<p> The rapid growth of charter schools has been accompanied with numerous questions related to special education such as whether or not charter schools and their unique missions can actually meet the needs of students with disabilities (Karp, 2012). This basic qualitative study explores the practices and procedures used by primary school teachers to promote achievement and engagement for students with disabilities in K-8 inclusion classrooms at an independent charter school in a large Midwestern city. The sample for this study included teachers at an urban charter school who were recommended by their principal as being skillful at improving engagement and learning for students with disabilities. Interviews and observations were used to gain insight on the specific techniques, strategies, and processes being utilized by charter school teachers. During interviews, teachers communicated a variety of ways in which achievement and engagement are promoted in their inclusive classrooms. Differentiation, collaboration, flexibility, offering choices, and group work were common themes communicated by teachers in regards to the practices and procedures that proved most beneficial in promoting achievement and engagement for students with disabilities.</p><p>

<p> Conventional wisdom strongly supports that people&rsquo;s behavior is affected by the weather in many ways. But while the correlation between weather and student behavior if often accepted as popular fact amongst parents and educator&rsquo;s alike, very little research exists to support this correlation and educators may be at risk for making teaching decisions based on inaccurate understandings. This correlational study investigated the relationship between barometric pressure and the behavior of third grade students in a rural setting. Results indicated no relationship between these variables. Implications for educational practice is discussed.</p><p>

<p> The importance of principal preparation in special education has increased since the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975. There are significant financial reasons for preparing principals in the area of special education. Recent research also shows that all children learn better in an inclusive environment. Principals who are not prepared in the area of special education have a difficult time implementing an inclusive culture at their schools. This qualitative inquiry study set out to explore principals&rsquo; perceptions of their preparation in special education and subsequent district support in building their understanding and implementation of an inclusionary culture in their schools. </p><p> Grounded in Critical Disability Theory (Hosking, 2008) and Social Justice Leadership Framework (Furman, 2012), the conceptual framework of this study, Inclusive Leadership Framework, outlined characteristics of an inclusive leader and a framework for building an inclusive culture. Some principals interviewed for the study demonstrated these characteristics and some did not. Principals wanted to learn more about special education and wanted their students to succeed. The Inclusive Leadership Framework evolved throughout the study, but was remained grounded to prevailing praxis of reflection and action. </p><p> This study examined the attitudes of principals in K-12 settings in nine Southern California school districts in order to discover their perceptions of the effect their administrative credential preparation in special education had on building an inclusive culture. In addition, principals offered their perceptions relative to how district support in special education helped inform leadership practice regarding building a culture of inclusion. Finally, participants shared anecdotal experiences revealing ways they &ldquo;learned on the job&rdquo; as they navigated the world of special education. Recommendations for policy and practice for administrative preparation programs and the Clear Administrative Credential process, professional development and coaching of administrators is addressed in this study. </p><p> Significant findings revealed that principals who feel unprepared in special education do not always develop an inclusionary culture, or understand its benefits to student learning. In addition, participants revealed that they would have preferred knowing more about the process of special education before taking their first administrative position. One interesting anecdotal finding suggested that administrators who are parents of a special needs child or were one themselves are very well educated in the realm of special education and take a personal interest in it. A key recommendation for policy/practice/research included making a special education goal in the Individual Induction Plan for the Clear Administrative Credential. The program includes coaching and coaches need to be provided that can instruct in special education and the building of inclusive school culture.</p><p>

<p> The topic of this study was the way teachers of children with autism perceive the home-school collaboration and its impact on learning. This research addressed the gap in the literature on the topics of children with autism&rsquo;s performance gap in comparison to their age-equivalent peers. The research question was, &ldquo;How do teachers of children with autism perceive the home-school collaboration and its impact on learning?&rdquo; A generic qualitative methodology was appropriate to address this question. Data collection occurred through face-to-face interviews with 8 open-ended questions. The sample included 10 teachers of children with autism. All teachers had a minimum of 3 years&rsquo; teaching experience, were state certified special educators, currently taught children with autism, and had experience collaborating with the people in the children&rsquo;s homes. Inductive thematic analysis facilitated identification of the patterns and themes that emerged from the data and provided a thorough understanding of the home-school collaboration. Six themes emerged from the teachers&rsquo; responses: (a) collaboration improves learning, (b) communication is vital, (c) collaboration supports overall student improvement, (d) challenges to the collaboration, (e) parental involvement is imperative, and (f) ways for teachers to promote parental engagement. The results of the study suggested that teachers involved in home-school collaboration can overcome obstacles that are inherent in the collaboration process and facilitating academic success. A strong collaboration consistently yielded positive results for a child with autism. With a strong connection between the parent and teacher, a child was able to grasp material in the classroom, while the home strengthened the learning process. Along with improving learning, the home-school collaboration process decreased the child&rsquo;s anxiety and enhanced a sense of security. Some recommendations for future research include utilizing a larger sample to increase generalizability and covering a larger geographic area for better representation of the population.</p><p>

<p> This study was designed to determine the relationship between the family unit, which was defined as single-parent households and two-parent households, and educational placement. Data were collected from six Southwest Missouri K-8 districts in Region C. Participants reported student enrollment according to categories of single-parent special education, single-parent regular education, two-parent special education, and two-parent regular education. In addition, district special education coordinators were interviewed to gather data on their perspectives and experiences regarding the different household types and educational placement. This mixed methods design revealed students from single-parent households are more likely to be negatively affected by home environment situations and have a higher probability of academic deficits leading to special education placement. The negative effects included lack of stability, lack of organization, lack of availability to assist with academic tasks, lack of attention to diagnoses and treatment, lack of exposure to outside academic influences, increased demands on the student from inside the household, and hunger. These negative effects were attributed to decreased financial security, less stable working hours, and lower education levels of the single parents.</p>

<p> Although many public schools in the United States are located in rural areas, the literature on rural youth is extremely limited, and the literature on rural youth with disabilities is practically absent. The purpose of this study was to gather the perspectives of community partners regarding rural school-community partnerships and provide an understanding of (a) the community&rsquo;s role, (b) how connections in rural communities were formed, and (c) how school-community partnerships can be strengthened. This study added to the existing literature on rural school-community partnerships by providing a deeper understanding of the processes that influence the phenomenon of transition to work for rural youth with disabilities. Employing a basic qualitative research design, information from this study was captured regarding community members&rsquo; perspectives on their roles and experience partnering with rural schools to transition youth with disabilities to work. The target population consisted of community members who represented businesses and community organizations who had purposefully connected with a rural school to support youth with disabilities transitioning to work. The sample included 10 participants who took part in semistructured, one-on-one interviews to describe their experiences. Data analysis revealed the roles of the community partners and the processes they used to secure school-community partnerships. The findings indicated that the community played a vital role in transitioning youth with disabilities to work and that it took time for the community partners to adjust to their new roles of supporting youth with disabilities in the workplace. The findings provide valuable insight on how rural schools can sustain, improve, and expand their community partnerships and experiences for students with disabilities. Opportunities for future research include identification of work training opportunities for rural students with disabilities, exploration of the types of transition assessments and work skills that promote transition to work, and research with a larger sample to improve generalizability.</p><p>

<p> The focus of my study was to explore if teachers think handwriting should be included as part of the core curriculum. The aim of the project was to observe and discuss if handwriting instruction is beneficial in the second grade. For my research, data was collected from observations, surveys, and interviews. The benefits and disadvantages of handwriting instruction were also researched. In recent years, each year that I taught, the handwriting of the students has become more and more illegible. Students had difficulty putting their thoughts onto the paper. It was taking them longer and longer just to write simple sentences, especially my students who were identified with learning disabilities. They could verbally come up with great ideas to discuss but as soon as I informed the students that it was time to put those thoughts to paper, the struggles began. Students would ask me how to form letters, spacing was nonexistent, and I could not read what they wrote. Moreover, the students could not even read their own writing. The study began with a survey of the teachers&rsquo; beliefs and experiences with handwriting instruction. Observations of teachers&rsquo; instruction and lessons were conducted. The findings were astounding. Manuscript handwriting instruction took place in kindergarten as students spent a week on each letter. There was no formal handwriting instruction, manuscript or cursive, in first grade and in second grade cursive handwriting instruction began in the last six weeks of school. If students did not master how to write a letter of the alphabet in kindergarten then it was up to the students to figure it out unless a teacher caught it and provided some type of instruction. Only 2 out of 6 teachers had any formal training or instruction on how to teach children to write.</p><p>

<p> This thesis examines whether or not a newly implemented Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system is working in a middle school during its first year. The school used for this study is a middle school that serves students from fifth to eighth grade. The research conducted looked into the positive and negative thoughts staff and students had in regards to the PBIS system. During the school year, teachers who worked at the school for more than two years were surveyed on their viewpoints of the effectiveness of the PBIS system. Students in fifth grade were also given a survey to gain an understanding of their viewpoints on how the system is working in the school. Observations and personal interviews with teachers and students were also conducted to discuss their thoughts on the PBIS system and how they believe it has worked in its first year. The results from the surveys showed that the staff and students in the school felt that the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports system did not work in its first year.</p><p>

The rewards and sanctions associated with high-stakes testing may induce educators to participate in practices that will ensure the elimination of the scores of low-achieving students from the testing pool. Two ways in which scores may be eliminated is through retention or referral to special education. This study examined the use of these practices at 179 elementary schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the 4th largest school district in the country. Between- and within-subjects designs were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance to compare retention and referral to special education practices over a five-year period of time, two years prior to and two years after the implementation of Florida's high-stakes test, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, FCAT. Significant main effects for referral and retention over time were demonstrated. The use of retention steadily increased over the first three years, with its usage maintained during the fourth year. While the use of referral actually decreased from the first to second years, a significant change occurred after the implementation of the FCAT. Examination of the use of these practices according to student and school characteristics revealed significant differences. Increases in the use of referral across time was significant for Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic students, all limited English proficiency population categories, medium and low socioeconomic status category schools, all grade levels, and for schools with accountability grades of A, C, D and F with the most striking absolute increase occurring for F schools. Increases in the use of retention across time were significant for all ethnic groups, limited English proficiency categories, and socioeconomic status categories, for grades kindergarten through four and by gender. Significant increases occurred for schools with accountability performance grades of C, D and F; however the most dramatic increase occurred for the F schools. A direct relationship between performance category grade of school and their use of retention was demonstrated. The results suggest that schools changed their use of referral and retention in response to the implementation of the FCAT.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an intervention combining holistic and graphophonic methods on the decoding performance of children with reading disabilities. The impact of this synthesis of teaching methods was evaluated by examining five students' abilities to decode a set of training words using three common vowel patterns. Words containing these magic e, double vowel, and closed vowel patterns were presented in isolation and in context. Additional sets of novel words and nonsense words using the same vowel patterns were used to evaluate generalization. The study incorporated single-subject experimental research methods, using a multiple baseline design across vowel patterns. Data were collected and analyzed daily. The results of this study indicated that all five second-graders, three boys and two girls, demonstrated substantial gains in decoding ability on all three vowel patterns. The students increased their accuracy on training words in isolation, as well as in context. In addition, students increased their decoding accuracy on generalization words, in both novel and nonsense words. These increases in decoding accuracy were maintained during post-intervention probes and during the 7-week follow-up phase of the study.