Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757
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Item A profile of the qualifications of special education teachers among high poverty, urban, and rural schools(2008-08-28) Mason, Loretta Marie; Leone, Peter; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of special education teachers from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS:04) and to examine how their qualifications varied among K-12 public schools according to urbanicity or school poverty quartile. Scrutiny of the distribution of special educators among schools was judged in light of the equal opportunity principle, a component of Berne and Stiefel's (1984, 1994) equity framework. To do this, variables related to teacher qualifications, demographic characteristics, teaching positions, and school characteristics were identified. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used in this study. The findings demonstrated statistically significant differences in the qualifications of special educators among many of the analyzed subgroups. Profile of the demographic characteristics revealed that minority group members, younger special educators, and male special educators were less qualified than other special education teachers. Inspection of qualifications by school level and teaching assignment also identified statistically significant differences. The analysis by school poverty quartile and urbanicity revealed a relationship between the school characteristic (such as high poverty or urban) with the qualifications of special education teachers working in these schools. These findings indicate that as a field we are not meeting the equal opportunity standard of equity (Berne & Stiefel, 1984, 1994). This study contributed to our understanding of the supply and distribution of special education teachers by utilizing the SASS:04 dataset, profiling the state of the special education workforce as state education agencies and teacher preparation programs made the necessary changes to allow teachers to meet the HQSET provisions. The examination of the distribution of qualified special education teachers among school poverty quartiles and urban areas provides evidence that special education teachers were not equitably distributed across schools. Policymakers should address this through policies related to the preparation of special educators, especially those trained through non-traditional or alternative preparation programs.Item The Effect of Instructional Consultation Teams on Teachers' Reported Instructional Practices(2007-11-26) Kaiser, Lauren Tracy; Rosenfield, Sylvia A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A primary goal of Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams; Rosenfield & Gravois, 1996) is that students' problems will be prevented or resolved through the provision of services to the adults who serve them. The assumption is that teachers will improve instructional planning, delivery, management, and assessment (e.g., matching instruction to student levels) as a result of working with a colleague through a collaborative problem-solving relationship, or working in a school building in which norms of collaboration and problem-solving with a focus on instruction have been developed. The efficacy of IC Teams for improving instruction has not yet been rigorously evaluated. The current study assesses teachers' self-reported frequency of use of good instructional practices in assessment and delivery of instruction to evaluate the effect of instructional consultation services on instruction in a sample of 977 teachers. Because teachers are nested within schools, multilevel analysis was conducted to control for nonequivalence and to correctly model the error structure of the data. Elementary school teachers in 11 schools that have implemented IC Teams for two or three years were compared with teachers in 17 non-equivalent schools that have never implemented IC Teams and teachers from 17 schools with one year of implementation. Results of multilevel analyses indicate that there are no significant differences in instructional practices between schools with or without IC Teams, but that teacher characteristics, such as years of experience and grade level of instruction, do explain some of the variance in teacher practices. Implications and limitations of the study are addressed.Item Comprehensive crisis training for school-based professionals: The development, implementation, and evaluation of a crisis preparation and response curriculum(2006-11-21) Ridgely, John Timothy; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Schools and school systems are increasingly expected and legally obligated to be prepared for and respond to crises impacting school communities. However, there have been few systematic efforts to develop research-based training programs designed to increase the crisis preparation and response abilities of school-based professionals. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive crisis preparation and response curriculum for school system staff. The curriculum in this study was developed following a thorough review of the school-based crisis intervention literature and the research on key principles of adult learning. Members of the district's crisis response leadership team and other school-based staff helped pilot and fine-tune aspects of the curriculum prior to implementation. The curriculum was subsequently implemented with twelve school-based professionals who enrolled in the 15-hour course. The evaluation of the curriculum focused on identifying changes in the participants' learning and behaviors throughout the course, documenting the effectiveness of crisis simulations as a training tool, and looking for themes and patterns across the various data collection tools that could assist in improving the scope and sequence of the curriculum for future trainings. The findings for each of these evaluation goals were very positive. The course participants' ability to effectively apply crisis preparation and response skills during extended simulations improved substantially throughout the course based on group performances on a crisis simulation rubric. The participants also consistently reported that they felt more comfortable and confident applying these skills, with many planning to take leadership roles on their school-based crisis teams. The crisis simulation activities were found to be excellent tools for learning and practicing crisis intervention skills in a safe setting, and the course participants agreed that these simulation activities were realistic, valuable teaching techniques. The themes and patterns related to the scope and sequence of the curriculum were extremely positive, with few changes suggested. The participants reported that the content and teaching strategies utilized were effective and fostered learning. Implications for future research and practice were discussed.Item A Survey of Knowledge and Implementation of Best Practices for Inclusion by Personnel Prepared to Teach Students with Severe Disabilities(2004-08-04) Young, Heather Christine; Kohl, Frances L; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of the research study was to: (a) determine if recent graduates receiving certification in severe disabilities were adequately prepared to teach students with severe disabilities in inclusive environments; (b) determine if recent graduates were teaching or previously taught in the field in which they were prepared (retention); (c) determine if graduates from May, 1996 to May, 2003 learned about and implemented best practices for inclusion (and believe they are critical to student success); and (d) determine if once teaching, certain variables were predictive (or more specifically account for the variability) of perceived adequacy of preparation and time spent supporting students in inclusive environments. Former graduates of the department of special education (EDSP) from the University of Maryland specializing in severe disabilities were located and electronically surveyed to collect follow-up and partial program evaluation data. A newly developed and validated instrument was developed to evaluate pre-service preparation in the field of inclusion. A nonhierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of certain variables on perceived adequacy of preparation to support students with severe disabilities in inclusive environments. Another nonhierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of certain variables on time spent supporting students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings once teaching. Independent t-tests were performed to compare the mean scores for adequacy of preparation for inclusion. Respondents reported strong knowledge of inclusive best practices (e.g., collaborative practices, individual student supports, instructional strategies) as a result of their pre-service preparation at the Univeristy of Maryland. Many inclusive best practices (e.g., individual student supports, assessment practices, instructional strategies) were reported to be present in respondents current or most recent teaching situation and almost all indicators were found to be 'critical to the success of students with severe disabilities'. Completion of the "Inclusive Practices" course and participation in inclusive field placements during pre-service preparation were predictive of increased adequacy of preparation for inclusion. Strong agreement of adequacy of preparation for inclusion at the pre-service level indicated more time spent supporting students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings once teaching.