Numerous and countless factors have been theorized to be causes of inequality. This paper started with identifying the most important determinants of income inequality through theoretical research. Among the various theories of causes of inequality, I hypothesized creating a level playing for children at the very start of their career as students as an important determinant. In order to test the hypothesis that a level playing field is important to help fight inequality, a regression tailored for this question is created. I develop a regression model using the variable public expenditure on primary education as the variable to be tested while controlling for other important determinants of inequality including public expenditure per student on all stages of education, unemployment rate, GDP per capita, GDP growth, and governance indicator. The empirical model confirms theory that quality of primary education is highly beneficial for students. I conduct further theoretical research concerning ways to improve the quality of primary education and included them in policy recommendation section.

This dissertation investigated the effects of social facilitation theory, specifically mere presence of a peer, on automatic and effortful processing in boys (ages 7 to 12 years) diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The sample (N=61) was comprised of ADHD and Normals who were matched by chronological age (+ /- 9 months) and IQ (1 standard deviation). Forty-eight percent of the sample was Hispanic. Each pair was randomly assigned to one of two conditions to test social facilitation effects. The conditions were Alone (subject worked alone in room) and Presence (subject worked in the presence of confederate). All subjects performed seven information processing tasks which varied in attentional demands from automatic, to acquired automatic, to effortfu1. Automatic processing was measured by two tasks, initial vigilance and frequency monitoring of a word list; acquired automatic was measured by a visual discrimination activity presented twice; and effortful processing was measured by three tasks, free recall of words and two listening comprehension activities. Results support the concept that ADHD is a developmental disorder involving the inability to invest, organize and maintain attention and modulate impulsive responding. Diagnostic effects were applicable across both ethnic (Anglo and Hispanic) groups and emphasizes the significance of the disorder across cultures. There were several significant effects for diagnosis with ADHD subjects performing significantly worse on the frequency monitoring task, on the second administration of the visual discrimination task, and on one effortfu1 task, Free Recall of Related Words. No main effect for social facilitation was found, disconfirming Zajonc's mere presence hypothesis, for both ADHD and Normal children, Cottrell's learning theory model which states that more direct involvement of the peer or a threat of evaluation is needed to elicit social facilitation effects is discussed. Additional analysis indicated that the ADHD subjects were significantly more likely to engage in extraneous and non-task related verbal and motor activity on nine out of twelve behavioral indices. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of the experimental context on the performance of ADHD subjects, observed deficits in sustained attention, and other motivational factors. Educational implications, emphasizing group monitoring effects and instructional design are discussed.

The passage of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, mandates that parents of a handicapped child must be included in the educational planning and placement procedures for their child. The law requires (1) parent counseling and (2) parent participation in the planning of the child’s educational career. Yet almost six years after the passage of Public Law 94-142, the role of parent which emerges today appears to be one of passive involvement in the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) process. The literature suggests this lack of active participation possibly stems from several sources: the parents’ inadequate knowledge, discomfort when interacting with school personnel, confusion in regard to the educational decision-making process, and school encouraged noninvolvement in the IEP meeting. Thus while Public Law 94-142 stresses active parent involvement, the schools’ discouragement of parental responsibilities along with the parents’ limited knowledge and understanding of the law and their role in the process may combine to actively discourage parental participation in the education of their handicapped child. The literature suggests that limited resources exist for parents of newly identified school-aged educable mentally handicapped (EMH), or mildly handicapped children. In general, parents of these children do not have the necessary information or skills for effective involvement in the educational process nor are they receiving supportive counseling. In order to address the specific needs of these parents, an educational-counseling program was developed. The purpose of the program is fourfold: (1) to inform parents about handicapping conditions, legal issues and mandates pertaining to the education of handicapped children, educational assessment and placement procedures and parents’ role in the education of handicapped children, (2) to develop the parents’ repertoire of communication and assertiveness skills necessary for securing appropriate educations for their handicapped children, (3) to provide emotional support and encouragement to the parents, and (4) to increase the parents’ awareness of available resource materials, organizations, and personnel dealing with the education of handicapped children. Various methods and materials are utilized in the Parent Education-Counseling Program to accomplish its goals. Formative and summative evaluations are incorporated in order to determine the extent to which the program is implemented as planned and to assess its effects. A pilot trial of the program utilizing a single set of parent participants was conducted to determine the feasibility and practicality of the methods and materials. Evaluation of the pilot trial indicated that the parents of a newly identified EMH child were capable of increasing their knowledge bases regarding issues and procedures for educating a handicapped child, learning rules of communication, becoming more aware of their feelings related to their EMH child, and accepting information about available resource materials and organizations. The evaluation information therefore suggests positive results of the program is to help parents become effective advocates for their handicapped child, follow-up of the parents’ effectiveness in future school-based meetings is needed to determine whether these short-term program effects will generalize within the school system.

Intersectionality can advance an understanding of the gap created by the lack of an integrated treatment of diversity in teacher preparation research. Intersectionality is a frame that explores the complexities of the interactions of markers of difference. It holds great potential as a concept for preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity because it can inform collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders and facilitate preservice teachers’ understanding of diverse learners. The researcher uses the term “intersectional competence” to describe preservice teachers’ understanding of diversity and how students, families, and colleagues have multiple sociocultural markers that intersect in nuanced and unique ways. In this study, the researcher drew from the literature on intersectionality in special education and the research on collaborative teacher preparation to identify preliminary indicators of the intersectional competence construct. The purpose of this study is to identify the indicators that best capture intersectional competence and to develop and validate an instrument that uses these indicators to measure preservice teachers’ intersectional competence. The instrument included two subsets of items. Subset A was a survey designed for preservice teachers to self-report their intersectional competence and Subset B consisted of items of a case-based measure of preservice teachers’ intersectional competence. A mixed-methods sequential exploratory design was applied to develop and validate the instrument. In the qualitative phase, the researcher began by collecting data that strengthens the theoretical basis for validating the instrument (i.e., interviews with focus groups, consulting with experts, and cognitive interviews or pre-testing). The second stage of the study involved the quantitative analysis of the results of pilot testing the items in subsets A and B.

Historically, research has placed considerable emphasis on developing a systematic body of knowledge about education in which little voice has been given to teachers themselves. The critical role that teachers play in this generative process such as reflecting, acting and theorizing upon practices that shape life in the classroom has largely been ignored in favor of technical innovation and organizational procedure. As schools straggle to reform and restructure, an understanding of how teachers interpret their practices in context and how the culture of schools influence, constrain, or encourage these practices become critical aspects of school success or failure. This study examined the perspectives on inclusion of seven middle school teachers as they attempted to include exceptional students in regular classes. The study utilized three forms of data collection: observations were made of participant interactions as they led their everyday school lives; document analysis was used as a means to gain an understanding of programs affecting exceptional students, and interviews were used to give voice to teacher’s perceptions regarding inclusion, allowing description in their own words rather than those imposed by an outside inquirer. Data collection and analysis sought to identify emerging themes, categories and patterns, allowing for the creation of substantive theory grounded in empirical data. The key issues that emerged in the study were considered in terms of three general categories. The first, teaching and learning, revealed stark contrasts in opinions regarding the type of human support thought necessary for successful inclusion. Regular educators clung to the traditional notion of solitary teachers directing all class activity, while exceptional educators preferred a more team-oriented approach. The second, school structure, revealed that highly collaborative structures were only partially successful in creating additional conversation between regular and exceptional educators. Collegiality was affected by lack of staff experience with the process as well as its implementation in a top-down fashion. The third, school culture and climate, revealed that regular educators believed the school was prepared for a limited amount of inclusion. Although exceptional educators acknowledged school readiness, they did not believe that inclusion was an important item on the school’s reform agenda.

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In this session, the presenters will describe the results of three studies involving the use of technology and response prompting to teach children with MSD/ASD to write their opinions about text. Further, they will describe the technology used and how it may be applied to other skills.

Please join us for the keynote session to learn more about justifying inclusion for all students. The Philosophy of Least Dangerous Assumption, coupled with evidence-based practices, data collection, and data-based decision making, has provided a model for meaningful inclusion of students with a wide range of disabilities in the general education curriculum and classroom. New research on providing accessible grade aligned content has highlighted prior expectations which have shown that all too often an inadvertent glass ceiling has been placed on the achievement of students with disabilities. By promoting high expectations and the use of evidence-based practices, we can see how capable students with disabilities can truly be, as well as providing an opportunity to increase quality of life for all students.