In response to the need for data on the post-high school experiences of graduates from special education programs, this follow-up study of the 1983 graduates of a special education program for severely learning disabled students sought the patterns of post-high school employment, and education/training and the status of independent living of the graduates. In order to obtain a profile of the sample population, school records were reviewed. A telephone survey of graduates obtained employment history and experiences, identified types of frequency of education/training sought, and assessed the status of independent living. All data were analyzed descriptively and conclusions and implications identified for future educational programming during the high school years. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The purpose of this study was to investigate Virginia public secondary school principals' knowledge of and attitude toward P.L. 94- 142, personal background, and the relationship of these variables to the provision of special education services at the building level. Provision of services was defined as the proportion of students receiving special education services, the number of students served in self-contained classes, and by a special educator's rating of the principals' influence and support for special education. Knowledge and attitude scores were normally distributed for the 46 principals. A mean score of 14.18 was obtained on the 29 item instrument, Knowledge of P.L. 94-142. A mean of 70.82 (100 possible, the higher the score the more positive the attitude) was found on the instrument, What is Your Opinion? Regression analysis using the three dependent variables accounted for 11 to 20 percent of the variance in the provision of services. Twenty percent was controlled when using the special educators’ rating of the principals' influence and support for special education. Fifteen percent of the variance was controlled for using the number of students in self-contained programs. Eleven percent of the variance was controlled for using the proportion of students served in the building. Special education administrators consistently reported their perception that principals' knowledge and attitudes strongly influence the provision of special education services in their buildings. They also attributed more influence over special education at the building level to the principals than the principals perceived. The relationship between special education administrators' perceptions and principals' perceptions and scores were consistently low and in some cases negatively correlated. / Ed. D.

Providing services to handicapped children is more expensive than educating nonhandicapped children. Previous studies have estimated the cost of special education to be approximately twice that of regular education. However, these studies have produced a number of problems in providing accurate cost data including a lack of data at the local level to make meaningful determinations, difficulties in treating shared and indirect costs, problems in making cost comparisons across districts, and variances in the cost of resources over time. This study evaluated the Larson (1985) model, a new methodology for calculating special education program costs, by comparing it to the Rossmiller (1970) model, a widely used method for calculating special education program costs. Judgments were made by comparing the efficiency and effectiveness of each model to the other. Efficiency was appraised byl comparing input and process considerations in computing special education program costs in a select school district in Virginia. Effectiveness was appraised by comparing each model’s ability to produce comprehensive and accurate special education program costs from the sample school district. Findings indicated that the Larson model had several advantages over the Rossmiller model. First, the Larson model was more efficient as less information from the regular budget was needed to complete indirect cost calculations. Second, the Larson model was more efficient in dealing with shared costs as they could be prorated through the use of a multiplier. Third, the Larson model was considered more accurate in its treatment of related services costs. However, several qualifications needed to be made in Judging the Larson model as a better product over the Rossmiller model. Conducting a cost determination was a lengthy process no matter which model was used and is more dependent upon the availability of data in a school district than the model used. Also, both models tended to produce similar cost figures when related services costs were taken into account. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The purpose of this study was to verify factors which are related to the provision of special education services in Virginia school divisions and to compare obtained results with similar research completed in the era of permissive legislation by Chalfant in 1965 in Illinois. A diagnostic technique was developed to indicate the proportions of children identified as handicapped expected to be found in a school division. Indicator variables selected for inclusion in the study were average daily membership, population per square mile, median school years completed, percentage of total civilian labor force unemployed, true value of property, percent black, median household income, percentage of families in urban residence, and the Composite Index. Criteria measures included the proportion of students identified as mentally retarded, learning disabled, speech impaired, emotionally disturbed, and total proportion of all handicapped students. Indicator variables found significant to the proportion of learning disabled students were median school years completed, percent of the total civilian labor force unemployed, percent black, percent urban, population per square mile, and median household income. Median school years completed, median household income, percent black, and population per square mile were found to be significant in predicting to the proportion of students identified as mentally retarded. Indicator variables related to the proportion of students identified as emotionally disturbed included average daily memh·.~rship, percent urban, median income, and percent of total civilian labor force unemployed. A low correlation was found between proportion of speech impaired students and percentage of families in urban residence, true value of property, and average daily membership. The total proportion of students identified as handicapped was best predicted by the percent of total civilian labor force ·unemployed, percent urban and population per square mile. A special education Expectancy Index was developed to provide a comparative measure for each school division on each criteria measure. The atypical school divisions were diagnosed as having overidentified or underidentified proportions of each criteria measure. The study confirmed the methodology utilized by Chalfant and yielded an operational model for predicting certain special education services. / Ed. D.

Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, mandates that all handicapped children, including those housed in correctional facilities, receive special education and related services as required by the law. Literature has suggested that services are not being provided as mandated. Factors inherent in correctional education and/or unclear, absent or conflicting policies of multiple agencies sharing responsibilities for incarcerated handicapped youth may inhibit delivery of special education and related services as required by federal and state regulations. Through interviews with personnel of the Virginia Rehabilitative School Authority (RSA) and examination of policies of the RSA, the Virginia Department of Education Office of Special and Compensatory Education (SEA), and the Virginia Department of Corrections, three questions were addressed: (1) What are the processes used by the RSA to implement SEA regulations governing the education of handicapped children? (2) What are the factors which affect the implementation of delivery of special education and related services as perceived by RSA personnel? (3) Are absent, unclear or conflicting policies of agencies (SEA, DOC, RSA) related to the provision of mandated services to incarcerated handicapped youth? It was found that state regulations were not fully addressed by RSA processes and that processes being implemented did not comply totally with state regulations. Factors found to inhibit the development and implementation of processes within state regulations included the precedence of DOC custody and treatment considerations over educational concerns, inadequate numbers of special education personnel, paucity of placement options within youth school programs and outside of the correctional setting, and inadequate training of DOC and RSA personnel in preparation for special education responsibilities. Absence of SEA policy relating to assignment of surrogate parents and absence of local and state agencies' policies addressing transfer of student information restrained development and conduct of required procedures. Conflict between policy foci of the DOC and RSA was a primary contributor to special education procedural and programmatic limitations. / Ed. D.

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which teaching efficacy, a motivational construct derived from Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, is related to the referring of students for special education services. Secondary purposes were to gather information on the validity of The Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson, 1983) and to obtain a better understanding of the construct of teaching efficacy, and how it is manifested in high and low efficacy teachers. A three-phase study was designed to investigate the problem. A survey of all first, second and third grade teachers in a mid-size urban school district in Virginia resulted in individual referral numbers and a volunteer sample of eighty-one teachers. After elimination of ten of those respondents, a second survey was conducted to gain a measure of efficacy and potentially related environmental variables. Scores from the second survey defined a sample for the interview phase of the study. Findings suggest that high efficacy teachers refer fewer students to special education than do low efficacy teachers. Variables which appear to be related to a teacher's sense of efficacy include support from the administration, assistance I and personal support from the principal, type of school (high or low SES), successful experiences with low-achieving students, and a personal need to be successful with all students. Implications for building teachers' sense of efficacy indicate a two-pronqed change effort: assuring that teachers have the skills to be successful with a wide range of learning needs, and creating an environment which enables teachers to be decisive, independent professionals. / Ed. D.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), had extensive data collection and reporting requirements for state education agencies (SEAs). An investigation was made into how special education units at SEAs collected these federally required data and to what extent the data have been used for state level management and planning tasks. The major focus of the study centered around the uses of information to make special education management decisions at the state level. The systems analysis theory of the levels-of-uses of information was used as a framework for categorizing state level special education management decisions. Using the Delphi technique five experts in the field of state and federal special education administration were selected to participate in interviews. As a result of three rounds of interviews a product resulted which was a list of suggested state level management and planning activities categorized into the three levels-of-uses of information for federally required child, personnel, and setting data. The findings are based upon individual responses from a mailed questionnaire. Fifty-three out of 57 state level administrators: (states and jurisdictions) responded to the instrument. The use of computerized management information systems for data collection as well as trends and reasons for changes in the federal data collection process are described. The use of federally required data when conducting management and planning tasks at the three levels-of-uses (operational, tactical, and strategic) is also discussed. Findings suggest that federally required data are valued more for lower level operational uses than higher level tactical and strategic tasks. The study concludes with recommendations for special education state directors, technical assistance providers, and suggested topic: for future research related to information needs of decision makers. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to collect and present data relative to the teaching of industrial arts in certain special institutions for physically and mentally handicapped children with a view to ascertaining (1) the need for additional industrial arts teachers, and (2), the needs of such teachers for special preparation.

From the literature we learn that existing educational frameworks that inform law and policy- making on the education of disabled children deal extensively with the curricular and educational concerns of disabled children. Yet, these frameworks leave out the pivotal issue of children‟s human right to education. The rights-based frameworks address human rights issues in a grand fashion, but give scanty educational guidelines on the actual education of disabled children, rendering hollow the human rights credo they espouse. South Africa has been one of a few countries which made attempts at addressing both the human rights concerns facing learners with disabilities and their curricular and pedagogic needs. The country embarked upon extensive efforts of legislative and policy formulation that are, in some respects, unparalleled in the world. Hence, this country is a potential storehouse of good practices on the education of children with disabilities with the potential to inform the re-formulation of existing African and global frameworks on the right to education of disabled children. Furthermore, the impressive novelty contained in South African education laws and policies notwithstanding, there are a number of issues which should be addressed in the country‟s education environment, including how the laws and policies are implemented. It is to be acknowledged that laws and policies are only as good as their implementation. Mindful of the above situation prevailing at the global level and the national (South African) level, this study offers a framework that marries the right to education of children with disabilities with educational theory on and practice in regard to the education of disabled children. The framework is constructed on the basis of current international literature on both disability and education and related South African law and policy instruments. In terms of its methodology, the study employed a generic or non-categorical qualitative design, also called methodological bricolage. Under this overall design, two principal modes of inquiry were applied, namely the enlightenment mode to policy analysis and critical law and policy discourse analysis. Theoretically, the study is anchored in the human rights variant of the Social Model of Disability, Critical Theory and Post-structural paradigms. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education