes Towards Requesting Accommodations Scale, and the Revised Self-Disclosure Scale were utilized to measure psychological factors. A 30 minute semi-structured interview was administered to 15 participants to further explore what factors SLD take into consideration when making self-disclosure decisions. Results indicate that the total scores on the Attitude Towards Requesting Accommodations scale, Self-Determination Scale, and the Self-Disclosure Scale were significantly different between self-disclosure groups. Data from student interviews uncovered nine factors that seemed to influence SLDs’: (a) decision to disclose and (b) how deeply they disclosed. Four key qualitative findings that arose from this study were: (a) all SLD report having extensive academic difficulty; (b) students who do not disclose seem to rely solely on informal compensating mechanisms rather than formal accommodations; (c) even in favorable circumstances SLDs may not wish to disclose their disability; and (d) SLD experiences with faculty seem to influence why some students disclose more deeply while other students disclose at a surface level. / text

Educational attainment is a key component of occupational attainment and social mobility in America. Special education is a policy intervention geared toward ensuring equal educational opportunities for students distinctive from the majority. Students labeled with learning disabilities (LDs) comprise about half of the special education population, and are typically assigned the LD label for achievement levels that are lower than would be expected given their IQ. Although they have average or high IQs, students labeled with an LD continue to experience disparities in educational outcomes. In this dissertation, I use sociological perspectives and a large nationally representative dataset, The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, to investigate the social and structural roots of the LD label, and to explore ways in which the LD label produces stigma or stratification during high school. In general, I find that (1) the disproportionate labeling of various status groups is indicative of the social and structural roots of the LD label, and that the process of assigning the LD label may not be uniform across schools; (2) labeled students have poorer educational outcomes than even unlabeled students who achieved at similar levels in early high school; (3) stigma related to the LD label is suggested by parents’ and particularly teachers’ much lower educational expectations for labeled students than for similar students not labeled with disability; (4) stratification related to the LD label is suggested by the placement of labeled students into lower levels of coursework than unlabeled students who performed similarly in a comparable level of coursework during the prior year; and (5) stigma and stratification related to the LD label are magnified among labeled students who are more socially advantaged, or who are higher achieving. Overall, the results suggest that the experiences of students labeled with an LD can be improved by addressing these social and structural factors that differentiate the likelihood of carrying the LD label, and have negative implications for labeled students’ social and academic experiences during high school. / text