The rights of all persons to be granted equal access to higher education are espoused in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More recently, attention has focused on the provision of inclusive education specifically for students with disabilities. In, amongst others, the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), inclusive education has been promoted as an appropriate vehicle to realise equal participation of students with disabilities in all levels of education. Following a history of exclusivity of educational opportunities in South Africa, higher education practitioners and policymakers should critically engage in strategic efforts that address barriers against students with disabilities to promote diversity and inclusion consistent with international human rights instruments. Furthermore, an in-depth intersectional analysis of the myriad of factors that hinder the full inclusion of students with disabilities is required. Utilising critical disability theory as a theoretical approach, this study's main aim was to analyse how students with disabilities are included in the disability policy and in praxis of South African research-intensive universities in accordance with the 4-A Framework. This Framework's markers, namely availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability, were operationalized for the higher education context and expanded to include a fifth marker, affordability. A deductive qualitative thematic analysis, using a protocol based on these markers was used to analyse disability policies of South African Tier 1 universities and the perceptions of students with disabilities registered at these institutions. Results suggest that the disability policies made mention of provisions related to availability, accessibility, and acceptability. Policy provisions related to adaptability were not uniformly mentioned. Affordability was neglected and not given due regard. Overall, participants perceived their universities as being available. Many of the indicators relating to accessibility, acceptability were not mentioned in the participants’ responses. Adaptability was generally perceived to be met, and participants were ambivalent in their responses relating to affordability. Students with disabilities appear to have limited expectations regarding their rights to be realised (internalised ableism). The thesis ends by discussing the implications of the findings and recommendations for future research. / Thesis (PhD (Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / PhD (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) / Unrestricted

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As the population of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow in schools, so does the concern for their lack of academic progress and the possible inequitable representation of this culturally and linguistically diverse population in special education (Artiles, Rueda, Salazar, & Higareda, 2005; Guiberson, 2009; Mac Swan & Rolstad, 2006; Rinaldi & Samson, 2008). Of particular concern is the increase of ELLs with an eligibility of Specific Learning Disability (SLD), especially when examined at the local level (Klinger, Artiles, & Barletta, 2006). To understand this phenomenon at the local level, this mixed-method study examined ELLs with SLD in a large California urban school district by targeting English language development (ELD) at the macro and micro level. The researcher accomplished this focus by examining the relationship between English language proficiency levels, grade levels, and type of learning disorder among kindergarten through twelfth grade ELLs with SLD. The researcher analyzed cumulative educational records of three eighth grade ELLs with SLD, including Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs), to examine how ELD needs have been addressed. The results of the quantitative portion of this study revealed greater distribution patterns of ELLs with SLD in sixth through ninth grades. The researcher also found ELLs with SLD to be primarily represented in the early stages of ELD (beginning, early intermediate, and intermediate) and identified with an auditory processing disorder. Results of the case studies also revealed that after nine years of ELD instruction, the students had not reclassified as English proficient and documented evidence of ELD instruction and support was minimal.

Students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are more likely than other students with disabilities to drop out of school (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996) and suffer societal consequences that include higher probabilities and rates of incarceration, poverty, drug abuse, homelessness, low wages, and unemployment (Bradley, Doolittle, & Bartolotta, 2008; Wagner, 1995). High school graduation is a critical factor to improve post-secondary outcomes for students with EBD; yet it is often mathematics, specifically algebra, that stands in the way of graduation (Blackorby & Wagner). Students with EBD often enter middle school lacking foundational mathematics skills, such as fractions, which sets them up to struggle with pre-algebra and ultimately fail algebra (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). The purpose of this study was to improve the ability of middle school students with EBD to access online grade-level mathematics content by providing fraction remediation to improve conceptual fraction knowledge and procedural fluency. The intervention consisted of Initial Fraction Ideas, an intervention curriculum from the Rational Number Project (RNP; Cramer, Behr, Post, & Lesh, 2009), in conjunction with three online virtual manipulatives (VM). The unique blended learning environment of this study provided the opportunity to evaluate the use of an evidence-based fraction intervention, in conjunction with VMs, in a single subject, multiple baseline across subjects design. Fluency data was gathered from daily fraction addition assessments (FAA) administered after each intervention session. A second component of the study featured a non-experimental repeated measures design that assessed student conceptual understanding of fraction equivalency through the administration of pre, post, and delayed-post Equivalent Fraction Tests (EFT). The intervention was effective in producing increases in median group fluency with high effect sizes, across three replications, establishing a functional relationship between the intervention and the dependent variable for these groups of students with EBD. In addition, all groups posted mean gains in equivalent fraction knowledge from pre to post-EFT, and maintained those gains for at least 15 days after the intervention concluded.

Over the last decade, the inclusion of students with disabilities (SWD) in the general education classroom has increased. Currently, 60% of SWD spend 80% or more of their school day in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). This includes students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), a developmental disability characterized by impairments in behavior, language, and social skills (American Psychological Association, 2013). Many of these SWD struggle with mathematics in the elementary grades; fewer than 20% of SWD are proficient in mathematics when they begin middle school, compared to 45% of their peers without disabilities. Furthermore, 83% of SWD are performing at the basic or below basic level in mathematics in the fourth grade (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). As the rate of ASD continues to increase (Centers for Disease Control, 2013), the number of students with this disability who are included in the general education classroom also continues to rise. These SWD and students with ASD are expected to meet the same rigorous mathematics standards as their peers without disabilities. This study was an attempt to address the unique needs of SWD and students with ASD by combining practices rooted in the literature, strategy instruction and video modeling. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an intervention on the ability of students with and without disabilities in inclusive fourth and fifth grade classrooms to solve word problems in mathematics. The intervention package was comprised of a graphic organizer, the K-N-W-S, video models of the researcher teaching the strategy to a student avatar from a virtual simulated classroom, TeachLivE, and daily word problems for students to practice the strategy. The researcher used a quasi-experimental group design with a treatment and a control group to determine the impact of the intervention. Students were assessed on their performance via a pretest and posttest. Analyses of data were conducted on individual test items to assess patterns in performance by mathematical word problem type. The effects of the intervention on SWD, students with ASD, and students without disabilities varied widely between groups as well as amongst individual students, indicating a need for further studies on the effects of mathematics strategy instruction on students with varying needs and abilities.

Due to a multitude of convergent circumstances, students labeled in the disability category of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience high rates of academic and behavioral failure. Such failure frequently leads to the students’ dropping out of school, involvement in the judicial system, or a combination of those outcomes. Science is an academic content area that has the potential to enhance behavioral and academic success of students with EBD. Researchers, nonprofits, and business leaders have provided an impetus for nationwide reform in science education. Concurrently, a corpus of legislation has influenced the preparation of new teachers to use evidence-based teaching practices while addressing the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Using technology is one way that teacher educators are providing in-vivo learning experiences to new teachers during their classroom instruction. A multiple-baseline across-participants research study was used to examine the effectiveness of providing immediate feedback (within three seconds) to novice general science educators to increase their use of an evidence-based teaching strategy, known as a three-term contingency (TTC) trial while they taught. Feedback was delivered via Bug-in-the-Ear (BIE) technology and during whole-class instruction in which students with EBD were included. The teacher participants wore a Bluetooth earpiece, which served as a vehicle for audio communication with the investigator. Teachers were observed via web camera over the Adobe®ConnectTM online conferencing platform. During the intervention, teachers increased iv their percentage of completed TTC trials, opportunities to respond, and praise or error correction. Student responses also increased, and maladaptive behaviors decreased.

The master's thesis is devoted to the study of inclusive education as a factor in the social integration of students with disabilities in higher educational institutions using the example of the Ural Federal University. The study examined the development trend of inclusive education both abroad and also examined the barriers to the development of inclusive education. The introduction provides a brief description of the final qualification work: the relevance of the work, object, subject area, goal, objectives, research methods, degree of development and structure. The first chapter reveals the theoretical aspects of the concept of inclusive education, existing problems. The components of social adaptation and levels of accessibility are considered. The second chapter is devoted to the features of inclusive education at the Ural Federal University. Actual problems of inclusive education at the university are considered, and the results of the study on the basis of the university are also presented. / Магистерская диссертация посвящена изучению инклюзивного образования как фактора социальной интеграции студентов с ОВЗ в высших учебных заведениях на примере Уральского федерального университета. В работе были изучена тенденция развития инклюзивного образования и за рубежом, а также рассмотрены барьеры, препятствующие развитию инклюзивного образования. Во введении представлена краткая характеристика выпускной квалификационной работы: актуальность работы, объект, предметная область, цель, задачи, методы исследования, степень разработанности и структуры. В первой главе раскрываются теоретические аспекты понятия инклюзивного образования, существующие проблемы. Рассмотрены компоненты социальной адаптации и уровни доступности. Вторая глава посвящена особенностям инклюзивного образования в Уральском федеральном университете. Рассмотрены актуальные проблемы инклюзивного образования в университете, а также приведены результаты проведенного исследования на базе ВУЗа.

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Students with disabilities have the right to the least restrictive environment (IDEA, 2004). Elementary teachers are teaching more of these students in the inclusive classroom because of this right. Elementary teachers are willing to take on this responsibility, but most feel they are not prepared to do so. In order to address this concern, elementary teacher preparation at the institution level must be addressed. This is a descriptive thesis which identifies and compares methods that different institutions across the country use to prepare teachers to teach students with disabilities. Institutions chosen for this thesis were recognized by either the U.S. News and World Report (2010) or the Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel (2010) for effective preparation of preservice elementary teachers. This thesis addresses the University of Central Florida with the aforementioned institutions. A continuum with three main types of structures was used to identify programs ranging from "discrete", meeting minimum requirements, to completely "merged" programs between special education and elementary education. While "merged" results in dual certification and the most effective preparation according to Blanton and Pugach (2007), it is most often offered as a choice and not as a requirement. Through analysis of program requirements of elementary education and special education programs, course descriptions, and syllabi, this investigator concluded that there were inconsistencies across teacher preparation programs. Institutions are distributed widely across the continuum. If elementary teachers are required to teach to all students, then teacher preparation programs should address all students thoroughly. The investigator's hope is that the evidence presented and the suggestions made in this thesis will incite changes in institutions that are preparing elementary teachers to teach students with disabilities.