This study examined the perceptions of local school personnel concerning the adequacy of staff support for Compliant and Quality special educational programming in relationship to selected demographics of subjects, i.e., Role Position, Administrative Area, Highest Earned Degree, Tenure in Present Position, Number of Special Education Classes for which Principal Has Responsibility, teacher's Delivery Mode, and teacher's Area of Exceptionality. Additionally, the study examined subjects' written comments for program improvement and their ratings of tasks of staff leaders to facilitate Compliant and Quality special educational programming. Participants included 30 principals with responsibility for and 87 teachers of exceptional students. A writer-designed questionnaire was used to secure data on all variables. Statistical procedures used were T-Test, ANOVA, and correlational analysis (Pearson r); the established level of significance was 0.05. Significant relationships were found between various Compliance indicators and Number of Special Education Classes for which Principal Has Responsibility, Number of Special Education Courses Taken by principal, and principal's and teacher's Tenure in Present Position; and between various Quality indicators and teacher's Delivery Mode and teacher's Tenure in Present Position. An intercorrelation of subjects' responses regarding Compliance and Quality indicators revealed a number of significant relationships. Among principals, these were Information Dissemination and Staff Training, Material Resources, and Teacher Motivation; and, Monitoring and Staff Training. Among teachers, all relationships between Compliance and Quality indicators were found to be significant. Respondents' written responses indicated that principals perceived the need for increased resources -to facilitate mainstreaming; and teachers, the need for improved communication, increased skills' training in instruction and classroom management, and the employment of staff to conduct school level Compliance tasks. An item analysis of mean scores revealed that subjects rated staff support for Compliant programming more favorably than that for Quality programming. The general implication was that differentiated activities were needed to accommodate various demographics. The general recommendations were that special attention should be given to indicators of Quality programming, i.e., staff training, material resources, and teacher motivation; and, that a division of leaders' responsibilities should be made to ensure improvement in both components of Special educational programming, i.e., Compliance and Quality.

In a southeast school district, students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taught by elementary general education teachers despite their lack of training to meet the needs of such students. To provide effective education that supports the learning needs of students with ASD, exploration of the problem was needed. The intended outcome of this qualitative case study was to provide information to district administrators that could be used to develop interventions to help general education teachers meet the learning needs of students with ASD. The Iovannone, Dunlap, Huber, and Kincaid model of effective educational practices for students with ASD grounded the study. Research questions explored how general education teachers met students' individual support and service needs, academic needs, structured learning environment needs, communication and language needs, and disciplinary needs, as well as what supports and resources teachers perceived they needed to meet student needs. Ten elementary general education teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed using provisional coding and pattern coding. Six themes emerged from the analysis: (a) individual support and service, (b) academic needs, (c) structured environment needs, (d) communication and language needs, (e) disciplinary needs, and (f) teachers' perceptions of needed supports and resources. The results were used to create a professional development 3-day program from which teachers could strengthen their knowledge and skills in providing quality instruction to students with ASD. Such training may result in social change by improving the quality of education provided to students with ASD that will enhance their opportunities to live valued lives.

Low reading skills constitute a serious achievement problem. Although there are remedial support in schools, between 2% and 6% of the student population continues to show persistent reading difficulties despite intensive intervention. The research problem in this study addressed the lack of effective reading interventions for students who were in Tier III of the Response to Intervention (RtI) process. Piaget's cognitive development theory, constructivism, and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory made up the theoretical framework. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effects of Fountas and Pinnell's Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) on reading achievement of students in Grades 2-5. Reading achievement was measured using Fountas and Pinnell's Benchmark Assessment System (BAS) and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments. A quasi-experimental design was utilized to compare pre-and post- intervention data for students in Grades 2-5 who did or did not receive LLI instruction and were in Tier III of the RtI process. The sampling size was determined by the number of students who scored below the grade level expectation on the Fall 2015 BAS and MAP assessments. The experimental group consisted of 72 students and the control group consisted of 64 students. Data were collected and analyzed using ANCOVA. The pretest was treated as a covariate. The results of this study showed reading achievement scores were significantly higher for the experimental group on both posttests. This study contributed to positive social change by improving the welfare of students by increasing their reading achievement.

There is a correlation between the professional development that teachers receive and student academic success. It has been shown that knowledgeable teachers have a profound impact on student achievement. Many general and special educators enter the field of education and are placed to teach in inclusive environments with little to no professional development related to inclusion. This placement often adversely impacts the success of students with disabilities on state tests. However, there is limited information on the types of professional development necessary for teaching in inclusion. Guided by Bandura's social cognitive theory, this study explored teachers' perceptions of the types of professional development beneficial for teaching in inclusion. The research questions examined participants' attitudes and perceptions toward professional development needs, professional development experiences, and instructional activities used in inclusion. A qualitative case study approach was used to purposefully select 5 general and 5 special education teachers who taught in inclusion classrooms. Data for the study were collected through individual interviews, which were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed and coded for themes. Teachers' perceptions showed there was insufficient training for new teachers, a need for ample planning time in their professional development routine, and a need to implement models of coteaching as described by Friend (2009). The potential for positive social change includes improved inclusion-based professional development for all teachers, which may increase the likelihood of student academic success.

As mandated in Maryland public schools, principals cannot suspend students for infractions coded in the categories of disrespect and insubordination. To manage these behaviors, teachers need effective supports from educational leaders. The purpose of this case study was to explore a possible relationship between administrative supports and special education office referrals for disrespect and insubordination at a rural East Coast 8-12 school. The administration provided differentiated professional development by offering options that would meet the varied needs of teachers for classroom management. The theoretical foundation for this study was Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which was used to assess teachers' needs for safety and acceptance to move towards self-fulfillment, one's ability to critically problem solve. Two research questions were used to examine the influence of providing differentiated teacher resources on special education discipline referrals for disrespect and insubordination. The site school also presented results from voluntary, anonymous surveys that asked teachers about their use of classroom management strategies for various behaviors. In the case study, the researcher triangulated quantitative data of office referral rates and archival survey results with qualitative open-responses from the archival survey. For the outcome, the researcher identified themes that represented needs of teachers. The researcher concluded that administrators needed to be empathetic in how they provide teacher supports. The study findings resulted in a project involving training for principals, which included strategies for empathic leadership to better support their teachers. The findings and project outcome may contribute to positive social change by helping to improve classroom management strategies and add to teacher-administrator relationships.

Coteaching is a mandated practice in which students with disabilities are educated in the general education setting among their peers, but it often is not effectively implemented. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of both middle school general education and special education teacher relative to coteaching parity and barriers to effective coteaching practices. Friend and Cook's conceptual framework of collaboration, outlining the importance of understanding roles when working in teams, supported the purpose and design of this study. The research questions were designed to investigate the extent to which the general and special education teachers share coteaching responsibilities and implementation of coteaching practices. Eleven general and special education teachers participated in interviews and observations. Teachers were selected through convenience sampling from a large school district in the Southeastern United States. Data were analyzed with thematic coding and open coding. General education teachers were perceived as clearly dominating lesson planning and delivery during interviews and observations. Common perceived barriers to effective coteaching included low expectations of the special education teacher, limited coplanning time, inadequate training, large class sizes, student behaviors, and issues with special education teacher presence. The results of this study can promote positive social change by helping improve the coteaching environment for teachers and help administrators make informed decisions that will facilitate more effective coteaching decisions.

Federal legislation mandates the inclusion of students with disabilities into the regular classroom. This integration is often met with resistance from the educators. The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in the general education classroom. The research problem addressed the attitudes of educators who are implementing inclusion practices for students with severe disabilities. These attitudes are an integral part of successful inclusion practices. The theoretical basis for inclusion can be found in Wolfensberger's normalization principle and his examination of social role valorization which support placing a person with a disability into "normal" social roles which can develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging. This quantitative research survey questioned if teacher attitudes toward students with disabilities varied by severity of student disability, type of teacher, and length of teaching experience with students with severe disabilities. Teachers (n=113) completed an adapted version of the Physical Educators' Attitudes Toward Individuals with Disabilities-III (PEATID-III). The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, a Wilcoxon test, and the Mann-Whitney test. Results indicated that teachers displayed a significant difference in attitude based on the severity of disability showing a need for varied training. As indicated by the results, no significant difference in attitude existed between special education and regular education teachers. Experience with students with severe disabilities was not considered a determinant of attitude. This research contributes to the societal integrity by stressing the national impact of inclusion on teachers. The results of this study can be used by school districts to develop adequate preparation of all teachers in order to instill a proper attitude for teaching individuals with disabilities.

Spelling is a challenging task for many individuals, especially for those classified as Mild Mentally Disabled. Although considerable literature exists in the areas of special education and spelling, little research is evident involving these two areas in combination. In an attempt to address this gap, the researcher conducted a single subject research study to investigate the hypothesis that direct instruction of spelling enhances the spelling skills of students with special needs. Perceptions of parents, students, and teachers on how this program impacted student spelling skills was also investigated. Quantitative data from this study was collected from the SRA Spelling Mastery Placement pretest and posttest spelling scores of six Mild Mentally Disabled students and were analyzed using an independent measures t test. Qualitative data were collected from parents, students, and teachers through field observations, questionnaires, and journals using specific protocols. Qualitative data was analyzed using an adapted open coding approach. Emergent themes included the link between spelling and sentence creation, the link between spelling and reading competency, successful lessons, non-successful lessons, and changes that promoted successful lessons. Quantitative results from the study indicated that direct instruction had a positive impact on the spelling abilities of students with Mild Mental Disabilities. The qualitative data revealed that parents, teachers, and students perceive direct instruction as a viable teaching methodology in the instruction of spelling. This study informs social change by providing an effective approach for spelling instruction for special needs students and by highlighting the positive role spelling has in increasing student's reading and writing abilities.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to utilize response to intervention (RtI) as early intervention to prevent at-risk students from becoming labeled as learning disabled. Using action research methodology and school change theory, the purpose of this project study was to determine the RtI implementation needs of a rural elementary school (LE). The guiding research question was to identify the components of an RtI framework currently being utilized during the pre-referral process at LE. This study employed a qualitative method triangulation design to analyze data from key stakeholders including questionnaires; individual interviews from six reading teachers, one reading interventionist, and one special education teacher; and campus documents analysis. Analysis included data transformation of frequency statistics from surveys and coded data from open-ended questionnaire responses, individual interviews, and document analysis. These data were triangulated revealing the current level of practice in collaboration, data-based decision making, parent involvement, professional development, and implementation monitoring. Findings indicated utilization of several RtI components inconsistently across grade levels and subjects. As a result, an RtI action plan was developed including a description of RtI background, identification of current levels of practice, implementation steps including timetable, and an RtI glossary. This resource has the potential to aid other districts by providing an implementation plan that could be adapted to their campus needs. This study promotes positive social change by identifying an effective implementation process for a unified service delivery model at LE resulting in improving the education of all students.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 is based on the principle that setting high academic expectations and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. Under NCLB, states are required to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades if those states are to receive federal funding for schools. The purpose of this study was to determine if reduced inclusion class sizes affect student's scores on the Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (ASK) test administered in one northeastern US state and to solicit teachers' opinions of smaller class sizes. Inclusions classes are those that enroll special needs students. Theoretical foundations guiding this study included social learning theory, constructivist theory, and the cooperative learning theory. The key question this study focused on was whether or not smaller class size has an effect on academic achievement for special needs inclusion students. Using archival data, this ex post facto study found a statistically significant difference using a MANOVA, F(2,34) = 14.55, p < 0.0001 for the research question investigating the effect class size has on special needs inclusion students. Positive social change implications include helping inform the efforts of local, state, and federal education officials to narrow the achievement gap between regular and special education students. These results could provide justification to school boards for hiring more staff, creating and passing building addition referendums, and providing professional development to identify ways to adjust school schedules and reduce class size.