General Education Classrooms Research Articles

Implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction in Culturally Responsive Ways

Being self-determined can improve in- and post-school outcomes for all students, including racially and ethnically marginalized students with disabilities. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is a flexible model of instruction educators can use to promote self-directed goal setting and attainment based on each student’s strengths, assets, family values, cultural knowledge, and learning needs to enhance self-determination. This article describes how educators can implement the SDLMI using culturally responsive teaching practices, building on the assets of all students to enhance self-determination and related goal attainment outcomes by focusing on setting and working toward goals that are culturally responsive in general education classrooms.

Social Competence of Omani Students with Learning Disabilities from their Teachers’ Perspectives

This research aims to identify the level of social competence among students with learning disabilities (LDs) from their teachers’ perspectives. The research sample consisted of 840 students with LDs enrolled in the resource room program (RRP) and general education classrooms (GECs) in Oman. Their RRP and general education teachers responded to the social competence scale. This scale consisted of 43 items distributed on three subscales related to teacher-preferred social behavior, peer-preferred social behavior, and school adjustment. The results indicated that the level of social competence was generally moderate among the students, but that this level was influenced by the educational alternative. The students enrolled in GECs had a higher level of social competence than their peers who had been referred to the RRP. The results also showed that there were statistical differences on the school adjustment subscale in favor of male students enrolled in GECs, and differences in favor of female students referred to the RRP on all social competence subscales.
 Keywords: Social competence; students with LDs; teachers of students with LDs; social behavior; social adjustment.

Earning Your Way into General Education: Perceptions about Autism Influence Classroom Placement

The language used by teachers, school staff, and parents to talk about autistic students can send either positive or negative messages to other school staff, parents, and all students—with or without autism—about autistic students. Ultimately, these messages also extend to autistic people. Using qualitative focus group methods, we talked to parents, teachers, administrators, and other school staff to better understand how people speak about the inclusion of autistic students in general education classrooms in public schools. Overall, we found that many of our participants thought (1) autistic students need to earn their way into general education classrooms, unlike their peers without disabilities, (2) segregating students with disabilities away from their peers without disabilities is acceptable, and sometimes preferable, in school settings, and (3) there is power in inclusive education opportunities for students with and without disabilities in school settings. The findings from this study suggest that inclusive opportunities for autistic students were largely driven by stakeholder mindsets. These results should encourage school staff to think about and reflect on how they talk about autistic students in inclusive settings with the ultimate goal of creating more welcoming inclusive environments for autistic students.

Reading Lessons Planning With Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Mind: Needs-Based Assessment Proposal.

This study addresses the need to reinforce the reading learning of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in general education classrooms. A standardized way of assessing support needs in reading (SNr) from the teachers' perspective is proposed. The objectives were (i) to develop an instrument and evaluate its properties and (ii) to preliminarily assess the support needs in reading of students with IDD. Participants were 86 Chilean elementary school teachers who responded about the support needs of their own students. The instrument assesses three dimensions (i.e., representation, engagement, and action and expression). Analyses showed excellent preliminary evidence of validity and reliability. Preliminarily identified support needs suggest that students need more support in representation. Practical and research implications are discussed.

How Pedagogues Support Inclusion in Denmark: Experiences, Barriers, and Recommendations

Abstract Danish school reform around inclusive practices became more prevalent in 2014, and efforts to address the needs of children with disabilities increased. One of the primary ways to meet students' needs in an inclusive setting was to move pedagogues out of their traditionally after-school social settings into the general education classroom to co-teach with content teachers. This qualitative study followed groups of pedagogues and classroom teachers in Denmark for two years, using interviews and observations to ascertain the challenges and successes of co-teaching between pedagogues and teachers. The results mirror in many ways the current research on co-teaching in other countries and with other collaborating professionals. The challenges, barriers, and successes experienced by pedagogues and teachers who were expected to co-teach due to Danish school reform on inclusion are shared. Recommendations build on existing literature and address the unique role that Danish pedagogues can play in moving inclusive practices forward and how their experiences can be applied to co-teachers in other countries and settings.

Improving Content Area Acquisition of Middle School Students With and Without Reading Difficulties: Evidence-based Instruction Implemented in General Education Classrooms

<p>本研究主要目的在探討普通班學科閱讀教學對中學生學習表現的成效。本研究採準實驗設計，首先於台北地區招募國中社會領域教師參與者2人，實驗組學生即為教師參與者授課班級學生，共182人，對照組學生來自另一所學校，共119人，學生參與者皆為七、八年級學生，合計301人，實驗與對照組在閱讀相關能力基準線一致。實驗組教學為普通班第一層級社會領域學科閱讀教學，以海洋國家為議題，共6節課，於彈性課程實施。對照組學生則未接觸任何閱讀教學，也未接觸實驗教學之文本、材料。實驗教學之教材與教學資源皆由研究者設計提供，並透過教師專業發展培訓提供支持。為確保教師依據研究設計執行教學，本研究以教學觀察進行處遇精準度評量，包括教學忠誠度與教學傳遞品質。研究者首先以全體樣本檢驗實驗教學對整體學生的成效，再進一步於實驗、對照組區分出38與31位閱讀困難者，以進一步檢驗實驗教學對閱讀困難者之成效。研究發現實驗教學對中學生學科學習的近遷移有效，包括學科詞彙、知識與閱讀理解；此外，實驗教學亦有助於維持閱讀困難中學生的學科閱讀理解，顯示證據本位學科閱讀教學可於第一層級落實，並適用於所有學生。本研究基於上述研究結果，對中學階段學科教學實務提出建議。</p> <p> </p><p>This study examined the effects of a content area reading instruction (treatment) implemented by middle school social studies teachers. Two teacher participants were recruited from one public school in Taipei. Overall, 182 students from teacher participants’ classes were recruited for treatment condition, and another 119 student participants were recruited for comparison from another public school. There were a total of 301 participants, all of which were seventh- and eighth-graders. Using a quasi-experimental design, baseline equivalence between treatment and comparison groups was established on the related reading measures. The treatment instruction was a Tier-1, six-session content area reading instruction focusing on ocean topics in social studies. All the treatment lessons, including detailed instructional scripts, texts, and teaching materials, were developed and provided to the teachers by the researcher. The comparison group was not exposed to any reading instructions, nor to the texts and materials of the treatment instruction. A treatment fidelity check including adherence and quality of delivery was conducted during the entire teaching by observations to ensure the treatment fidelity. The overall treatment effect on students was examined on the entire sample. Next, 38 and 31 students with reading difficulties were identified according to the general reading comprehension measure in both groups. The treatment effects on students with reading difficulties were further examined using this subsample. Results showed that students who received the treatment outperformed those in the comparison group on proximal measures, including academic vocabulary, content area knowledge, and content area reading comprehension. The content-area reading comprehension performance of students with reading difficulties remained consistent with treatment but significantly decreased in comparison. In addition, the results indicate that the treatment was facilitative for students both with and without reading difficulties in general classrooms, implying the effectiveness as well as the importance of the evidence-based content area reading instruction implemented in the Tier-1 setting. Further conclusions and suggestions concerning content area instructional practices were specified based on the findings of the study.</p> <p> </p>

“This is our country, too”: Embodied Experiences of and Resistance to Neo‐nationalism in a Midwest School District

AbstractNationalist rhetoric is not new to the US political context of transnational migration (Johnson et al., 2018). However, the election cycle of 2016 amplified nationalist rhetoric and policy in new public spaces, including schools and classrooms. In this article, I analyze neo‐nationalist discourse as voiced by the Trump Administration in and adjacent to language classrooms and general education classrooms in a predominantly White, Midwestern school district with growing demographics of students designated as English Language Learners (ELLs). Using intertextual and interdiscursive analysis (Fairclough, 1992) and embodied sociolinguistics (Bucholtz & Hall, 2016), I trace how neo‐nationalist discourses entered the classrooms, homes, and, I argue, bodies of newly arrived, racialized, documented, and undocumented immigrant students. I demonstrate how such rhetoric and policy provoked physical manifestations of trauma coupled with resistance, showing how the circulation of neo‐nationalist ideas contributed to ideological constructions of immigrant student and family identities along lines of race, immigration status, and language. Based on my findings, I center participants' lived knowledge and goals to argue that these moments demand response in schools and language education classrooms and offer implications for research, policy, and practice.

Systematically Planning Supports to Promote Access to and Meaningful Participation in General Education Settings for Students With IDD

Research supports the benefits of inclusive education for all students, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Additionally, educators are supportive of the idea of including students with IDD in general education classrooms. However, they report many barriers to doing so, including a lack of a systematic process to plan for successful inclusive experiences. In this article, we present a systematic process for identifying and arranging supports for successful inclusive educational experiences for students with IDD.

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Teaching Diverse Learners: Capturing Young Students' Attention through a Read-a-loud and Music

Abstract: The sense of efficaciousness for engaging diverse learners was examined with twenty-four pre-service teachers concurrently enrolled in a junior-level Creative Arts methods course and a field experience course with placements in K-2 general education classrooms. The pre-service teachers participated in music and literacy activities in their university class, then planned and implemented standards-based music activities in literacy lessons with their young students. In this case study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including a teacher self-efficacy scale, an attitude survey, written reflections, interviews, open-ended responses, and lesson plans. Results demonstrated a significant increase in the pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy in pre-post ratings analysis and indicated that this project contributed to their efficacy for engaging and meeting needs of diverse learners in the elementary classrooms. The pre-service teachers demonstrated proactive classroom management and reflected upon their students’ increased focus in class. The pre-service teachers indicated that their success with these types of projects encouraged them to plan for similar implementation with their future diverse learners; therefore, providing potential to positively impact their future performance. Additionally, this project emanated Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by encouraging self-reflection; examining and applying effective teaching strategies; and advancing the field of teacher education.
 Keywords: self-efficacy, preservice teachers, creative arts, diverse learners, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Does participating in a daily handwriting without tears curriculum for 4-weeks improve a first-grade student’s spelling abilities: Single-subject ABA design

ABSTRACT COVID−19 and remote instruction negatively impacted student’s handwriting. This study aimed to determine if the implementation of a rigorous handwriting curriculum has an impact on a first-grade students’ ability to spell. This study used a single-subject, ABA quasi-experimental design. The study was completed by a first-grade teacher, with consultative support from an occupational therapy practitioner. The study was completed in a single first-grade general education classroom. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and were eligible if they were in the principal researchers first-grade classroom. The total number of participants was 15 first-grade students of which six were boys and nine were girls, ages six to seven. Intervention was implemented in small groups for 20 minutes/day, five days/week, for a total of twenty-sessions. The Primary Spelling Inventory was administered pre- and post-intervention to measure the student’s spelling abilities. Paired sample t-test indicated statistically significant difference between pre- and posttest scores. Participants demonstrated an average improvement of 5.27 words after receiving the intervention, with 14 of 15 students demonstrating an improvement in pre- and post-assessment scores. Implementation of a handwriting curriculum improves a first-grade student’s handwriting skills and positively impacts spelling ability. Evidence supporting systematic approaches to improving handwriting contributes to teachers and occupational therapy practitioner’s professional reasoning when selecting specific intervention tools, in addition to determining appropriate dosage of intervention. Evidence can be utilized by occupational therapy practitioners to support classroom teachers and influence curricular decisions at the administrative level when determining curriculum to address handwriting. Occupational therapy practitioners can highlight the positive impact that mastery with handwriting can have on academic areas such as spelling.

A Behavioral Investigation of Preference for a Playground Sensory Maze

Universal design (UD) is an approach that acknowledges the diversity of an individual’s needs and aims to design products and indoor/outdoor environments that are useable by the majority of the population (Center for UD, 1997). UD for learning is a framework that provides teachers with guidance on how to support to children with diverse needs in the general education classroom with the goal to promote inclusion of all children. For playgrounds, UD means building playgrounds that are usable by a wide range of individuals, regardless of age, gender, size, race/ethnicity, culture, or ability. The current study explored UD in playground design and builds. Specifically, the overall impact of a sensory maze on children’s preference levels as measured by adult and child surveys, and observations. Three sources of data collection were obtained on the sensory maze’s effectiveness: adult surveys (N = 431), adult open-ended surveys (N = 366), child surveys (N = 1,182), and observations of the children playing on the playground (N = 21,763 intervals of 10 minutes). Study results demonstrate that the sensory maze is a favorite for children with sensory disabilities (i.e., sensory processing disorder, blind, visual impairment). Study findings suggest that the sensory maze may be a valuable piece of playground equipment on a community playground, be an asset to all individuals, and allow adults to participate in the play with their children. Designing playgrounds with playground equipment that is proven effective through rigorous research should be seen as central in park administration. Park administrators, who build universally designed playgrounds in their communities, will provide a play space that meets the needs of all community residents and allows them to play, engage in the outdoors, and meet other individuals which can lead to fruitful and rewarding peer relationships.

Effects of the Good Behavior Game on Students’ Academic Engagement in Remote Classrooms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This multiple-baseline design study examined the effects of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on class-wide academic engagement in online general education classrooms. Teachers in three third- through fifth-grade classrooms in the state of New York implemented the GBG remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Treatment integrity was supported using aspects of implementation planning and by providing emailed performance feedback. Teachers’ perceived usability and students’ perceived acceptability of the GBG were assessed. Visual analysis results indicated two clear demonstrations of an effect, but experimental control was limited by smaller and delayed effects in one classroom. Statistical analyses of the data suggest that implementing the GBG was associated with moderate to strong, statistically significant improvements in students’ academic engagement in all three classrooms. Teachers reported that the GBG was usable in their online classrooms, and students reported finding the intervention acceptable to participate in remotely. These results provide initial support for further examining the effectiveness and social validity of using the GBG to improve elementary students’ academic engagement during remote instruction.

Teaching Accommodations: The Experiences of Teachers Handling Learners with Hearing Impairment

Inclusive education is now prevalent in the Philippine education setting. The goal of inclusive education is to include all learners with special needs in general education, specifically learners with hearing impairment. Thus, the experiences of teachers were revealed in this study including the accommodations that were implemented to cater to the needs of learners with special needs. In gathering data, depth, interviews were the main evaluating instrument in collecting the preferred information intended for this study. Five teachers from Midsayap North Cotabato were interviewed. The interview focuses on their difficulties and experiences in handling learners with H.I. The result shows that the most common problem of the teachers is their competence in teaching, especially the use of sign language. Their difficulties include their communication with H. I learners and give instruction. Multimedia, videos, giving classroom-writing strategies, and one-on-one teaching are the most effective accommodations for teaching learners with hearing impairment in general education classrooms. The research suggested that in Service Training for Teachers (INSET) on SPed Content and Pedagogy for the direct understanding of Special Needs Education (SNED) is needed, training and workshop to capacitate mainstream teachers, especially in handling hearing impaired learners in inclusive classroom settings is suggested since most of the teachers handling learners with H. I am a novice in using sign language, and integration of Assistive Technology like applications and software integrated during lessons and parental involvement is suggested to support the present program in Special Needs Education (SNED). By understanding the experiences of teachers in this domain, we can work towards creating inclusive educational environments that empower learners with hearing impairment and enable them to reach their full potential.

The Integration of Special Education Students in General Education Classrooms

The Integration of Special Education Students in General Education Classrooms

Teachers’ Perspectives and Knowledge of Students With Complex Support Needs and Practices Associated With SWPBIS

In this study, we examined the extent to which educators believe students with complex support needs (CSN) participate in and benefit from practices associated with school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS). We conducted a survey of 622 teachers in the United States and analyzed responses according to the implementation or absence of SWPBIS at the respondent’s school. Our findings show (a) teachers working in SWPBIS schools have more knowledge of how to handle challenging behavior among students with CSN, (b) students with CSN who are taught in SWPBIS schools are more involved in SWPBIS-associated practices and the general education classroom, and (c) teachers believe students with CSN should be involved in SWPBIS-associated practices. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Comparative Exploration of Inclusive Practices Taught in Special Education Preparation Programs in Saudi Universities

ABSTRACT Over the last few decades, the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms worldwide has increased, however, the preparation and professional development of teachers has not kept pace. While teachers are instrumental in the facilitation of inclusive classrooms, they continue to struggle to provide accommodations and modifications, to exhibit supportive behavior, and to work collaboratively with one another to provide instruction and interventions for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. This study examined the views of university faculty throughout Saudi Arabia in relation to the skills and expertise critical for promoting inclusive classrooms. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was adopted with a survey and interviews with faculty that were based on the outcomes from the quantitative phase. Among other outcomes, statistically significant differences were found in faculty members’ perspectives regarding the preparation of pre-service teachers for inclusive education, with faculty in emerging programs indicating higher total mean scores in some domains. Additionally, faculty specializing in Learning Disabilities (LD) reported higher total mean scores in some Innovation Configurations (ICs) than faculty specializing in other areas. The outcomes suggest that further attention should be paid to inclusive education practices in teacher education programs that may open up in the future.

A Dialogical Inquiry of Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives on Inclusive Education of Students With Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND)

Internationally, many countries have developed inclusive education policies to offer quality education opportunities to all students. However, many teachers are still grappling with how to facilitate inclusive education in their general education schools. Challenges to inclusive education have pointed to teacher perspectives and beliefs about the practicability of inclusive education in general education classroom. This paper explored and discussed the perspectives of 70 Saudi comprehensive elementary school teachers who participated in a group online dialogical interview about their understanding of disability, inclusive education, and considers how inclusion might work in their comprehensive schools. The findings revealed mixed understandings of disability and inclusive education, and challenges that must be mitigated through dialogic professional learning to improve their practice.

Artificial Intelligence and Sensor Technologies the Future of Special Education for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Learning environments such as classrooms and online systems for students with developmental or intellectual disabilities are typically dynamic, multisensory, and make use of top-down attention and working memory mechanisms to promote sense making by the student. This is specifically true when the student with intellectual disabilities is mainstreamed into a general education classroom. The complex interactions between the classroom, the student, and the content creates serious difficulty in assessing a student’s understanding, particularly for students who are non-verbal or have deficits in communication. However, the last five years have ushered a revolution in computational power, brain mapping, wearable sensors use, large scale data collection, generative artificial intelligence, and physiological signal processing techniques e.g., the 4th industrial revolution

Enhancing access to general education mathematics instruction through special education preteaching: special education-general education teacher collaboration

The study described in this paper investigated a unique collaboration among a special education and two general educators that sought to prepare students for success in the general education mathematics curriculum and that consisted of coordinated, reform-based instructional design across classroom and pull-out services provided by the special educator including preteaching. During preteaching, the special educator delivered instruction on key mathematics and collaboration skills that special education students would need a few days before they would receive instruction on the same content in their general education classrooms. Their collaboration produced high levels of teacher satisfaction, substantive teacher change, and increases in student engagement, self-efficacy, and achievement.

Kuwait Parents’ Attitudes toward Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in General Education

This study investigated the attitudes (i.e., beliefs, feelings, and behavioral intentions) of Kuwaiti parents about providing students with intellectual disabilities (ID) an inclusive education in general education classrooms. One hundred seventy-seven parents from the six governorates in Kuwait participated in this study. The researchers utilized a survey method to examine the parents’ attitudes with a concentration on eight demographic attributes: gender, age, level of education, knowledge about people with ID, having a child with a disability, contact with a person with ID, having school-age children, and the governorate where they live. The results indicated that parents who had contact with or had children with ID held the most positive attitudes toward providing students with disabilities an inclusive education in general education. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive view of the importance of the inclusion of people with disabilities in attitude. In this study, we identified predictor factors that affect the attitudes of parents and implications.