The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the impact that social narrative intervention has on the behavioral, academic, and social skills development of preschool students with disabilities in comparison to their nondisabled peers. The study participants included 12 students, six students with disabilities and six typically…

For many decades, traditional public schools were the dominant public schools available for educating students, including those with disabilities. However, in the current climate of school choice, parents can now choose from a variety of educational options for their children. This study sought to explore the reasons parents of students with…

Schools are the primary setting in which autistic youth receive intervention, yet fidelity to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for autism in schools varies. Fidelity is an important metric to determine whether educators are delivering EBPs as designed, and there are many different factors that predict fidelity to EBP…

Across the nation, students with disabilities are struggling to close the achievement gap. Many schools have adopted the PLC framework and implemented special education PLCs in their schools in order to address this deficit. This study examined data from 13 elementary schools in a school district. The data was analyzed to determine if special…

Although research shows that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can develop abilities and skills associated with self-determination (e.g., decision making, problem solving, goal setting and attainment) when opportunities and supports are provided, students with ASD tend to show lower levels of self-determination compared to their peers…

This phenomenological qualitative study focused on the perceptions of special education teachers involved in the education of students who have been placed in residential treatment facilities (RTF). The study analyzed the data collected from the participants using interviews and a document review to look at the impact of those perceptions on…

A systematic review was completed to identify assessments used with children with intellectual disabilities to assess adaptive behaviour, challenging behaviour and autism-related behaviour and consider their appropriateness for use by special education teachers with autistic pupils. The findings of this review led to the recommendation that the…

Technology is integral to the lives of youth who, as digital citizens, use technology to participate in social and civic action to improve their communities. Using a digital citizenship framework and "National Longitudinal Transition Study of 2012" data, we explored technology access and use between youth with and without intellectual…

This National Head Start Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for preschool-age children served by Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start. Data categories include: (1) Funded Enrollment; (2) Funded Enrollment by…

The decision on where to educate students with disabilities (SWD) has been and continues to be a debated topic. While the approach to special education has changed with the Disabilities Studies which pushes for inclusive practices, the continuum of special education placement continues to be used in some schools. SWD educational placement is…

In the need to improve high stakes standardized test scores for all students, many schools began to implement research-based instructional techniques, such as Marzano's Instructional Elements and Strategies. This student will investigate the implementation of Marzano's Instructional Elements on the Star Reading Assessment Scores of students at a…

Over the years, many special education trends have emerged and faded, each claiming to be the solution to providing students with special needs a greater chance for success. Each year, new requirements for graduation and new educational legislation are introduced to try and correct old problems of ensuring students with special needs are properly…

This dissertation presents a project that included two main objectives: 1) creating and validating a scale of teacher and parent perceptions of the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) in the schools; and 2) examining differences among perceptions of SEL based on a variety of factors. Exploratory factor analyses indicate that all 50…

Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly becoming a popular tool for use in the classroom. VR technology has been available for years, but education stakeholders struggled with adoption due to the high costs and complexity. As VR technology has evolved, a broad spectrum of VR has been developed for use including non-immersive to fully-immersive VR. While…

School-based occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) often face challenges impacting their ability to collaborate and communicate consistently with educators, including decreased time, lack of resources, educators' limited knowledge regarding occupational therapy (OT) scope of practice, informal communication and decreased focus on preventive or…