Over 7 million students in the United States of America meet special education eligibilities and are serviced in public schools. Life skills teachers teach a specialized group of students with intellectual disabilities. Each of these students has their own Individual Education Plan (IEP). It is a legal requirement for each IEP to be implemented…

Texas educational curriculum standards are implemented within all general and special education classrooms. This qualitative phenomenological research study explores the perceptions of 12 high school life school servicing student with an intellectual disability (ID) within a self-contained classroom. This study provides district stakeholders such…

This narrative study investigated the experiences of three Hispanic students in South Texas who participated in after-school robotics programs in secondary school and discover the role these experiences had on their academic and life skills. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with one female participant and two male…

The problem that was addressed in this study was that students with severe intellectual disabilities (SwSID) enrolled in life skills settings are not receiving adequate transition planning services at local rural public schools in a southwestern state. The purpose of this study was to investigate special education teachers' (SET) perceptions about…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between "wellness factors" and "psychological factors" on perceived stress among Licensed Professional Counselors. This study was concerned with the predictability of "wellness factors", specifically self-care, other-care, and "psychological…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the 4-H Life Skills program on participants' noncognitive college and career readiness levels, utilizing the ACT Engage 6-9 instrument (formerly known as the Student Readiness Inventory--Middle School) to evaluate quantitatively the noncognitive (psychosocial) college and career readiness…

Seven high school students with emotional disturbance were interviewed regarding their perceptions of their school experiences in preparation for transition. Students received support services from a behavior intervention program but spent the majority of the school day in general education classes. Interview data were collectively coded and…

Background: Inclusive STEM (traditionally known to stand for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math") high schools are emerging across the country as a mechanism for improving STEM education and getting more and diverse students into STEM majors and careers. However, there is no consensus on what these schools are or should be,…

Every community has individuals or groups who manage to find better solutions to problems than their peers, although everyone has access to the same resources and challenges. Those are the positive deviants.

This article reports the results of a follow-up analysis of 779 students with disabilities who participated in group-randomized, control group studies designed to examine the efficacy of self-determination interventions in secondary school to examine the relationship between self-determination status when exiting high school and adult outcomes 1…

As more demands are being placed on faculty inside of the classroom, the debate surrounding the feasibility of faculty having the time and resources to be involved outside the classroom continues. At the same time there is a growing concern that in light of current advancements in technology; oral communication skills, basic to human existence is…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for persons aged 60 and older. Compared to individuals without disabilities, individuals with low vision demonstrate a 15% to 30% higher dependence on others to perform activities of daily living. In addition, low vision can adversely affect a person's quality of life.…

The author discusses changes that the Texas Division for Blind Services made in its vocational rehabilitation program to increase competitive employment opportunities for vocational rehabilitation consumers who are blind and visually impaired. P. R. Warren, B. S. Cavenaugh, and M. J. Giesen (2004) reported that, nationwide, a higher proportion of…

In a districtwide student and community survey, reading with comprehension was considered the most important skill necessary for graduation, while decision-making skills were rated the most important general category. Many respondents believed that the home, community, and school should share the responsibility in such areas as values education.…