From 2014 to 2015, full inclusion through coteaching practices (2 or more professionals providing instruction in the same classroom environment) was implemented at a rural southeastern middle school in Georgia to improve the low academic achievement of students with disabilities (SWDs). The problem is that 8th-grade SWDs score low on the reading and mathematics sections of the Standardized Assessment for Reading and Mathematics (STAR). The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of coteaching on the achievement of 8th-grade SWDs in reading and mathematics as measured by the STAR. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development was the theoretical framework for this study because cognitive development can be enhanced with adult guidance and peer collaboration. The research questions focused on the difference in STAR gain scores between the coteaching SWDs participants and the SWDs with no coteaching. The sample was 96 8th-grade SWDs. A t test was used to compare the reading and mathematics gain scores between the academic years 2012 and 2014 (without inclusion/coteaching),46 SWDs and 2015-2017 (with inclusion/coteaching), 50 SWDs. Results showed that there were significant differences in the STAR performance after coteaching implementation in reading and mathematics, p = .045 and p = .004, respectively. This study may lead to positive social change by providing data to the local educational agency leaders, administrators, teachers, and the educational community to make informed decisions about the implementation of coteaching practices, to enhance instructional practices and teaching strategies, and to improve the academic achievement of SWDs allowing them the opportunity to become college and career ready, thus enhancing their postsecondary options.

Despite instructional changes and administrative support, students with learning disabilities in a middle school located in Georgia did not meet the state expectations to perform at their grade level in core subjects on the state's standardized test. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether a relationship existed between teachers' familiarity with Gardner's multiple intelligences (MI) theory and the MI instructional strategies they used in the classroom setting. Gardner's MI theory was used as the theoretical foundation, which supports the idea that if teachers can identify the intelligences (e.g., interpersonal, intrapersonal, visual/spatial, musical, bodily/kinesthetic, mathematical/logical, verbal/linguistic, and naturalistic) in each child and then teach to those abilities, the child will learn better. The sample included 61 middle school teachers who participated in Gardner's MI familiarity and MI practices online self-report survey. Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using correlations and regression. The results revealed that a majority (61%) of teachers were unfamiliar or only somewhat familiar with Gardner's MI theory. A simple linear regression revealed no significant relationship between teacher classroom practices and familiarity with Gardner's theory. Recommendations included conducting additional research on MI with a larger sample; additional research was also recommended on the best classroom practices for teachers to support a wide range of diverse learners. Implications for positive social change include providing the local site with information and recommendations that will further the dialogue related to what schools can do to promote learning and academic success for all students.

Peer, staff, and faculty members who mentored college students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) completed self-reflections and digital interviews, and participated in focus groups. The information was used to determine whether the mentoring experience affected their attitudes and beliefs regarding individuals with ID as well as whether mentor personal growth occurred as a result of participation in the mentoring experience. The research suggested that participants from all groups of mentees did experience a change in their attitudes and beliefs regarding those with ID. Those changes in attitude and beliefs were overwhelmingly positive. Peer, staff, and faculty mentors also reported many benefits from participation in the mentoring experience including but not limited to increased self-awareness and self-improvement. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

An exploratory case study design and a mixed-methods approach was used to discover the impact of the Activity Bursts in the Classroom (ABC) Fitness Program on students in special education classroom settings, elementary and middle school. Both classrooms were comprised of students with the primary disability of emotional disturbance. Special education intervention teachers’ perceptions of their students engagement and behavior were collected before and during the implementation of the ABC for Fitness Program intervention. Special education intervention teachers completed the Teacher Assessment of Student Engagement, participated in an ABC for Fitness training session, a question and answer session, completed daily written behavior incident logs, a mid-point check-in, and a semi-structured interview. There were four themes found throughout the research. Intervention teachers perceptions’ of student engagement increased as the students enjoyed the ABC for Fitness Program activities. The classroom environment was improved through improving the student to teacher relationship, the ABC for Fitness Program intervention required adaptations for student success to the timing (e.g. length and number of times the exercises and cool down were implemented) ), structure, and the additional of visual cue cards (e.g. Fit Deck cards). The special education intervention teachers faced specific challenges unique to their setting such as structure and focus. Results indicated three main findings: 1) Special education intervention teachers’ perceptions of student engagement during the intervention improved; 2) Special education teachers needed to be able to adapt program to suit their students’ specific needs; and, 3) The ABC for Fitness Program was beneficial to participating special education intervention teachers’ classrooms environment in promoting positive interactions between students and staff.

Orientador: Eduardo José Manzini / Banca: Manoel Osmar Seabra Júnior / Banca: Rita de Cássia Tibério Araújo / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as concepções subjacentes de professores de ensino regular sobre os caminhos escolhidos para o ensino de alunos com deficiência. Participaram da pesquisa cinco professores da Rede Municipal de Ensino, de uma cidade do interior paulista, alocados em uma escola que possui sala de recursos. Como critério de inclusão, os professores deviam ministrar aulas em salas com alunos com laudo e caracterizados no sistema de alunos como deficientes, que recebem atendimento pedagógico especializado na Sala de Recursos Multifuncional. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizada a entrevista semiestruturada e o caderno de conteúdo para melhor organização dos dados e coletas nas próximas sessões. O caderno de conteúdo é composto por toda a entrevista transcrita, com o conteúdo organizado em colunas, de forma que na primeira coluna estejam as informações mais relevantes para a pesquisa, e nas próximas colunas, a ordem de relevância vá decrescendo. A análise de conteúdo foi o referencial teórico para tratamentos dos dados. Prosseguimos com a leitura prévia de uma entrevista, para nos apropriarmos das primeiras informações. A partir desse ponto, fizemos uma leitura pormenorizada de cada resposta, e havendo concordância entre a pesquisadora e outros dois juízes de que identificaram uma concepção, a nomearam e continuaram a leitura do próximo trecho. Ao término da leitura, identificamos 20 categorias nas falas dos professores: 1) Concepção de Atenuar a deficiência;... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research aims to analyze the underlying conceptions of regular teaching teachers about the paths chosen for the teaching of students with disabilities. Five teachers from the Municipal Teaching Network of a city in the interior of São Paulo participated in the study, allocated to a school that has a resource room. As an inclusion criterion, teachers should teach classes in classrooms with students with a report and characterized in the system of students as disabled, who receive specialized pedagogical attention in the Multifunctional Resource Room. For the data collection, the semi-structured interview and the content book were used to better organize the data and collections in the next sessions. The content book is composed of the whole transcribed interview, with the content organized in columns, so that in the first column are the most relevant information for the research, and in the next columns, the relevance order decreases. Content analysis was the theoretical reference for data processing. We continue with the previous reading of an interview, to take the first information. From that point on, we made a detailed reading of each answer, and there being agreement between the researcher and two other judges that they identified a conception, they named it and continued the reading of the next section. At the end of the reading, we identified 20 categories in the teachers' statements: 1) Conception of Attenuate the deficiency; 2) Conception of Disability; 3) Singl... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

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While recognising the complexity of inclusive educational policy for teachers, this thesis argues that a constructive approach for future action may be accomplished by drawing on teachers’ own accounts of significant characteristics contributing to effective inclusion. Accordingly, it is proposed that an understanding of the realities constructed by teachers involved in inclusive practice provides imperatives for future action. In particular, this study explores the finer structures of changed pedagogy, professional development of teachers and the vision of quality education for all that underpin the fabric of inclusive schooling. Furthermore, the study suggests that the focus on teachers’ own accounts or voice provides a major resource with which to theorise and analyse the actuality of inclusive practice and to help overcome barriers to success. In examining the work realities of teachers involved in inclusive education this thesis reports on the results of an empirically grounded and theoretically informed enquiry of the major educational reform of including students with disabilities into regular classroom settings. The case study site for this investigation included two schools, within the State of Victoria, Australia. Primary evidence generated through this study suggests that teachers’ work is a vital contributing factor to successful inclusion, despite the overpowering emphasis on additional funding within the political construction of policy implementation. However, teachers’ existing professional expertise and their professional development needs have not been a key focus of policies directed at sustaining the changed political culture required by inclusion. Drawing on relevant research literature and research evidence, this study argues against the political reductionism of both liberal pluralism and systems theory approaches that have dominated State policy action in inclusive education. In contrast the evidence presented in this thesis suggests the need to reconsider and revalue the knowledge and expertise generated by the education policy actors in this field, namely classroom teachers and school administrators involved in institutional planning and practice. It is these knowledgeable education workers who really influence policy implementation. The significance of this research is that the ‘insiders’ are presented as potentially important drivers shaping the mechanisms for educational reform. For this reason the framework of this study centres on the communicative infrastructures within existing institutions (schools) and the policy actors (teachers) who come together to formulate issues and professional directions. Therefore, the review of the research literature sets out to identify key theories and evidence pertaining to the teachers’ knowledge and learning communities. Literature on the importance of individual and collective agency is reviewed and situated in terms of the debates over the communicative action and life worlds of teachers at the sites of inclusive education reform. In turn, this provides a pathway for establishing the secondary evidence concerning what is currently known about the life worlds of teachers where change engages with struggles over ideological totality, elitist political agendas and the actualities of educational reform. Transcending critical and interpretive paradigms of educational research, capturing teachers���� voice on the complexities of inclusive education, the study moves beyond critical analysis of the way policies construct, or fail to construct, institutions and individuals within them. Inclusion is viewed through the life worlds of teachers involved in integration and inclusive programs, and situated within the context of their communicative actions. Data was generated through unstructured interviews where there was an emphasis on informal contexts and open communication that was free from system distortion. Communicative interaction was then expanded through a second semi-structured interview for the purpose of validation of the data and for testing the researcher’s construction of received messages. In addition feedback regarding emergent themes and representative quotes was also requested from participants. In this study the situated meaning of teachers’ work as an expression of policy-in practice was explored in relation to the textual framing created by State policy, institutions (schools) and teachers’ own skills and knowledge. The major perceptual elements for this research focus on the interrelation between these policy contexts, the paradigm that frames teacher’s professional knowledge and the pathways and processes for teaching and learning to occur. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of stakeholders (administrators, principals, teachers, students, parents of students with/without disabilities and community members) in the Kalulushi District of Zambia�s Copperbelt province about their views on inclusive education in their district. The study provided a detailed, comprehensive portrait of the views of stakeholders, a view which can serve as a medium through which Zambia can familiarise itself with issues and concerns surrounding inclusion, anticipate problems and plan strategies for success. This study�s primary purpose was to obtain the perceptions of stakeholders in the district regarding a trial of inclusion and to compare their issues and concerns with those encountered in developed countries. The collection of data was conducted over a period of two months and involved interviews, surveys, and focus groups with all stakeholders and analysis of national and local policy. The thesis provided a rich description and detailed analysis of the views of stakeholders regarding issues and concerns about inclusion. Among the findings are that (a) general economic conditions, restructuring programs and medical and social-cultural issues have a huge impact on the implementation of inclusion; (b) schools in the district have few human and material resources to support inclusion; (c) students with/without disabilities and most stakeholders, except teachers, tend to favour inclusion; and (d) the agenda for donor countries complicate educational reform in developing countries.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.