Mathematics education reform has led to more conceptually focused instruction in the classroom. Yet, students with disabilities are receiving fewer chances than other students to engage in meaningful mathematics. Furthermore, a research divide between mathematics education and special education in mathematics has led to significant gaps in research on the individual and conceptual understanding of students with disabilities. Through task-based interviews and classroom observations, this study begins the process of closing this research gap through an examination of students' understanding of variational and covariational reasoning. Data suggest that the participants, two students with disabilities, increased their conceptual understanding in a reformed learning environment with support from teacher presence and questions. The students were able to increase their understanding of the difference between discrete and continuous functions, demonstrated an ability to self-correct, and improved their ability to choose appropriate levels of reasoning. The results suggest that conceptually oriented instruction with the presence and questioning of a teacher can support students with disabilities in developing a deep and rich understanding of complex mathematics.

Student well-being (as opposed to an overemphasis on learning outcomes or technologies) should serve as the central component of a successful online model for students with disabilities. Historically, research on online schools for students with disabilities has focused on outcomes. One online charter schools growth of the students with disabilities population has outpaced the growth of the general education student population over the past eight years, which is an unusual trend that warrants additional scrutiny. Using anonymous parent and student surveys coupled with in-depth phenomenological interviews, this explanatory mixed-methods study investigates the reasons families of students with disabilities chose online learning at this particular school and what their experiences have been. The findings suggest that parents and students value the learning environment in terms of choosing when, where, and how to learn, and the student experience in terms of safety, support, academics, and teachers. Further analysis suggests the importance of mattering, social safety and connection, open educational resource-enabled pedagogy, and self-determination in providing supportive online learning environments for students with disabilities and their parents. This dissertation can be downloaded at www.delainatonks.com.

There are more than 2.4 million American public school students identified with learning disabilities who are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). General education preservice teachers are expected to effectively teach all students, including those with disabilities. However, most teacher preparation programs only require a single course in teaching students with disabilities. Research shows that that teachers’ attitudes regarding inclusion are the greatest predictor of a successful inclusion classroom. This study explored the attitudes of preservice elementary and preservice secondary teachers regarding integrating students with disabilities into general education classrooms. A quantitative research design with a survey method was used in this study. The survey method included a questionnaire via Qualtrics, an online survey system used at the University of Central Florida. Findings of this study revealed that 40% of preservice teachers indicated that integrating students with disabilities in the general education class was a burden. However, due to information limitations the results for preservice elementary and preservice secondary teachers’ attitudes regarding the integration of students with disabilities in the general education classroom and the number of hours of service learning completed was inconclusive.

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<p>This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of instructional technology on mathematical word problem solving for elementary and middle school students with disabilities. This study examined specifically digital technology such as computers and tablets. From the article identification based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 21 studies were included in this study. The 21 included studies consisted of seven group design studies and 14 single-case design studies. This study computed an overall effect and analyzed moderators of group design studies (Hedges’ <em>g</em>) and single-case design studies (between-case standardized mean difference) in the same analyses. The overall effect of instructional technology on word problem solving across 21 studies was large (Hedges’ <em>g</em> = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.84, 1.52). The study characteristics, including publication years, intervention settings, intervention agents, technology devices, technology types, and mathematics topics, were found to moderate the effects of interventions. The four studies, which assessed the generalization of word problem solving skills learned from the instructional technology to the standardized assessments, showed a near moderate effect (Hedges’ <em>g</em> = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.9). Limitations of this study and directions for research are discussed.  </p>

A rapid expansion of charter schools is occurring across the United States in spite of the fact that significant issues have come to light in relation to charter schools educating students with disabilities. The School District of Philadelphia is currently relying on charters to educate more than a quarter of all public school students and the demographic make-up of these charters does not mirror the sending district schools in relation to students with disabilities. These students may not have access to the same educational opportunities as their non-disabled peers. Policy governing charters is foundational to the implementation of charter school reform and, therefore, a potential key factor driving disproportionate access. This project examines applicable state law, interpretation of federal and state law into local policy, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of these policies regarding students with severe disabilities accessing free and appropriate public education in Philadelphia charter schools. The theoretical framework I apply is critical ableism. The analytical framework I utilize is based on the Bardach's methodology. My findings from this analysis of charter policy are that there is theoretical support in policy for the socially desirable outcomes of equal access and non-discrimination, though none for a comprehensive definition of diversity. In practical, implementation-related policies significant problems arise. When applied to students with disabilities, there are inherent flaws in the market-based model that is supposed to drive innovation and competition. Policies do not aggressively promote charters vying for the opportunity to educated disabled students. Charter schools are disincentivized to educate students with severe disabilities by fiscal and accountability measures in current policy. Effective remedies to these problematic areas will require fundamental changes in approach to educating disabled students, not simply privatizing current special education practice. / Urban Education