Doing insider research can raise many problematic issues, particularly if the insiders are also close relatives. This paper deals with complexities arising from research which is participatory in nature. Thus, this paper seeks to describe the various sticking points that were encountered by the researcher when she decided to embark on insider…

This case study reports on a student with special education needs in an inclusive seventh grade life science classroom using a framework of disability studies in education. Classroom data collected over 13 weeks consisted of qualitative (student and classroom observations, interviews, student work samples and video-taped classroom teaching and…

Organizational effectiveness is a term without a single definition about the nonprofit community; it is difficult to define, much less measure, due to the wide disparity in that community. Inconsistency in the sector leads to an array of hypotheses in the literature addressing organizational effectiveness. Through a comprehensive examination of a…

Social validity is the extent to which procedures, goals, and outcomes are acceptable and important to end users and is not commonly addressed during assessment development. This article pilots a process of triangulating multiple methods to evaluate the social validity of a self-report assessment. These procedures were piloted using the Child…

The purpose of this study was to examine four elementary/general music educators (EGME) enrolled in a music and special education graduate course, on their attitudes toward teaching children with disabilities and how they applied knowledge gained from the course in their classrooms. Data collection began on the first class session, February 9th,…

Co-teaching occurs when a special educator and a general education teacher teach together in an inclusive classroom. Co-teaching has been adopted across the United States as the solution to meet the legal mandates of No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act. These pieces of legislation require schools to have…

This article provides a typology of reasons for conducting mixed-methods research in special education. The mixed-methods research process is described along with the role of the rationale and purpose of study. The reasons given in the literature for utilizing mixed-methods research are explicated, and the limitations of these reason frameworks…

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, together with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, set in motion policy changes that have allowed many thousands of children and youth with disabilities in the United States the opportunity to gain the educational and vocational skills needed to transition to living, working, and participating as…

This article explores two issues in conducting qualitative research: (1) the essentials of data collection, and (2) the unique role of the researcher in the data collection process. The author's own research study on use of health and medical information by various members of a classroom team for special education students is used to illustrate…

The authors of EC 610 841 comment on problems encountered in their research, such as difficulties in analyzing interview data, and discuss their ongoing three-year study of personal and environmental influences affecting attrition of special education teachers. (DB)

The study examines the extent to which elementary education teacher preparation programs in 36 randomly selected colleges and universities in the six Southeast Region states integrate content related to students with disabilities. Findings indicate that a variety of strategies are utilized to integrate disability content into teacher preparation…

Guidelines for the implementation of qualitative methods in special education research are offered, addressing rigor, sample selection, data collection, and data management/analysis. Five possible pitfalls are identified, including the quantitative-qualitative methods debate, premature data collection, the tendency to use a linear procedural…

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The "Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education" provides higher…

This paper discusses the experiences and insight derived from the 1985-1986 Statewide Evaluation of the Early Education Program of Handicapped Children in Louisiana, the multimethod evaluation of preschool intervention projects for handicapped and at-risk children. The program served almost 5,000 handicapped preschoolers and their parents,…

Describes the use of portfolios in teacher education programs and the development and evolution of a portfolio assignment in a course on multicultural issues in special education. Qualitative data that describe students' (n=156) learning is presented, and implications for future practice and research is provided. (Author/CR)