This quantitative, causal-comparative study aims to examine the academic performance of all third-grade students who participated in after-school tutoring from English Language Arts (ELA) in comparison to those who did not, using the results from the 2022-2023 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program English Language Arts (MAAP ELA) assessment. The…

This study investigated how early childhood special education teacher candidates described their professional identities. Professional identity is how individuals think about and act as members of the profession, and it has the potential to impact instructional practice and decisions to stay in the field. Through a qualitative thematic analysis of…

This phenomenological study sought to investigate, analyze and describe the effects of early intervention on college readiness and the transition plan for high school students with visual disabilities transitioning into post-secondary education. Exploring how students with visual disabilities are perceived, treated, and the barriers they face in…

Most U.S. students with disabilities are served in general education classrooms, and this practice has resulted in the need for collaboration between general and special educators. Yet, educators feel unprepared to engage in teacher collaboration to support their students' needs. The goal of this study was to improve P-12 teacher collaboration and…

My project addressed the broad questions of what barriers exist to accessibility for students and staff with disabilities at Arizona State University (ASU) and the reasons both historical and contemporary why those barriers exist. The second objective of my analysis was to provide potential solutions to these problems utilizing the voices and…

It has been widely recognized that a visual impairment can limit an individual's ability to learn through visual observations. This decreased limited visual access which could impact how the skills to access and recognize the world around them develop. However, when the visual impairment was brain-based, such as in Cortical/Cerebral Visual…

This dissertation examines how disabled students and faculty access and navigate higher education through a rhetorical perspective. More specifically, this dissertation focuses on the tactics these disabled rhetors use to navigate encounters with academic ableism and what they can teach faculty about creating an accessible composition classroom. I…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused in-person school closures around the world that impacted student learning and academic achievement to an unknown degree for all types of students. A majority of research on out-of-school time (summer vacation, absences, weather-related events) and initial research related to the pandemic indicated a negative impact on…

Current research indicates that inclusive classrooms with students with disabilities are rising, and schools are challenged with shifting their structures and curriculums towards inclusion. This doctoral dissertation aims to understand pre-service program models and how they prepare teachers for inclusive environments, including their knowledge…

Special education comprises specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities (IDEA, 2017, Sec. 300.39). IDEA further states that specially designed instruction can be implemented in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings. Placement decisions are…

This dissertation examines the integration of behavior analytical procedures into teaching performing arts dance skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), mainly the innovative use of song-lyrics self-instruction. Individuals with ASD often face unique challenges, including social communication delays, limited play interests, and…

African American Students with disabilities have been disproportionately represented in special education under the labels Intellectually Disabled (ID) and Emotionally Disturbed (ED) (Garwood & Carrero, 2022; Skrtic et al., 2021; Green et al., 2021; Artiles, 2019). As a result of these labels, African American students with disabilities have…

Elementary students who are classified with learning disabilities are usually placed in general education classrooms with teachers who have little experience in special education, therefore, feel unprepared to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate general elementary teachers'…

Students with behavioral challenges and mental health concerns have unique academic, behavioral, and emotional needs. Due to high student to teacher ratio and lack of mental health and behavioral resources, some students may not have their needs met in a public school general education setting. An option that can be a better solution for these…

Students with disabilities may struggle with postsecondary transition since secondary school is often a scaffolded environment with supports. The use of self-determination may help ease transition difficulties, but if choice-making and goal-setting opportunities are few, the transitional process may be more complicated. The lack of…