<p> In this qualitative study, comprised of interviews and observations, I explore how discourses of disability circulating within the epistemologies and practices of four general education teachers at two different public elementary schools. Utilizing a Foucauldian lens, I am particularly interested in how these teachers responded to the power/knowledge claims asserted through the dominant medicalized discourse of disability institutionally employed and deployed through special education and the public school system writ large. Moreover, I have looked for acts of resistance, or in the parlance of Foucault (1983), "modes of action," recognizing that the formation of resistance is both a precondition and consequence of the exercising of power, and that power is the medium through which social change occurs. </p><p> In one of the schools, Taft, I encountered a school culture in which the institutional and discursive authority of special education and a medicalized discourse appeared deeply entrenched in the school culture encasing teachers, administrators and children within a network of power relations. This network discursively produced children identified with disabilities as unable to learn in general education classrooms, and general education teachers as unable to teach all children. Within this environment, opportunities for interrogation and resistance were nullified. In the other school, Bedford, I encountered a school culture in which the institutional and discursive authority of special education and a medicalized discourse appeared diminished, absent the institutional authority of special education. In its stead, appeared an internal bureaucratic discourse of assessment and accountability, concerned primarily with issues of compliance. With instruction and classroom management discursively organized, teachers were produced as officers of compliance, mobilized as agents in the discursive production of docile and compliant children. </p><p> Yet, with a weak administration and in the absence of an institutionalized special education apparatus within the school, I posit that at Bedford a localized alternative discourse circulated within the school, and that opportunities for interrogation and resistance arose in particular classrooms, with particular teachers, and in particular moments of time. However, despite an apparent disassociation from a medicalized discourse at Bedford, escaping the underlying assumptions of the medicalized discourse proved unreachable, if not impossible, and it continued to shape classroom teachers, and their notions of disability and inclusion as well as their perceptions and interactions with special education.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3202140. Adviser: Adelle Renzaglia. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-02, Section: A, page: 0520.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1735. Adviser: James Halle. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-101) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4292. Adviser: Janet S. Gaffney. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-208) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> This study explores the shared narratives of males who are African American, come from low-income families, struggled with school success, and may have been identified as needing specialized instructional services or having learning disabilities. This study includes three participants' narratives on the obstacles and supports they faced during their high school years and when transitioning beyond. It identifies shared themes of sports, reputation, and instruction, transitioning, and mentoring &mdash; including the relationship between each and how it impacted their school success.</p><p> The development of these thematic elements are related to developing networks and resources related to culture values, identities, and access to social capital. Participants ranged from 22-23 years of age, all having officially graduated from high school, transitioned to college to play sports, but failed to meet the academic requirements necessary to maintain eligibility.</p>

<p> This mixed method study examines teachers' and administrators' perceptions of what contributes to the growth of the students in the educational disabilities subgroup in reading within the context of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) mandated by NCLB in New Hampshire until June, 2013. This study researches effective reading instruction for students identified with reading disabilities, and the factors within a school that support it, that help that group become proficient in reading. Using the New England Common Assessment Program and AYP data as criteria, four schools that had made AYP in 2011 and 2012 were selected. Participants were 68 special education and regular education teachers and five administrators. Data were collected by 15 initial interviews with special educators, administrators, and reading specialists. Fifty-three classroom teachers were then surveyed. QSR NVivo analyzed qualitative data while quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS software. Analysis yielded six key factors: highly trained teachers, high expectations of success, what the district provides both in resources and organization, collaboration/communication, what to do when students don't make progress, and delivery of instruction. The study yielded a list of the most used direct instruction programs, while small group instruction in the classroom or resource room was the preferred method of instructional delivery. A framework for decision-making was suggested, which included core curriculum, programs, time x intensity, progress monitoring, and tuning-up (CPTPT).</p><p> Key Words: reading instruction, students with disabilities, elementary education, Response to Intervention.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to enable children with physical disabilities to become more included in their education and with their peers. An extensive literature review was performed to investigate the best way to meet these needs through the usage of assistive technology (AT) devices and how such technology can be implemented into an educational curriculum. </p><p> The Inclusion Through Assistive Technology (ITAT) program has the following goals: (1) train children and teachers on the usage of AT devises, (2) reduce children's emotional difficulties, and (3) increased the involvement of children and parents in the educational process. </p><p> The Children's Charity Fund was selected as the program's potential funder, due to its focus on the educational needs of the target population. The actual submission of the proposal was not a requirement of the thesis project. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0521. Adviser: Michaelene M. Ostrosky. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-95) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0525. Adviser: Michaelene M. Ostrosky. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-132) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 24, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4297. Adviser: Ellen Brantlinger.