This study examined implicit and explicit attitudes of teachers toward the Emotional Disturbance (ED) label, the strength of association between implicit and explicit ratings, and the variance in attitudes between different types of teachers or among teachers in different settings. Ninety-eight teachers (52 regular education and 46 special education teachers), from a mix of urban and rural school districts in central Indiana, completed three computer-based attitudinal measures: an implicit association test (IAT), a Social Distance Scale (SDS), and the Scale of Attitudes toward Disabled Persons (SADP). Results indicated that teachers possess a significant preference for the category of Learning Disability (LD) compared to ED, and the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitudes toward those two labels was strong. This data supports the notion that the ED label is perceived far too negatively by educators to serve as an effective category of services for children with serious mental health issues. / Department of Educational Psychology

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1974. / Bibliography: leaves 157-169. / ix, 169 leaves ill

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-167) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-116).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-253). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

A multiple case study approach was employed in this intensive thematic analysis of the process of nondirective play therapy. Using a naturalistic research paradigm, this study undertook to identify and describe the principal verbal and play themes and their transformations emergent over a course of play therapy, as well as to identify and describe similarities and differences between the themes emergent in those two domains. Play and verbalization, two types of symbolic expression, were considered routes of access to the child’s evolution of personal meaning. The research participants in this multiple case study were 4 preschoolers, aged 3 to 4. Each participant received 20 weekly play therapy sessions which were videotaped and transcribed. Running notations were made on the verbatim transcripts as to participants’ play activities. Separate coding schemes were devised for the emergent play and verbal themes. Supplemental data collection, organization, and analysis procedures included a field notebook with post hoc descriptions of the sessions, session summary sheets profiling play and verbal themes, charts, and memos. This study, discovery-oriented and exploratory in nature, yielded rich descriptions of the intricacies of therapeutic change on two symbolic levels. From these descriptions were extracted not only information on the transformations in play and verbal themes but also an understanding of the qualitative changes which denote the phases of therapy, and insight into the process of evolving meaning across these phases. A central finding of this study was that the arrays of play and verbal themes and their patterns of transformations were highly individualized. However, a number of themes emerged in common to all cases: Exploration, Aggression, Messing, Distress, and Caregiving or Nurturance. Participants were observed to work through contrasting themes, with preschoolers’ therapy characterized as an active struggle with such intense, oppositional forces as birth and death, injury and recovery, loss and retrieval. Typical thematic transformations included movement from infantile vulnerability to mastery, from grief toward resolution, from fear to safety and protection. The beginning phase of therapy was found to be typified by exploratory play. The middle phase was typified by intensified involvement in play and by experiences of disinhibition. The end phase was characterized by two contrasting yet not mutually exclusive tendencies, namely, the introduction of a sense of hopefulness, confidence, and integration; and an improved capacity to deal with difficult psychological material. Entry into the middle and end phases was signalled by qualitative shifts in the child’s attentional, tensional, or relational state. The theoretical implications of this study included insight into the critical role of the child’s initiative and of the therapist’s permissiveness in the unfolding of symbolic expression. Each individual case contained specific theoretical implications for such classic problem and treatment phenomena as developmental delay and play disruptions. The practical implications of this study include emphasizing the need for practitioners to counterbalance attention to the child’s verbal expression with attention to transformations in play activity and play material usage. It is suggested that further research extend the ramifications of this exploratory study by examining the themes occurring in treatment within homogeneous populations according to problem configuration.

The learning of socially appropriate behavior and the mastery of literacy skills are highly critical to function successfully. Students with emotional disabilities (ED) have difficulty in both areas. Further, research has shown that the pro-social behavior and literacy skills are related. The increased use of strength-based assessments is also a growing area. The current study examined the relationship between pro-social behavior and literacy skills as measured by two developmentally sequenced strength-based assessments, the Language Arts objective Sequence (LOS) and the Behavioral Objective Sequence (BOS), using students with emotional disabilities. The subjects for this study were 102 students from grades K-12 who had been diagnosed with an emotional disability or as a student with challenging behavior. The study also provided psychometric data on the LOS. The results of the current study found significant correlations among the subscales of the LOS and the BOS. Further analyses indicated the strong relationships may be related to the sequential and developmental nature of the instruments. The LOS was found to have good internal consistency and did not demonstrate any gender bias. Significant differences were found for ethnicity on two of the LOS scales, favoring European American females. However, the low number of females suggests the differences may be due to sampling error. The results are discussed with respect to complexity of pro-social behaviors and literacy, the unique characteristics of students with ED and the importance of strength-based assessments. / Department of Special Education

Includes bibliographic references (p. 103-117).