Research indicates that serious behavior problems begin during the early childhood years. The study examined the perceived preparedness of teachers related to behavior management as well as preschool teachers' usage of evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies. The data indicates that preschool teachers feel prepared for managing aggression in their classrooms and report utilizing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies regularly. Additionally, the data shows a weak relationship between teacher variables and the likelihood of feeling prepared for managing aggression or utilizing evidence-based strategies. The results can be used to gain a better understanding of special education preschool teachers' training needs in regard to behavior management and managing behavior problems in the preschool classroom.

Significant growth in the number of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools is anticipated to continue, demanding that educators and evaluators have the skills necessary to distinguishing language difference from disability and provide appropriate services to these students. However, little research exists examining the role of evaluator's cultural competence in evaluating ELLs for special education; furthermore, what does exist shows that many evaluators report low levels of self-efficacy as it relates to assessing ELLs. The first chapter of the dissertation reports on a review of 21 articles conducted to address best practices for evaluating culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners, evaluator self-efficacy, and recommendations for conducting culturally competent assessments and evaluations. The majority of the articles identified in this review focused on recommendations for best practices for conducting evaluations rather than reporting empirical findings related to the topic. Only one study was identified that focused on appropriate training needed by evaluation staff to effectively discriminate between language difference and a disability. Based on the findings of this review, additional research, using a rigorous methodology is needed. Addressing that need, the second chapter reports the results of a study conducted to examine the effectiveness of Project PEAC3E (Preparing Evaluators to …

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of specific learning disabilities in school-aged hearing impaired children based on the proposed theoretical definition of the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities (1981) and the theoretical definition constructed by the Canadian Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities (1981). The operationalization of these theoretical definitions, coupled with the current operational definition issued by the Texas Education Agency (1983), formulated the investigative framework.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which a non-verbal test of intelligence, the Test of Non-Verbal Intelligence (TONI), may be used for assessing intellectual abilities of children in India. This investigation is considered important since current instruments used in India were developed several years ago and do not adequately reflect present standards of performance. Further, current instruments do not demonstrate adequate validity, as procedures for development and cultural transport were frequently not in adherence to recommended guidelines for such practice. Data were collected from 91 normally achieving and 18 mentally retarded Indian children, currently enrolled in elementary schools. Data from an American comparison group were procured from the authors of the TONI. Subjects were matched on age, grade, and area of residence. Subjects were also from comparative socioeconomic backgrounds. Literature review of the theoretical framework supporting cross-cultural measurement of intellectual ability, a summary of major instruments developed for cross-cultural use, non-verbal measures of intellectual ability in India, and issues in cross-cultural research are discussed, with recommended methodology for test transport. Major findings are: (a) the factor scales derived from the Indian and American normally achieving groups indicate significant differences; (b) items 1, 3, 5, 8, …

This study concerned the paucity of group counseling procedures designed specifically for use with parents of handicapped children. Purposes of the study were- (1) design of an affective-cognitive group counseling procedure, (2) investigation of affective-cognitive group counseling procedural effects with parents of handicapped children, (3) determination of procedural effects in a. changing the intra- and interpersonal attitudes of parents, b. increasing parents' knowledge of Positive Behavior Management, and (4) determining comparative procedure effects. Four research hypotheses related to the efficacy of the affective-cognitive group counseling procedure were formulated and tested at the .05 level of confidence. Statistical analysis of data indicated that parents participating in the affective-cognitive group counseling procedure did not achieve significantly higher posttest mean scores on the Acceptance of Self and Others test or in the five areas of the Parent Attitude Survey Scale than did parents participating in the affective, cognitive, or control group. Data did reveal that parents participating in the cognitive group did achieve significantly higher adjusted posttest mean scores on the Positive Behavior Management Assessment than did parents participating in the affective-cognitive, affective, or control group. Data also indicated that parents in the affective-cognitive group did not obtain greater mean scores on goal-attainment …

Metaphorlc competence of learning disabled and normally achieving fifth and seventh grade male children was Investigated. Four measures were made of metaphorlc abilities. The first task was a multiple choice written test to determine the rate of metaphorlc preference. Part two consisted of children developing metaphors. Part three and four required explanations of the meaning of preferred metaphors and produced metaphors.

Parental participation in educational issues is relevant in assisting parents in understanding and becoming satisfied with their child's educational experience. Parental involvement is not only an ethical issue for teachers, but mandates have been established for special educators through various public laws. When involving parents in their children's education, it is relevant to consider various factors associated with students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Parental satisfaction plays an important role in many cultures in obtaining parental involvement in decision-making meetings. If parents experience negative interactions, parental participation can be diminished. In other cultures, the satisfaction level raises parental trust in allowing school staff to make the appropriate choices for their children. Family values and beliefs among the various cultures should be a consideration when encouraging parents to participate in their child's educational process. Several barriers exist when involving different cultural groups; therefore, it is essential for educators to become aware of these barriers and learn strategies to overcome them. This study addresses parental understanding and satisfaction among ethnic group and throughout various disability groups by evaluating parental responses from a statewide survey and three focus groups.

The study reported herein addressed the identification of the classroom management techniques utilized by teachers of behaviorally disordered children and youth and by teachers of adjudicated children and youth. Specifically the purpose was to examine (a) the self-reported classroom management techniques utilized by teachers of adjudicated or behaviorally disordered children and youth assigned to four types of educational and therapeutic settings, (b) the self-reported classroom management techniques utilized by teachers who have been teaching in a single type educational and therapeutic setting for behaviorally disordered or adjudicated children and youth for various numbers of years, and (c) the self-reported classroom management techniques utilized by teachers of behaviorally disordered or adjudicated children and youth in different age groups assigned to a single type educational and therapeutic setting.

Implementation of evidence-based practices in Texas schools was examined through a survey disseminated through 495 special education directors in 20 state educational service centers. The district-level directors were asked to forward the survey to all personnel providing direct or indirect services to students with EBD. Survey participants were asked to rate 27 evidence-based interventions for students with EBD in three categories on a 5-point Likert scale: (a) importance of the intervention; (b) frequency of use of the intervention; and (c) preparedness to implement the intervention. With a response rate of 32% and representation from all 20 educational service center areas, data were analyzed through simple frequency statistics to determine that most respondents were public school special educators who had been in their current position for 5 years or less. They identified a climate that supports successful teaching and learning and clear rules/expectations as very important. They reported using procedures for the use of physical restraint most frequently, and being most well-prepared to implement clear rules/expectations. A canonical correlation analysis revealed an inverse relationship between importance ratings of tertiary level interventions and frequency of use and preparedness to implement primary level interventions which implies that while practitioners rate tertiary level interventions …

Self-monitoring involves teaching students to be aware of their own behavior, and be able to record whether the behavior happened or not. The present study uses meta-analysis of single case design (SCD) studies to evaluate the effectiveness of self-monitoring interventions that use electronic devices during implementation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eligible studies were accessed to determine design quality, and examine the use of self-monitoring for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Studies were evaluated against inclusion-exclusion criteria. The studies that met inclusion criteria (n = 15) were assessed with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for methodological rigor. The WWC standards were applied to baseline and intervention phases. There were a total of 12 studies with 32 students diagnosed with ASD that met SCD standards without, and with reservations. The 12 studies were evaluated using the Tau-U effect size metric to quantify the percentage of change that was attributed to the self-monitoring intervention. Overall, omnibus Tau-U was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.89, 1.0]). Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

This study examined the comments submitted by the public to the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Office of Special Education Programs, in response to the 2004 amended IDEA, prior to the development and publication of proposed regulations under 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 300 and 303 to implement programs under IDEA. Specifically, this study analyzed the types of individuals (e.g., parents, advocates, administrators, lawyers, support staff personnel) and interest groups along with the number of submissions, types of comments made, and specific provisions in the legislation that received the most comments during the period open to the public prior to the publication of the proposed regulations. In addition, an exploration of the existence of differences in comments submitted by states and regions was analyzed in terms of types of individuals, interest groups, types of comments, and specific provision of the 2004 amended IDEA. Content analysis approach utilizing qualitative data collection and analysis procedures was used for this study. The sample consisted of 2,199 comments submitted to the USDE via the U.S. Postal system, e-mail, and verbal testimony transcripts obtained during one of the public meetings held throughout the United States during the 60 day period open …

The purpose of this study is to identify novice teachers’ perception of their preparedness to teach a class designed for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after graduation from a traditional university-based special education program or from a special education alternative certification program. Teacher preparedness and the need for highly qualified teachers of students with ASD are relevant topics, as the prevalence rate of ASD continues to increase. This phenomenological qualitative study explores novice teachers’ perceptions of preparedness to teach students with ASD and their knowledge about teaching students with ASD. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with six novice special education teachers of students with ASD. Results indicated that novice teachers of students with ASD have knowledge of autism and evidence-based practices (EBP), which they ascertained primarily through experiences such as; working directly with students with ASD, however, preservice education programs provided the participants with cursory information related to knowledge of ASD and EBP.

Students' self-determination (SD) can positively influence their ability to make choices in planning for their future. The current study is a preliminary validity study on the most recent 21-item version of Shogren and Wehmeyer's Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI-SR). The SDI-SR was administered to 316 students (ages 13-22) and results were examined with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results of the EFA on a 7-factor solution (TLI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.02) aligned with the theoretical basis for the SDI:SR as well as results for the 7-factor CFA using simulated data (TLI = 0.913; RMSEA = 0.047; SRMR = 0.072 and CFI = 0.931); however, the CFA 7-factor solution results on the present study data were slightly lower than what is considered acceptable model fit (TLI = 0.883; RMSEA = 0.04; RMSR = 0.047). These results combined suggest that theory-based 7-factor solution does capture seven latent constructs in this data. A CFA was also conducted with a 5-factor structure based on factor loading from an EFA using the present research data resulting in a better model fit (TLI = 0.912; RMSEA = .075; SRMR = 0.046; and CFI = 0.940) as well as …

This research study was designed to investigate whether authentic assessment in written language is a valid assessment tool for students with and without learning disabilities. Teacher judgements were used to evaluate students' authentic writing assessments gathered from the classroom. Students' report card grades, authentic writing assessments, and two standardized writing assessments, the Test of Written Language- Revised and Written Language Assessment, were correlated to provide evidence of the validity of authentic assessment practices in written language.

As a result of the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997, schools must now consider positive behavioral interventions and strategies to address problem behavior of students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (E/BD). Given the poor behavioral, academic, and social outcomes for these students, there is a compelling need to identify effective, proactive interventions. Current literature has well established the ineffectiveness of traditional, punitive, and consequence-laden strategies to deal with behaviors. Research has shown the manipulation of antecedent stimuli, in the form of curricular adaptations, can provide a positive, proactive means of managing behavior. Specifically, curriculum modifications, based on student interest, are proposed as a positive, proactive strategy used to manipulate antecedent stimuli to improve the behavior of students with E/BD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the manipulation of antecedent stimuli through the implementation of individualized, curricular adaptations, based on student interest, to reduce the problem behavior of students exhibiting disruptive behaviors. A second purpose was to explore the effect of those adaptations on the behavior motivation of students with E/BD. In this study, curriculum modifications based on student interest were used to reduce disruptive behavior, increase desirable behavior, and effect change in the motivation for …

Secondary students with specific learning disabilities often have challenges with academic engagement and performance within the general education setting. Opportunity to respond strategies, such as student response systems, have shown promise in supporting academic engagement for students without disabilities. However, there are few studies examining the relationship between student response systems and academic engagement for older students with specific learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to pilot the use of Google classroom as a student response system on academic participation and disruptive behavior for high school students with specific learning disability. While the study began as a multiple baseline across participants single-subject research design, the design was changed due to school closures as a result of COVID-19. A high-school student with specific learning disability participated in a study using an AB non-experimental design. The student response system resulted in an abrupt change in academic participation for the participant. The student and teacher perceived the intervention to be effective and appropriate for increasing participation and decreasing disruptive behavior. This study contributes to a limited body of research on student response systems for secondary students with specific learning disabilities.

Video modeling interventions have been mostly effective for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in teaching social communication skills. However, differences in the effectiveness of these interventions have been noted. Participant motivation was suggested as one of the factors that can influence the effectiveness of video modeling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of participant motivation on video modeling for teaching social communication skills to individuals with ASD. A combined multiple probe across participants and adapted alternating treatments design was used to examine the differential effects of two video modeling conditions (i.e., motivated and non-motivated) on social communication skills of four adults with ASD. Of the four participants, three participants responded to the intervention and performed more of target behavior during the motivated video modeling condition than the non-motivated video modeling condition, while one did not respond to the intervention. In addition, the three participants engaged in a higher percentage of the target behavior during motivated generalization sessions than non-motivated generalization sessions. The results demonstrated that participant motivation influenced the effectiveness of video modeling.

In order to assess the extent and quality of special education services in charter schools in north Texas, the researcher examined data submitted to Texa Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), and conducted qualitative interviews with selected charter school administrators. Five cornerstones of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): zero reject, individualized education program (IEP), appropriate assessment, free appropriate public education (FAPE), and least restrictive environment (LRE), were utilized in the assessment of quality. Levels of expertise in federal disability law and fiscal barriers were explored, as well.

There are a considerable number of Saudi Arabian students who attend U.S. schools. To date, no published studies exist that relate to the Saudi Arabian students, their families, and how they acculturate to the American society. Acculturation affects parents and children in different ways, and it can affect the way parents raise their children. Using semi–structured interviews, this study examined Saudi mothers' perspectives on acculturation to American society and how those perspectives affect their childrearing beliefs and their children's behaviors. The descriptive qualitative study acknowledges mothers' perceptions about adaptation of Saudi children to American society and if those parents observe behavioral changes in their children. The results showed there are some changes that occurred regarding parental beliefs of parents due to acculturation, but there were not any behavioral problems caused by acculturation to the American culture in the Saudi children.