<p> Previous literature suggests that academic achievement and self-concept among adolescents in the general education population are positively related (e.g., Huang, 2011). For students with disabilities, however, the correlation between academic achievement and self-concept is sometimes negative and non-significant (Daniel &amp; King, 1995; Feiwell, 1997; Houck &amp; Houck, 1976; Young, 1990). Limited research has investigated the relations between academic achievement and self-concept of students with disabilities and few studies consider this relation over time. This study design included four features to address the gaps in the literature: 1) methods appropriate for complex data sets; 2) use of latent constructs; and investigation of differences 3) between genders and 4) among the categories of disability. </p><p> Three questions were investigated: What are the relations between self-concept and academic achievement over time among adolescent students with disabilities? What are the differences in these relations among male and female adolescents with disabilities? What are the differences in these relations among adolescent students with emotional disturbance (ED), intellectual disabilities (ID), and learning disabilities (LD)? </p><p> In a secondary analysis of the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) database, cross-lagged longitudinal panel path analyses were used to explore the relations among the overall sample of 14-year-olds as well as of males-only, females-only, ED-only, ID-only, and LD-only subgroups. Additional procedures were used to account for issues due to missing data, non-normality of distributions, and clustered, stratified, and disproportionate sampling. </p><p> Results of the study suggested that the relations between academic achievement and self-concept were complex. In the overall sample, no significant relations were found. When split by gender, the data indicated nearly equal but opposite path coefficients from self-concept at Time 1 to academic achievement at Time 2. The paths from academic achievement at Time 1 to self-concept at Time 2 obtained statistical significance among the ED-only (positive) and LD-only (negative) groups. The subgroup differences in the relations between academic achievement and self-concept suggested that more subgroup analyses need to occur. None of the study's hypotheses were fully supported by the data. The recommendations for practice, policy, and research are presented.</p>

This qualitative study explored the experiences of itinerant teachers supporting students who are Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing develop literacy skills using auditory and verbal strategies and specific visual teaching systems. Data was collected during semi-structured interviews which examined the experiences of the participants and how they accommodated Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students to acquire phonemic awareness and phonological processing. The data was analyzed and revisited until categories and sub-categories emerged. The findings are presented of four itinerant teachers who described their experiences supporting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students educated within mainstream classroom settings. The participants supported Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students within a mainstream educational model with intervention-based support. Intervention was provided based upon student need. As well, the data revealed the participants provided education in-servicing to other teachers to help meet the needs of their Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students. Participants reported providing progress monitoring of students with lesser needs and servicing of assistive equipment. Data revealed the participants used an auditory and verbal approach to teaching literacy to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students. This aligned with their school boards’ educational model and instructional approach. The pursuit of linguistic education within the Deaf community is distinctly different from that of the hearing world. Future research should investigate the experience of teachers in a provincial school for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing where a bi-cultural approach to literacy is found. Further, the influence of assistive technology, restorative technology, and hearing devices will interact with acquisition of phonemic iii awareness and phonological processing. How technology interacts and influences Deaf culture in relation to the persistence and continuation of American Sign Language as a form of communication may interest future researchers. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-29 12:32:52.068

No description available.

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of listening to music as an intervention to improve disruptive behavior in middle school age children with emotional/behavioral disabilities. Five middle-school students participated in a single-subject design, which involved a multiple baseline across subjects and settings. Students listened to an eight-minute recording of classical music on an iPod before engaging in an independent math or reading assignment while seated at their desk. The researcher used fixed rate recording to collect data over a five-minute session. No significant differences were found between pre-treatment and post-treatment for the targeted behaviors observed during the study. The small sample size of the study is cited as the possible reason for the negative results. Limitations as well as directions for future research are also discussed.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of timbre and pitch-pattern difficulty on perceptions of same-difference between paired pitch patterns, altered and unaltered by timbre and pattern difficulty, among elementary-aged users of cochlear implants. Three null hypotheses were tested to determine the significant effects of these variables and their interaction on the pitch perceptions of children aged five through twelve, who used cochlear implants (p &le; .05). Secondary purposes of the study included the examination of the relationships, if any, among age, age at implantation, and pitch perceptions, and of significant differences between participants' speech processor and pitch perceptions (p &le; .05). </p><p> The Adapted Musical Background Questionnaire was completed by each participant/parent/guardian and used to collect information about each participant's hearing history and musical experiences. The Pitch Discrimination Test (PDT) was a researcher-developed, 36-item data collection instrument used to measure pitch perceptions of participants. Three timbres were used as stimuli, including the soprano voice, piano, and violin. Thirteen participant responses to the PDT were recorded individually. Results were analyzed using IBM^&copy; SPSS^&copy; Statistics Version 22. </p><p> Results of the study revealed no effect of timbre (p = .511), or pitch-pattern difficulty (p = .971) on pitch perceptions. A significant interaction between timbre and pitch-pattern difficulty, however, was found (p = .046). Additional analyses revealed that there were significant differences between mean scores of PDT test items presented by violin and soprano voice for difficult patterns (p = .041), and items presented by soprano and piano for patterns with moderate difficulty (p = .041). The participants discriminated difficult patterns more accurately when the PDT items were presented by soprano voice than piano, but participants discriminated moderate patterns more accurately when the PDT items were presented piano than by soprano voice. </p><p> There were no significant positive or negative correlations between age or age at implantation and PDT scores (p > .05). Additionally, there were no significant differences between participant scores on the PDT and the type of speech processor used (p > .05). Participants who used Cochlear&trade; devices, however, had higher average scores than participants who used MED-EL&reg; devices. Recommendations were suggested for future research and instruction of children who use cochlear implants in elementary general music classrooms. </p>

The purpose of this study was to determine if the type of recommendations made by the school psychologist on the psychological report affected teacher perception of the school psychologist and if the type of recommendations influenced the frequency of utilization of the report. An attempt was made in this study to make the recommendations of the report more useful to special education teachers. Since their training included knowledge of methods and materials to use with children with problems, areas typically covered in the recommendations of a psychological report, these areas were deleted. In this study the recommendations were made which directed the teachers to prewritten goals which could be used in writing a student's individual educational plan (IEP). As a requirement of the Education for Handicapped Children Act, 1975, an IEP with long and short-range goals must be written for each child in special education. An assumption was made that by lessening the teacher's work in writing the IEP, the school psychologist might be perceived as more useful. An end result might be a more positive attitude toward the school psychologist as well as an increased utilization of the report. The pre-written IEP goals used in the study were the 2,400 "identifying behaviors" of the Behavioral Characteristics Progression published by the Vort Corporation. These field-tested behaviors were developmentally sequenced into 59 goal areas.The subjects included all of the Coweta county (Georgia) special education teachers (N = 32) whose students were required to have a psychoeducational evaluation before entrance into those teachers' respective programs. All the teachers were licensed by the state of Georgia as certified or provisionally certified special education teachers.The posttest only control group design was used. The subjects were randomly assigned to groups Table of Random Numbers. Each group, control and experimental, had an N of 16. A six-month duration was set. Both groups received the exact treatment exception of the independent variable, the type of recommendations made in the written psychological report. All the subjects in both groups were asked to mark a tracking sheet which had been attached to each psychological report. The tracking sheet listed eight instances for which a psychological report could be used. The subjects were to mark the appropriate instance each time the report was used. The tracking sheet was developed by the researcher for this study. At the end of six' months the tracking sheets were collected and a semantic differential using 15 pairs of bipolar factor analyzed evaluation-loaded adjectives derived from C. E. Osgood's work was administered to all subjects. The semantic differential was used to measure attitude toward the school psychologist. The tracking sheets were used to determine frequency of utilization of the psychological reports.A t-test for independent samples was performed using the mean scores from the semantic differentials and yielded an insignificant difference (at the .05 level of confidence) in attitude toward the school psychologist as a result of the treatment of recommendations. One dimensional chi square statistical procedures were applied to determine if the frequency of utilization of the reports was significant between the two groups. The frequency of utilization was significantly greater (at the .05 level of confidence) as a result the treatment of the recommendations.Based upon analysis of the data the following conclusions were made:1. No significant difference in attitude toward the school psychologist existed between two groups of special education teachers as a result of the treatment of recommendations in the psychological report.2. As a result of the treatment of the recommendations in the psychological report, the frequency of utilization of the report significantly increased.

<p> This research is about the attitudes and educational practices towards inclusion of students with disabilities in science classroom. Four research questions were raised: (1) What are the attitudes of science teachers about the inclusion of students with disabilities?, (2) What is the relationship between attitudes and teachers demographics characteristics?, (3) What are the factors that influence the attitudes of science teachers? and (4) What does the Science teachers do in their educational practices to teach students with disabilities? </p><p> A mixed design of two phases was performed to answer this question. In the first phase a questionnaire was submit to 79 Science teachers from the middle and high school level. This questionnaire with the title <i>Attitudes and educational practices towards inclusion of students with disabilities in Science teaching</i> was developed by the researcher. In the second phase a focus group was conducted with Science and Special Education teachers. Also, two structured interviews by telephone were conducted. </p><p> The findings indicate that the attitudes of science teachers who participated in the first phase of this research seems to be neutral. However, in their responses to the interview or focus group the attitudes were perceived negative. This attitudes are influences by a number of factors that hinder the process of inclusion. Using a nonparametric test with a chi-square test, it was determined that the number of students in a classroom is one of the factors that have a significant relationship with attitudes. The modifications that Science teachers do in their educational practices these will depend on the discapacities. But usually the modification will be in the evaluation of the students. Using assessments as a technique. Also, individualized instruction and peers are educational practices that highlight.</p>

No description available.

<p> The perceptions of general education teachers,' special education teachers,' and site administrators' regarding the benefits of <i>inclusion </i>, or <i>mainstreaming</i>, for students with mild to moderate disabilities at the secondary level were examined using the lenses of psychological benefit, academic benefit, behavioral benefit, and overall benefit. This quantitative study utilized a survey methodology using a random sampling from among seven school districts in Southern California.</p><p> The statistically significant results indicated that none of the groups perceived an overall benefit of inclusion, with specific differences by lens and group. The three groups did not perceive a benefit of inclusion in the areas of psychological, behavioral, or academic specifically, but had less significant perceptions of an overall benefit. Although none of the areas were perceived to be beneficial, comparatively the psychological benefit was perceived to be higher than behavioral benefit, and all groups perceived the academic to be the least significant.</p><p> There were significant differences among groups on benefits perceived, as well. Administrators perceived a significantly higher psychological benefit to inclusion than did general education teachers. There were no significant differences among groups in relation to a behavioral benefit to inclusion. General education teachers perceived a significantly higher academic benefit than did special education teachers. The only area that showed positive results was in a perceived overall benefit, with administrators scoring overall benefit the highest, followed by special education teachers. General education teachers perceived overall benefits of inclusion to be significantly lower than did either other group.</p>

Twenty-five years have elapsed since the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force for Canadian institutions. During this time courts and human rights tribunals been called upon to describe what equality rights mean for Canadians with disabilities. Parents of children with disabilities have used these processes as a way of clarifying their child’s right to an education and resolving disputes about the provision of special education programming and services. This study builds upon and extends the body of research conducted between 1985 and 1998 that identified the influence of court and tribunal decisions on special education policies across Canada. The goal of this study is to identify how Charter equality provision litigation between 1999 and 2008 has influenced the continued refinement of special education policy frameworks across the country. / Special Education