<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study will cross-sectionally examine the perceptions of general education teachers through in-person interviews to analyze their personal beliefs for special education students&rsquo; attendance at post-secondary education institutions. Data was collected from general education teachers working at different urban high schools in a Southern California charter management organization. Each of the interviewed teachers are currently responsible, or have been responsible, for the instruction of special education students in their classroom. A total of 6 general education teachers participated in semi-structured interviews that consisted of 10 open-ended questions. Three conclusions were extracted from the findings related to the data collected through the interview process. Firstly, the general education teacher must believe in the potential of the special education student and their ability to attend a post-secondary education institution. Secondly, the school and the charter management organization must provide adequate training and collaboration opportunities to general education teachers in order to provide them with the pedagogical skills necessary to appropriately support special educations students. Thirdly, the special education student must have the self-belief and the self-confidence required to attend a post-secondary education institution after high school graduation. The 3 implications supported by the key findings and conclusions from the study are to explore methods by which general education teachers might better communicate their belief in the potential of all special education students, devise systems in which more meaningful collaboration, communication, and training of general education teachers to instruct special education students can occur, and investigate strategies that general education teachers might implement to improve the self-belief and self-confidence of special education students.</p>

<p> Alternative education students face many interacting challenges that put them at significant risk of dropping out of school (Carver &amp; Lewis, 2010), as well as deleterious health and psychological outcomes, and intergenerational cycles of sociopolitical disadvantage (Laird, Kienzel, Debell &amp; Chapman, 2007). Despite the persistent national epidemic of school dropout, few studies have investigated treatments for alternative education students, often characterized as &ldquo;difficult to reach&rdquo; given the chronic substance abuse, low motivation, and poor attendance typical of this population (Rumberger &amp; Lim, 2008). </p><p> This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel music therapy intervention, Recorded Music Expressive Arts (RMEA), with alternative education students. The purpose of RMEA in this context was to engage students in a potentially motivating, culturally relevant treatment that satisfies identified provisions to ameliorate dropout (Kim &amp; Taylor, 2008). RMEA employs narrative therapy concepts as a framework for treatment, and integrates songwriting, music production, and recording into psychotherapy. Through the song-creation process, participants were encouraged to &ldquo;tell their story&rdquo; to re-author problem-saturated personal narratives and discover more self-affirming ways of being (White &amp; Epston, 1990). </p><p> Participants were 10 adolescent boys, age 14&ndash;18, attending an alternative education school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ten 60-minute individual RMEA sessions were delivered twice weekly over 7&ndash;19 weeks. Pre/post data was analyzed using Vargha-Delaney&rsquo;s <i>A</i>. Large effect sizes were found for a) coping (problem focused engagement, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, and emotional expression); b) substance misuse (decreased marijuana use) and co-occurring psychological disturbances (decreased school and behavior problems); c) increased contemplation and action readiness to respond to intervention; d) behavior (decreased internalizing, behavior, learning problems, and suspension rates); and e) attendance (increased attendance for RMEA sessions and days on which RMEA was delivered). Overall, the results indicate that RMEA is a viable and effective treatment for alternative education high school students. Analysis of participant interviews and song content further support results, as well as RMEAs proposed therapeutic mechanisms of action, including narrative therapy concepts. Findings highlight the need for replication studies with larger sample sizes, inclusion of adolescent girls, and other alternative education school settings.</p><p>

<p> This study aspired to understand the practices implemented by school leaders to ensure deaf and hard-of-hearing students have access to nonacademic and extracurricular activities and services commensurate with their hearing peers. The participants for this study were school leaders as well as non-school leaders who worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing students in their nonacademic and extracurricular activities in secondary public schools. The data were collected through document reviews and semi-structured interviews to address the research question: What are the practices, if any, that school leaders implement and employ to support their staff in developing transformative leadership skills to ensure a culture of inclusion that ensures deaf and hard-of-hearing students have access to nonacademic and extracurricular services commensurate with their hearing peers? The data were analyzed through the lens of transformative leadership theory and illuminated three themes: administrative guidance, resources, and culture. Key findings indicated the need for more explicit policies at the district and school levels, more access to resources, and greater professional development opportunities to support the development of a strong culture. </p><p>

<p> There is extensive research in elementary education on effective practices that support academic success for students with mild to moderate disabilities in general education; however there is a dearth of research on high school inclusion practices. A survey examined the current inclusionary practices at a Central Coast High School. California State Standardized Assessment scores of 11^th grade English Language Art and Math classes were also analyzed by groups. Overall, findings indicated that inclusionary practices were implemented to different degrees, but none were <i>fully in place </i> i.e., <i>practices building relationships</i> was rated the highest and instructional practices was rated lowest. In addition, findings indicated that students with disabilities exceeded the state SBAC scores in the area of English but not math. Longitudinal research is needed to further identify secondary practices that impact Math scores for students with disabilities along with continued examination of inclusive high school practices.</p><p>

<p> Disability is often perceived as a rare phenomenon that only affects a small number of people (Dewsbury, Clarke, Randall, Rouncefield, &amp; Sommerville, 2004), despite the fact that 12% of the U.S. public schools student population receives special education services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016) that remove them from the general education setting. This state of affairs contradicts the mandates of IDEA (Ginsburg &amp; Rapp, 2013) and perpetuates the idea that it is acceptable to ostracize those who are born different (Waldschmidt, 2015). This qualitative study reported the findings from 16 interviews with secondary educators from Southern California regarding the inclusion of students who are disabled in the general education setting. An analysis of these interviews showed that the participants&rsquo; views of disability adhered to either the medical or social model of disability, and influenced what they perceived as barriers to, or facilitators of, inclusion. The findings also showed that the participants felt three major components were necessary for the successful implementation of inclusion: (positive) teacher perspectives, a campus culture that fosters inclusion, and administrative leadership. Implications for this study include: (a) the use of a disability studies framework throughout administration and teacher training programs; and (b) the hiring of employees who reflect the student population, such as people with disabilities.</p><p>

<p> Being able to read proficiently is a critical skill all students must master in order to graduate from high school, pursue postsecondary learning opportunities, and secure employment. English language learners (ELLs) are a group of students at risk for leaving school without becoming proficient readers. Repeated reading has been identified through the literature as a promising approach for remediating reading difficulties for adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties (Denton et al., 2004; 2004; Hawkins et al., 2011; Malloy et al., 2006; Tam et al., 2006; Valleley &amp; Shriver, 2003). Repeated reading been shown to increase students' reading fluency and in turn their comprehension, and vocabulary instruction is considered an essential component of instruction for ELLs. </p><p> The main purpose of this study was to extend the literature and investigate two components of reading intervention for adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties: fluency instruction and vocabulary instruction. Specifically the study examined the following research questions: (1) What is the impact of a repeated reading intervention on the reading fluency, accuracy, and reading comprehension of adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties? (2) What are the additive effects of vocabulary instruction, in conjunction with the repeated reading intervention, on the reading fluency, accuracy, and reading comprehension of adolescent ELLs with reading difficulties? </p><p> <b>Summary of Study Design and Findings</b> A single case ABCBC multi-treatment design was used to investigate effects of repeated reading over no intervention (baseline) and the additive effects of vocabulary instruction for three adolescent ELLs with reading disabilities. The repeated reading intervention phases consisted of adult modeling, error correction, feedback, and practice reading expository passages. The repeated reading + vocabulary instruction phases added direct instruction of six vocabulary words found in the passage. </p><p> Overall findings indicate that ELLs with reading disabilities benefit from repeated reading interventions but respond differentially to the addition of vocabulary instruction.</p>

<p>In U.S. school districts, African American special-education students are disciplined more heavily than other students. This case study examined how a suburban high school district in Southern California addressed disproportionality and significant disproportionality in the discipline of African American students with disabilities. The study gathered qualitative data through interviews with 28 of the district?s employees?including officials, administrators, psychologists, security officers, teachers, and classified staff?and analysis of the interviews, along with relevant documents and field notes. This research provides an overall picture of the challenges involved in overcoming disproportionality and significant disproportionality in student discipline, especially those of marginalized groups, and suggests ways to improve school programs. The study highlights the importance of taking cultural issues into account as they relate to employing effective disciplinary tactics, especially for African American special-education students. Findings indicate that district employees may not clearly understand which student population the California Department of Education (CDE) has identified as disciplined disproportionally or significantly disproportionally (African American students in general or African American special-education students) and that current practices have been inefficient in addressing the issue of significant disproportionality. The findings also demonstrate a systemic racism and favoritism of students who embody White hegemonic values and that this impact is represented in the significantly disproportional discipline of African American students with disabilities. The findings support the need for school communities to discuss the best ways to teach African American special-education students and create a targeted approach to dealing with the excessive discipline of this population rather than continuing with the current generic approach.