Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757

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    ASSESSING THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY AT THE EARLY CHILDHOOD LEVEL IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
    (2014) Joseph, LENISA N.; Lieber, Joan; McLaughlin, Margaret; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study examined the implementation of inclusive education at the early childhood level in Trinidad and Tobago. Subjects included officials from the Ministry of Education and teachers who are involved in implementation of the policies for children at early childhood centers. I used qualitative methodology in order to best assess inclusive education implementation process at the early childhood level using the implementation framework of Fixsen et al (2005) and the UNESCO (2005) guidelines for inclusive education. Using a combination of data collection methods I assessed from senior ministry officials and teachers at pilot schools how the implementation of inclusive education at the early childhood level was progressing. The written documents of the former government used to access loans for the initiative reflects use of all three drivers of the Fixsen framework. The actual implementation was affected by the lack of a sufficient number of teachers required for the initiative. In addition the former government lost the election during the early stages of implementation and changes at the Ministerial level resulted in alterations in implementation plans. The current government has not continued the same inclusive education model. The findings are reflective of what can happen when new education initiatives are attempted by a top down approach without sufficient infrastructure. As this is often the case in many developing countries, it leads to gaps between policies and their implementation. The study also indicates the need for ensuring that there are resources at the ground level and sustained support and technical assistance in order for countries to successfully implement inclusive education policies.
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    The Effects of School-Based Social Skills Programming on Academic Instruction Time and Student Achievement
    (2009) Nese, Joseph F.; Gottfredson, Gary D; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purposes of this study are to examine: (a) the effects of a well-implemented, school-based, universal social skills intervention on time-spent in formal social skills instruction and academic instruction time in the classroom; and (b) the effects of time-spent in formal social skills instruction on student achievement. Twelve elementary schools were matched and one school of each pair was randomly assigned to the treatment. The sample included 1,724 students in 113 third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms with low rates of social-behavioral problems. Multilevel data analyses (HLM) methods were used to investigate the school-based treatment effect of social skills programming on academic instruction time as well as the classroom-level effect of social skills instruction on student achievement. Results indicated that treatment students received significantly more formal instruction in social skills, and that the frequency of formal social skills instruction had a very small, negative effect on students' report card grades and standardized test scores when lessons were 30 minutes or less in duration. The effects were not consistent and were so small as to have little theoretical or practical significance. Research and policy implications are discussed.
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    The Relationship between the Level of Implementation of Instructional Consultation Teams and Student Goal Attainment
    (2006-05-01) LaFleur, Allison Marie; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    A number of prereferral and problem-solving teams have emerged since PL 94-142 to provide consultation and intervention planning for teachers with difficult to teach students. Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) is one model that attempts to improve student academic and behavioral performance through the use of a structured problem-solving process. This study examined the archived data of 417 IC Team consultant-teacher dyads to determine the relationship between implementation of the collaborative process and student goal attainment.

    High levels of goal attainment were assessed for cases that provided full SDF documentation. Implementation in the dimensions of Clear Communication, Intervention Implementation and Intervention Evaluation related to a small degree with student goal attainment. However, 42% of cases did not provide sufficient information to determine goal attainment. Those cases that did fully document SDF data had higher implementation scores than did those that provided partial or insufficient documentation of critical SDF components.