General Education Peers Research Articles

Integrating Single-Case and Qualitative Approaches: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of a Science Comprehension Intervention for Students with Extensive Support Needs

Despite advances in inclusion and access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities at large, students with extensive support needs (ESN) continue to receive instruction that is disconnected from the general curriculum and general education peers. One area of the general curriculum that students with ESN have historically lacked access to is science. However, ongoing research in this area has identified several evidence-based and promising practices that support the science learning of students with ESN. This project used a convergent mixed-methods single-case research design, specifically a single case adapted alternating treatments design paired with qualitative methods, to explore how an intervention to support comprehension of science content supported student learning and engagement for four middle school students with ESN. Implications of the study findings, as well as the value added from the mixed-methods approach, will be discussed.

Do I Belong Yet? The Relationship Between Special Education, In-School Suspension, Belonging, and Engagement

Students receiving special education services are disproportionately subjected to exclusionary discipline compared to their nondisabled peers. They also report feeling less connected and engaged at school, which is associated with exclusionary discipline experiences. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study (2009), we examined the relationship between special education, in-school suspension, school belonging, and school engagement. In line with past research, we found that students who received special education services were at a higher risk of in-school suspension than their general education peers. Students with higher levels of school engagement were at a lower risk of receiving in-school suspension, regardless of special education services. However, higher levels of school belonging were associated with more suspensions for those receiving special education, while the inverse was true for nonspecial education students. Additional research is needed to understand this unique relationship and its implications for discipline and the school experiences of students with dis/abilities.

Does Special Education Work? A Systematic Literature Review of Evidence From Administrative Data

Research increasingly seeks to answer the question: does special education work? This is different than asking if specific interventions have positive effects and instead aims to identify system-wide impacts. We systematically review published quantitative research on the impact of receiving special education services on student outcomes using large administrative data, as well as review the methodology used in existing research. The takeaway from the 15 included studies is that special education positively impacts student outcomes, and the growth of students receiving special education typically matched or exceeded the growth of their general education peers. Methods used in these studies were, however, quasi-experimental, so limitations to credibly causal claims remain. In addition, that relatively few studies met our inclusion criteria reflects the need for additional research, and we highlight methodological and substantive considerations for future work.

The Academic Effects of Moving to Middle School on Students With Disabilities Relative to Their General Education Peers

Middle school transitions are increasingly required, despite documented negative effects on general education students (GENs). We explore if and how the move to middle school differentially affects students with disabilities (SWDs), a large and low-performing group. Using an instrumental variables strategy and New York City (NYC) data on nine student cohorts, we find the middle school transition causes a 0.29 SD decline in SWD math performance, a 0.16 SD decline in English language-arts (ELA) performance, and a one percentage point increase in grade retention. Accounting for potential mediators (e.g., peer cohort stability) does not substantially explain estimated effects on SWD performance. However, the middle school transition has similarly large negative effects on GENs, suggesting the need to ease this transition for all students.

Text-to-Speech Technology and Math Performance: A Comparative Study of Students With Disabilities, English Language Learners, and Their General Education Peers

This study investigates the relationship between text-to-speech (TTS) usage and item-by-item performance in the 2017 eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math assessment, focusing on students with disabilities (SWDs), English language learners (ELLs), and their general education (GE) peers. Results indicate that all students use TTS more for longer and more difficult math items as well as for multiple-choice or short-response formats. Among SWDs and GE students, lower math proficiency and higher perceived time pressure are linked to higher TTS usage. Moreover, among GE students, factors such as male gender, minority status, lower math persistence, and higher math interest and effort during testing contribute to higher TTS usage. TTS usage is positively associated with item performance for SWDs and ELLs who received extended time accommodations but not for those who did not receive such accommodations or for general education students. The study suggests that the time constraints of speeded digital assessments may limit the potential benefits of TTS for SWDs and ELLs in math problem-solving.

Teacher preparation partnerships to foster learning for all students

The United States, in less than 50 years, has gone from legal segregation and exclusion of students with disabilities in schools to an emphasis on inclusion in the least restrictive environments based on individual student needs. The United States has made great strides in the physical inclusion of students with disabilities, but work is still needed to ensure educational equitability. Students with disabilities continue to face challenges in gaining a comprehensive education, leading to outcomes far below that of their general education peers. One way to address this outcome and increase academic equity in middle schools (MS) is for teacher preparation programs to better prepare candidates with a more comprehensive curriculum that integrates the characteristics of a successful MS with the components of special education. This article focuses on one university’s efforts to develop a dual middle childhood (grades 4–9)/special education (grades k-12) undergraduate licensure program designed to address these challenges and foster the physical and academic inclusion of all students, including those with disabilities and other diverse learning needs.

46 Are Reading Strategies Related to the Orthographic Depth of Languages Acquired Through Bilingual Education?

Objective:This longitudinal study investigates whether reading strategies are influenced by the orthographic depth of languages, specifically Spanish or Cantonese, acquired through enrollment in bilingual immersion programs. Spanish shares an alphabet with English and is considered a phonologically transparent language (Sun et al., 2022). Research has shown that second language learners of Cantonese, an opaque language, performed better on orthographic awareness tasks that involve whole-word visual information processing (Wang and Geva, 2003). We hypothesize that students enrolled in a bilingual immersion program will outperform peers in general education (GENED) on selected reading tasks. More specifically, those in Spanish-immersion programs will perform better on English tasks involving phonological processing; whereas those in Cantonese-immersion programs will perform better on single-word/character processing tasks.Participants and Methods:Participants (n=102) were native English speakers recruited from the San Francisco Unified School District. Our sample included 42 females and 60 males. Thirty-nine identified as White, 33 Mixed Race, 25 Asian, 4 Latinx, and 1 Black. Thirty-nine children were in GENED, 33 in Spanish immersion programs (Sp), and 30 in Cantonese immersion programs (Cn). Each child was assessed on a core language/behavioral battery at Kindergarten (T1) and 2nd-3rd grade (T2). Time 2 participants were between 7 and 9 years old.Those that scored at least one standard deviation below the mean (SS=85) on a nonverbal intelligence screener (KBIT-2 Matrices) were excluded to mitigate confounds of intellectual disabilities. Groups' performance in English was compared on English tasks involving phonological processing (CTOPP-2 Blending Words and Elision) and single-word/character information processing tasks (WJ-IV Letter Word Identification and KABC-II Rebus).Results:Simple main effects analysis showed that time did have a statistically significant effect on test performance (p <0.001). At T2, analysis revealed a significant impact of school enrollment on Blending Words [F (2, 51.0) = 4.19, p = 0.018]. As predicted, post-hoc analysis revealed the students enrolled in the Spanish-immersion program significantly outperformed those in general education on this task. Across the other three tasks, those enrolled in Spanish and Cantonese immersion programs performed as strong as or better than those in GENED, but the variability was not statistically significant.Conclusions:This study uniquely isolated the effects of bilingual education without confounding factors of access to resources of a more heterogeneous socioeconomic sample. Mixed results partially supported our hypotheses: Spanish-immersion participants performed significantly better than those in GENED on one English phonological processing task (Blending Words). Although Cantonese immersion students had a higher mean performance than those in GENED on single-word/-character processing tasks, the variance was not statistically significant. This implies that bilingual education may offer advantages in either reading strategy. According to the literature, characteristics of a language may influence literacy acquisition; thus, subsequent research may continue to examine the effect of learning multiple languages with varying levels of orthographic depth on the development of English reading strategies.

Mathematics performance, response time, and enjoyment of eighth-grade autistic students and their general education peers.

For autistic students receiving special education services, little is known about their relative strengths, weaknesses, and enjoyment across different math content areas; their overall math interest and persistence are also not well-studied. Using the 2017 eighth-grade National Assessment of Education Progress data, this study finds, relative to general education peers with the same math proficiency level, autistic students scored higher and exhibited faster speed in solving visuospatial problems (e.g. identifying figures), but scored lower on math word problems with complex language or social context. Autistic students reported a higher level of enjoyment in solving math problems related to finding areas of shapes or figures but a lower level of persistence than their non-autistic, general education peers. Our work points out the need to help autistic students overcome their weaknesses in word problems and develop their mathematical persistence.

Exploring and Implementing Available Writing Educational Technology for Students with Disabilities and Their Peers

Written expression is an area of the curriculum with which many students with disabilities (SWDs) struggle. One solution to mitigate the barriers associated with this topic is to use educational technology supports such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and predictive text. Even though there has been an increase in technology access in the classrooms, challenges still exist with regards to determining which tools support which students, training educators to use the tools, and training students to use the tools. This can be attributed to the time investment required for educators to learn new technologies. This article provides educators with the steps to introduce and implement an intervention where SWDs support the special educator in teaching general education peers to use Google’s Voice Typing.

Mental health and physical activity in vocational education and training schools students: a population-based survey.

BackgroundThe prevalence of young people not adhering to the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity guidelines is high, especially among students in vocational education and training, compared to fellow peers. Also, low levels of mental health have been found in this group, however, to a lesser degree than peers in general education. As positive mental health aspects have more generally been found to be associated with increased likelihood of physical activity in young people, this study examined the association between mental health and physical activity among Danish students in vocational education and training.MethodsStudents in vocational education and training (N = 5277, mean age 24.3 years, range 15.8–64.0 years) responded to a national representative survey assessing four aspects of mental health (well-being, self-efficacy, self-esteem and life satisfaction) and physical activity. Physical activity was dichotomized as adherence to the WHO minimum guidelines or not. Logistic regression was used to examine if each mental health aspect was associated with physical activity in crude and adjusted models.ResultsA positive dose–response association was found between all aspects of mental health and adherence to WHO physical activity guidelines. However, the association between self-esteem and physical activity was modified by gender, with a dose–response relationship found only among males.ConclusionsHigher levels of positive mental health were associated with better odds of achieving WHO physical activity guidelines in a dose–response-manner. Prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the causal relationship between mental health and physical activity. Future interventions must pay attention to differential gender effects.

Peer Interactions and Cooperative Learning Between Junior High School Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Their General-Education Peers: Effects on Interpersonal Attraction and Physical Skills

Peer Interactions and Cooperative Learning Between Junior High School Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Their General-Education Peers: Effects on Interpersonal Attraction and Physical Skills

Leveraging motivation theory for research and practice with students with learning disabilities

ABSTRACT Given that the majority of students with learning disabilities (LD) are currently educated alongside general education peers for the majority of the school day in inclusive classrooms, it behooves motivation scholars to consider the practical implications of their research for all teachers working with students with LD. The purpose of this article is to discuss how three theoretical perspectives on motivation can be leveraged to support classroom teachers’ work with this student population. Following an overview of our three focus theories of motivation (goal orientation theory, self-determination theory, and expectancy-value theory), we discuss research about students with LD that employs each perspective, as well as any related interventions for students with LD. Afterwards, we provide practical implications for teachers working with students with LD. Finally, we offer recommendations for research on motivation using these and other theories that are sensitive to the specific strengths and challenges of students with LD.

Distance Learning and Students With Extensive Support Needs: (Re)Defining Access to Education From a Distance

Students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) experience multiple barriers in accessing distance learning educational programs during school closures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These barriers include inaccessible formats, a lack of access to adequate support to access instruction, and a lack of available assistive technology. Access issues may result in further isolation of students and reduced access to general education peers and curriculum. Promising practices include close collaboration with families, connecting Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals to students’ daily routines, supporting access to the general education curriculum, strategic participation in online classes, meaningful engagement with typical peers, and the adaptation of progress monitoring strategies for distance learning formats.

Navigating the New Normal: The Coronavirus Pandemic Sheds Light on the Need to Restructure Special Education Law

Students in special education face a higher chance of regression or failure to show progress when without services. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) a global pandemic, and the U.S. declared a national emergency. As a result, schools across the nation abruptly shut down. When schools decided to resume via online instruction, many of the services typically found in special education were not included.This Comment analyzes the challenges and inadequacies that students in special education are facing while maneuvering from an in-person to a remote-learning environment due to the pandemic. The author analyzed the effects of the pandemic by looking at stories from families across the nation with school-age children. Research shows that all students are struggling; however, students in special education are being disproportionately affected in comparison to their peers who participate in general education or standard curriculum. The pandemic has proven that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), the United States special education law that exists to ensure that students with disabilities across the nation are provided with free appropriate public education, may not be as adaptable as needed during such an unprecedented time when online education is the only option. Throughout the pandemic, general-education students are able to continue receiving an adequate education. The U.S. Department of Education must take necessary steps to ensure that students in special education are not left further behind their general-education peers due to lack of preparation for a global pandemic. The author urges a return to normalcy and continuity of education and services for students as described in their Individualized Education Programs. To effectively navigate a global pandemic, the author recommends increased collaboration between parents, teachers, and school administrators as well as further development of IDEA.

Effects of Video Self-Modeling and System of Least Prompts on Completion of Transitional Routines for a Student With Extensive Support Needs in Inclusive Settings

Students with extensive support needs often require intensive individualized instruction across domains. Research suggests that students with extensive support needs can achieve greater independence when evidence-based practices are used to teach independent transitioning skills. This study investigated the effects of video self-modeling (VSM) and the system of least prompts (SLP) on independent completion of transitional routines for a student with extensive support needs in inclusive school settings. Using VSM and SLP, the student learned to complete three transitional routines with greater independence. Generalization of independent transitioning skills to music class was also measured. Results showed a functional relation between the VSM/SLP intervention and independent completion of transitional routines. The findings of this study provide several implications for practice for using VSM and SLP as a combined intervention to increase independent transitioning skills for students who previously relied on adult assistance to make transitions along with general education peers.

The Relationship Between Inclusion, Absenteeism, and Disciplinary Outcomes for Students With Disabilities

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are more likely to be suspended or expelled than their general education peers and more likely to be chronically absent. This study uses 5 years of student-level data for all Michigan special education students to examine the relationship between educational setting, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes. Using within-student variation in an educational setting, I find that the degree of inclusion is associated with fewer disciplinary incidents and better attendance. However, the relationship between inclusion and disciplinary outcomes only exists for certain subgroups, and primarily for students who transitioned from more to less inclusive settings experiencing more disciplinary referrals and suspensions after these moves.

Developing Philology Teachers’ Inclusive Competence in Postgraduate Education

This research focuses on the phenomenon of philology teachers’ inclusive competence development as a part of their professional competence.The purpose of the research is to substantiate scientifically the concept of inclusive competence development, to develop and experimentally test the system of philological disciplines teachers’ inclusive competence development in the system of postgraduate education.The following methodology tools were used as analysis, classification, and pedagogical experiments.As a result of this study, the pedagogical conditions for philological disciplines teachers’ inclusive competence development were singled out and theoretically substantiated. The first, stimulation of motivation of philological disciplines teachers to professional activity in the conditions of the inclusive educational environment. The second, updating the content of educational programs of advanced training courses for teachers of philological disciplines in view of the provisions of inclusive education. The third, combination of traditional and innovative forms and methods of teaching teachers of philological disciplines in postgraduate pedagogical education institutions for the implementation of inclusive education in general secondary education institutions. The last, involvement of language and literature teachers in team interaction with specialists of different profiles for the implementation of the tasks of inclusive education through these subjects in general secondary education institutions. It was experimentally proved that the introduction of the model of developing philological disciplines teachers’ inclusive competence in postgraduate education helps to increase their motivation to teaching languages and literature in the context of inclusion, interest in teaching children with special educational needs together with peers in general secondary education, acquisition and application of inclusive knowledge, ddeveloping inclusive skills, as well as significantly affect the level of languages and literature teachers’ professional competence in general. It was concluded that the prepared scientific and methodological support positively influences the stimulation of the process of philological disciplines teachers’ inclusive competence development.

Is Special Education Improving? Case Evidence From New York City

In this study, we assess changes in the education of students with disabilities (SWDs) in the nation’s largest school district, New York City (NYC), over the decade 2005–2015. Specifically, we examine progress toward the twin legislative goals of both the federal Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) and NYC district goals of (a) including SWDs in general education settings and (b) improving their academic performance. We find that the inclusion of SWDs with their general education peers (GENs) has increased in elementary and middle schools, but decreased in high school. Furthermore, although more SWDs are completing high school, their graduation rate remains considerably below that of GENs (50% vs. 80%). In assessing these patterns, we provide empirical evidence of the changing context of education in NYC before, during, and after policy changes that affected special education.

Leading through a critical lens: The application of DisCrit in framing, implementing and improving equity driven, educational systems for all students

PurposeThis article focuses on the strategic importance of framing cultural changes in special education through a critical lens. The article explores why cultural responsivity must be understood from a critical perspective that accounts for the historical sedimentation of racism that exists within special education organizational policies and practices. This sedimentation affects current and future organizational features that sustain historical, persistent and pernicious racial and ableist structures, relationships and outcomes.Design/methodology/approachBy examining the role of power within organizational systems, the authors trace its contribution to reproduction of these systems through special education leadership. Special education leaders along with their peers in general education can frame transformative change through a systemic lens designed to address structural, regulatory and cultural practices that perpetuate raced and ableist outcomes. The pernicious and sustaining structures and practices that have created unequal outcomes in our educational systems need strategic intervention, prevention and re-creation to create equitable supports and services programs.FindingsBy examining the role of power within organizational systems, the authors trace its contribution to reproduction of these systems through special education leadership. Special education leaders along with their peers in general education can frame transformative change through a systemic lens designed to address structural, regulatory and cultural practices that perpetuate raced and ableist outcomes.Practical implicationsWith clear outcomes that are responsive to all students, including those identified with dis/abilities, education leaders can make consequential shifts in access, opportunity and the distribution of social and intellectual capital throughout education.Social implicationsThe pernicious and sustaining structures and practices that have created unequal outcomes in our educational systems need strategic intervention, prevention and re-creation to create equitable supports and services programs.Originality/valueThe application of DisCrit to educational leadership practices offers an opportunity to frame leadership through a powerful equity lens.

Does the Response-to-Intervention Model Fundamentally Alter the Traditional Conceptualization of Specific Learning Disability?

The aim of this study was to examine whether the use of a response-to-intervention (RTI) model to identify specific learning disability (SLD) over-identifies children and youth with population-relative (normative) weaknesses in general cognitive ability (IQs < 90). We compared the overall score on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition (KBIT-2; Kaufman and Kaufman 2004) for a group of students with SLD (n = 30) who had been identified in an RTI model with a group of same-age peers (n = 249) in general education. Statistically significant differences were observed between the SLD and general education groups, with considerably lower mean scores for the SLD group. Effect sizes of the mean differences were large. Approximately three-fourths (73.3%) of the SLD group had overall scores on the KBIT-2 that were below the mean of the normative sample and almost half (43.3%) had IQ scores that are below 90. In sum, results of this study support Reynolds’ (2009) assertion that use of the RTI model for the identification of SLD over-identifies children and youth with IQs less than 90, thereby fundamentally altering the conceptualization of SLD from the traditional narrow sense (unexpected underachievement) to the broad sense (expected underachievement). A modified hybrid model is presented as an alternative method of SLD identification that addresses the main shortcomings of other current models.