Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of La Verne, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 356-376).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of La Verne, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 356-376).

<p> The needs of homeless students are significant and varied. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act helps ensure homeless students can access a quality education. One of the key provisions is the requirement that all LEAs identify a liaison to be in charge of meeting the needs of homeless students. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of district liaisons in regard to the needs of the homeless students they serve and the factors that facilitate and hinder their ability to meet these needs. The study was designed as a qualitative study relying primarily on interviews with 20 liaisons from a representative sample of districts in the state of Ohio. </p><p> The findings indicate that homeless students face a number of needs, including access to basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and to social services including mental health services and drug treatment centers. Liaisons indicated that they played a less direct role in supporting students&rsquo; academic needs, instead relying on school-based staff members to support homeless students&rsquo; academic needs. </p><p> Liaisons identified a number of factors that facilitate and hinder their ability to meet the needs of their homeless students. The availability or lack of district resources like funding and personnel were especially important. In some districts, superintendents had prioritized hiring additional social or community workers. Liaisons indicated they relied a great deal on the support of these personnel. Further, the availability (or lack) of community-based service agencies greatly impacted liaisons&rsquo; work. </p><p> Finally, liaisons faced a number of competing demands that made their roles challenging. The vast majority of liaisons held another full-time role in the district, meaning they had limited time to devote to the role of liaison. Liaisons also indicated that navigating both community perceptions of homelessness (whether identified families were &ldquo;truly&rdquo; homeless or deserving of support) and the proper role of the school in the community were added challenges. </p><p> These findings suggest that additional personnel to help meet the needs of homeless students and greater coordination between schools and social service agencies would benefit both liaisons and the homeless students they serve. </p>

<p> Due to civil rights legislation, advances in technology, disability support services on college campuses, medication therapy and increased public acceptance of disabilities, students with disabilities are one of the largest minority group on college campuses (Pryor, Hurtado, DeAngelo, Palucki, Blake, &amp; Tran 2010). According to the 2016 U.S. National Center for Education Statistics Fact Sheet, &ldquo;11.1% of the college students attending college in the 2011-2012 academic year reported a documented disability.&rdquo; The U.S. Department of Education also indicates that nearly &ldquo;60% of students with disabilities attend two-year schools due to their open enrollment policies&rdquo; (U.S. Department of Education 2002).</p><p> This qualitative study focused on understanding the faculty-student perceptual divide between students with disabilities, faculty and administration in open enrollment environments. The study examined interview data of both full and part time community college faculty, students with differing disabling conditions, and disability support directors at two different community college institutions in New York State. The study found multiple themes in which a faculty-student perceptual divide was observed. The theme that caused the most stress and conflict between faculty and students was accommodations. Other themes included: students with disabilities in as an independent learner, the teaching-learning process, obstacles to learning, and perceptions of disabled students strengths and weaknesses. The findings suggest that the lack of disability awareness can precipitate faculty prejudicial attitudes and biases towards students with disabilities. Similarly, students&rsquo; lack of understanding of college culture, academic standards and resources on campus can cause stress and suboptimal learning experiences. This study offers recommendations to alleviate these problems.</p>

<p> Growth modeling in education has focused on student characteristics in multilevel growth accountability models and has rarely included financial variables. In this dissertation, relations of several demographic and financial characteristics of Oregon school districts to the reading and mathematics growth of students receiving special education services in Grades 3-8 were explored after accounting for student level demographic characteristics. Previous research indicated that three variables were potentially related to student growth: district level aggregated student demographics, district geography (e.g., location in a remote area), and district funding. Three sources of data were used to investigate these relationships: institutional data reported by the Oregon Department of Education, the Common Core of Data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics, and Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test data collected as part of the National Center on Assessment and Accountability in Special Education. </p><p> Multi-level models of student growth across Grades 3-8 were constructed for reading and mathematics, with time (level-1) nested within students (level-2) and districts (level-3). Results demonstrated that although student-level demographic factors account for the majority of meaningful differences in student growth, both district demographic characteristics and financial investment in students were related to growth for students who received special education services.</p>

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Paula Stanovich.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-312).

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 30 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-30).

Thesis (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.