This dissertation is a case study of a large school district and it's high school principals' approach to instructional decision making for students with disabilities. This study explores how principals utilize teaching resources and make instructional decisions for students receiving special education services on their campus. Using district-wide…

In this dissertation, I investigated the impact of the involvement of students with disabilities in the ASPIRE intervention program and examined the relationship between student involvement in the ASPIRE program and academic performance and growth. To do so, first, I outlined how I built my perspective for this study in the areas of transition,…

This descriptive quantitative study aimed to identify specific professional development needs of Career and Technical Education teachers regarding special education. With the passage of House Bill 5, Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses and programs have experienced an increase in students. As the number of special education students in…

There has been a recent increase in the number of studies done on the use of music therapy and the use of music in general to support social connections, literacy, language skills, and communication in students with disabilities; however, little has been published that supports the specific benefits of using music to increase engagement and…

This quantitative study used a linear regression model to determine if a relationship exists between one independent variable (i.e., Socioeconomic Status) and one dependent variable (i.e., Specific Learning Disabilities). State level data was collected from publicly available databases in the State of Texas that delineate the percentage of…

This grounded theory study uses a semi-structured interview process, as well as a differentiated information acquisition approach to explore the perceptions and experiences of individuals who identify as neurodivergent in the postsecondary setting. The aim of this study is to gain firsthand knowledge about the lived experiences of former and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the need for an individualized curriculum within special education for students living with autism spectrum disorder. Previously conducted research disclosed a need for further research to understand the differentiation of curriculum for students living with autism spectrum disorder. The research question…

The purpose of this study was to analyze what factors contribute to the self-efficacy/teacher efficacy (TE) of pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they instruct physical education (PE) to students with disabilities (SWDs). Self-efficacy theory, SET, (Bandura, 1977; Maddux, 2013) was used to make meaning of what SET tenets the PSTs found valuable as it…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how staff members describe the sex education curriculum, for students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and staff attitudes toward working with this population, in the Midwest. How staff members describe the sex education curriculum for students, with ID, and how staff describe…

In the field of visual disabilities, students who have visual impairments in addition to other disabilities receive limited amounts of direct service time from a teacher of students who are visually impaired (TVI), leaving most of their education in the hands of special education teachers and paraprofessionals. These professionals can support…

The purpose of this study was to extend Feuerstein et al.'s (2006, 2010, 2015) theories of structural cognitive modifiability and mediated learning experience to the homeschool context by constructing a grounded theory that explains how families create mediated learning experiences for learners with special educational needs and disabilities in a…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the opportunities for student voice of students with disabilities in "Leader in Me" and Non-"Leader in Me" schools. Utilizing a qualitative interpretive approach, I interviewed twelve participants in an urban school district in Tennessee regarding the use of student voice in the…

Legislative initiatives have led to the increased use of teacher evaluation systems to make high-stakes decisions involving teachers, including promotion and retention, certification, termination, tenure, and salary. Evaluation instruments are largely based on observable pedagogical skills. However, many of the commercially available evaluation…

Special education teachers do not always include assistive technology (AT) in instructional practices to promote the academic success of students with learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons special education teachers only sometimes include the use of AT in instructional practices. The conceptual framework was…

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore current paraprofessional training programs offered to support paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities (SWDs), including both pre-service and in-service training. Specifically, this study evaluated training offered by local school districts within Southern…