The mathematics achievement of seventh grade general education students placed in an inclusive setting with students in need of special education services was compared to the mathematics achievement of seventh grade general education students placed in a classroom without students in need of special education services. Participants included…

A person's ability to travel independently can determine whether he or she transitions successfully from one life stage to another. One critically important aspect of independent travel is coming to understand how vehicles move in the built environment. For youth without visual disabilities, this information is addressed in depth in driver's…

Teacher effectiveness is recognized as the most prominent in-school influencer of student learning, and professional development (PD) of in-service educators is seen as vital to improving teachers' effectiveness throughout their careers. Professional development is often studied atheoretically and with a linear view in which PD providers deliver…

Middle school is often the last place where students are taught basic reading skills such as phonology, morphology, fluency, and comprehension before they move on to high school where reading is predominately focused on understanding, analysis, application and evaluation of content area material. In addition, middle school students are exposed to…

Higher education in the United States has a unique opportunity to educate students to practice leadership to address complex problems. A limited number of universities bear the label "elite" as a result of highly selective admissions criteria, cost, age, and position in popular national rankings. Additional scrutiny of these institutions…

California early childhood administrators are faced with increased accountability to ensure preschool children are prepared to enter school ready to succeed. This comes in the wake of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and Obama's 2011 Race to the Top Early Learning initiative to improve the quality of preschool programs for its youngest learners…

This qualitative dissertation study examined the complex dynamics and structures (i.e., people and/or explicit/implicit classroom-, school-, and district-wide behaviors and practices and school-wide structures) that influence collaboration between teachers of students with disabilities (TOSD) and teaching assistants (TAs). Specifically, I wanted…

The genre of persuasive writing requires writers to independently probe their long-term memory to generate pertinent ideas that support their opinion on a given topic. However, many students with high-incidence disabilities struggle with the complex synergy of tasks involved in writing, and in particular generating ideas. A qualitatively dominant…

The mobile phone has arguably become the most ubiquitous information communication technology (ICT) in the world, including in the developing world. Introduced in the Philippines in the early 1990s, mobile phone penetration is expected to reach 100 percent in 2013, an interesting phenomenon since a third of the country lives below the poverty…

A child's early language environment, and their parents' active engagement during parent-child interactions play a vital role in facilitating the development of complex social reinforcers and the growth of their verbal behavior. Using a verbal behavioral approach, this study aimed to measure the statistical significance of changes in the quality…

For more than 10 years, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) regional accrediting body has required all of the nearly 800 institutions under its umbrella to prepare and execute a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the reaccreditation process that occurs every 10 years. Pursuant to the…

The United States and Germany are two predominantly monolingual countries with a significant number of multilingual speakers. Previous research on multilingualism in children on the autism spectrum has found no adverse effects on children's language and communication development but often excluded children with complex communication needs or…

The issue of teacher shortages across the state and nation, especially in rural areas, is a complex one. The disparity between the number of teachers produced and what is needed to fill classrooms across the nation in states where student populations are growing is exacerbated by issues of attrition of current educators. Mandates for production of…

The research is clear; the formative assessment process positively impacts student achievement. However, it is a complex process which is often implemented unsuccessfully in classrooms. Teachers lack a true understanding of how to use formative assessments techniques to make instructional adjustments in a continuous and ongoing manner through the…

With the number of refugees continuing to grow across the world, teachers must be prepared for meeting the complex needs of refugee students. This qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of 17 educators in a school with a high refugee population. Using an action research approach, educators describe the key background…