Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF ART-BASED EDUCATION FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES: A CASE STUDY OF ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS(2010) Abedin, Golnar; Spreen, Carol Anne; Weible, Thomas; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of arts-based education for adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) placed in an inclusion program. The goal was to examine the potential of arts education as an inclusive curricular component that enhances students' engagement in learning. The study is framed within the education policy context in which many LD adolescents are at risk of dropping out of school due to the large gap between their basic skills and the expectations of standards-based curriculum. A quality arts program at a public charter school was chosen as the site for this case study that involved investigating seven LD adolescents' engagement in their music and drama classes during an eight-week curriculum unit through qualitative research methods. Based on the application of the social-constructivist theoretical framework, students' individual learning profiles, as well as environmental aspects of learning in the arts such as teachers' pedagogical styles and the classroom context informed the findings of this study. Students' narrative accounts regarding their learning experiences in arts education classrooms served as the primary source of information for the themes in the findings. Interviews with parents, teachers, and the school director were used to gain a comprehensive understanding of students' strengths and weaknesses in learning and to gain insights into the place of the arts in their overall educational opportunities. Qualitative methods of analysis were used to derive three over-arching themes based on students' experiences learning in the arts. The themes included 1.) "It feels like you open up to yourself," (The Importance of Nonverbal, Embodied Engagement in Learning); 2.) "You get to create what's your own;" "it has some thought part of it centered near you," (Student Ownership of the Learning Process); 3.) "In arts there is no wrong answer;" "it's a safer social environment," (Social and Environmental Context of Learning). These themes showed the importance of successful learning experiences for adolescents with LD within a diverse school curriculum that offers them multiple modes of engagement and expression. Participation in arts education classes enhanced LD students' self-efficacy beliefs and motivation, providing them with inclusive and meaningful educational opportunities.Item A Narrative Inquiry into Perceptions of the Development of Self-determination by Community College Students with Learning Disabilities(2006-05-03) Faber, Alice B.; Mawhinney, Hanne B.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Document: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO PERCEPTIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-DETERMINATION BY COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES Alice B. Faber, Doctor of Education, 2006 Directed By: Associate Professor Hanne B. Mawhinney, Department of Education Policy and Leadership Individuals with disabilities have not traditionally had the same freedom of choice and control over their own lives as non-disabled individuals have had. This is especially true in the realm of education, but in the past thirty years both educational leaders and advocates for individuals with disabilities have stressed the need for persons with disabilities to develop self-determination. This study describes the factors that effected the development of self-determination by three individuals who formerly received special education services for learning disabilities. The research question was: How do community college students with learning disabilities who received special education services in school describe the influences on their capacity to be self-determining? Narrative methods of inquiry were used to explore the descriptions of three young adults who had been identified as having a learning disability, were currently enrolled in a community college, and had received special education services in school. They described influences they perceived on their capacity to be self-determining. In addition, I followed the theoretical perspective of Bronfenbrenner on the ecology of the developing person, of the environment, and especially of the evolving interaction of the two. I also explored the concept introduced by Wehmeyer that self-determination is an educational outcome. The findings highlighted the importance of the role of families, friends, educational setting, and religion on the development of self-determination. The findings also emphasized the concept of the individual with self-determination as a causal agent of his/her life who displayed the essential elements of decision-making, self-advocacy, self-awareness, goal-setting, goal-attainment, problem-solving, locus of control, and never settling for less. Implications for policy and practice included establishing better communication between the home and educational setting and helping parents with questions regarding their child's disability. School personnel need to develop additional skills in helping students become self-determining and in working with students with learning disabilities. Further research needs to develop a better understanding of families with children who are not self-determining to learn what supports would be effective for them in encouraging their children to grow in this area.