Teachers’ Sensemaking of Data and Implications for Equity

The article focuses on problems of special education and psychological-pedagogical support for students with learning disabilities. The research aim is to identify current trends in special education for these students, certain conditions and factors that impact their academic performance and development of life competencies. Research methods: analysis of today’s legislation, regulations, proceedings papers, guidance and other policy documents on special educational needs for students with learning disabilities in public elementary and middle school; analysis of statistical data on education for students with learning disabilities in 2019/2020 academic year in all 85 constituent entities of Russian Federation; an online random sample survey among specialists who work in public schools that students with learning disabilities attend. Conclusions based on the conducted study are as follows: the number of students with learning disabilities on inclusive terms is increasing; there is a legal backing and methodological support for special education in public elementary schools; special education conditions need to be provided not only in public elementary school but also in middle school; inclusive education specialists are lacking knowledge on learning, teaching and psychological-pedagogical support for students with learning disabilities in today’s school environment; there is a shortage of special education professionals in schools and learning centres. The results of the study can be used to develop educational policy, learning plans, programmes and to improve quality of inclusive education specialists training.

American Indian students are disproportionately represented in school discipline referrals (ODRs) and administrative outcomes across general school populations (Brown and DiTillio in J Educ Learn 2(4):47–59, 2013; Whitford and Levine-Donnerstein in Behav Disord 39(2), 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine the ODRs and administrative outcomes of 1612 students in special education, with particular attention to American Indian students (29.2% of the sample). Results indicated, although proportionally referred to school administration for disciplinary action, American Indian students in special education were more likely to be given an out-of-school suspension and/or expulsion, than both White and Hispanic/Latino students in special education, for the same identifying behaviors. Implications for improved practice are provided.

The development of an instrument to measure English Language Learner (ELL) teacher work stress

Considerable information is available regarding the cultural bias inherent in assessment instruments and the disproportionately high placement of minority students within special education classrooms. However, little research is available regarding specific practices used in areas that have high minority representation. Because of these issues, a survey was developed to investigate the referral, assessment, and placement practices used with rural Native American students in special education. Twenty-five northern Minnesota school districts serving populations of Native American students that exceeded the state average were included in the study. Special education directors, Indian education directors, and selected special education teachers from these districts were surveyed. Their satisfaction with referral, assessment, and placement practices used with Native American students was compared, and specific information about those practices was used in an effort to determine best practices. While the scope of this survey was small, the issues raised have direct implications for all rural special education teachers in districts with high minority populations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the referral and identification rates of minority students with regard to special education. Research has shown an evident over identification of minority students in special education programs, particularly those classifications considered more severe. Several researchers identified factors such as teacher perception, teacher practices, and student factors that all contribute to the disproportionality of minority students in special education. Response to Intervention has been identified as a possible solution. Many indicate that specific schools that have implemented RTI have noticed a decrease in the disparity in the referral rate of the racial subgroups. An overview of the RTI model frequently used by these schools was reviewed, and the specific effect on the referral rate of minority students to special education was also discussed. This paper also highlights recommendations and considerations for educational leaders who wish to resolve the issue of minority over identification in special education.

Interest in differences in outcomes for male and female students in special education has increased in recent years. Using the nationally representative, longitudinal National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS-88) data set, a logistic regression model was used to examine the extent to which outcome variables were differentially associated with gender for students participating in special education. Evidence was obtained for several differential effects, with most results favoring males. Among other findings, females as compared to males with disabilities were less likely to obtain a high school diploma, were less likely to be employed, earned less, and were more likely to be a biological parent. Recommendations are provided for improved transition services, the implementation of promising practices related to self-determination, and renewed emphasis on comprehensive and flexible life—career preparation to foster better outcomes among females with disabilities.

In this dissertation, we solve a school bus routing problem of transporting students including special education (handicapped) students and assigning them in Oldham county education district. The main contribution of this research is that we consider special education students (Type-2) along with other students (Type-1) and design a comprehensive school bus schedule to transport both kinds of students at the same time. Also, a student assignment mathematical model is presented to optimize the number of bus stops in use as well as one important measure of service quality, the total student walking distance. Comparing to the classic clustering methods, heuristic methods, or other methods from previous literatures, a mathematical optimization model is developed to solve a student assignment problem and to obtain the global optimal solution. The modeling constraints include budget limit, travel time limit, equity, school time window, and etc. Especially, the main difference between our model and other models is that it takes Type-2 students into consideration along with critical constraints accordingly, and solves the resulting more complex problem. Moreover, the school bus routing model in this work is one of the most general optimization models representing the school bus routing problem. On the other hand, similar to all existing models, the developed model considers the total system cost as the objective function value to minimize, different bus capacities, and common vehicle routing constraints such as flow conservation on routes and subtour elimination. Furthermore, another main difference is that the bus scheduling and school time window is also considered and solved in the model. With two different types of students, both Type-1 and Type-2, the time restrictions are varying, resulting in more complexity and additional constraints. The results in this work present the difficulties of meeting the requirement of Type-2 student riding time limit and school time window simultaneously. Also, the constraints regarding service equity and quality are provided and they can be used by decision makers if necessary. Either densely populated urban areas or sparsely populated rural areas, the school bus routing problem is difficult to solve due to a large number of students or long travel distance. The school bus routing problem falls under vehicle routing problem (VRP) with additional requirements because each student represents one unit of capacity. In this dissertation, we present a modeling framework that solves a student assignment problem with bus stop selection, and subsequently a school bus routing problem with school

Hi I like basketbol and I'm tall. I'm friendly with every one. I like to go to the mall a lot. I'm from Mexico but I think that is a great oportunity to learn two lenguages. I'm Proud of myself. I love animals expecialy cats. ... I'm pretty sure that I will be a good teacher when I grow up. And I think I'm pretty but I'm not sure about that. When I get mad is thanks to a boy. ... Oh and one more thing I'm so silly and not funny. -Rosa, 12-year-old English language learner in a sheltered English class hy my sprin brek wos borin cos i diren bon naten des ste sterin the wall cos i wos panish cos i hit my breter cos hi wos roin in the hausi end thas hoan i hit may broter. [Hi, my spring break was boring because I didn't do nothing just sat staring at the wall because I was punished because I hit my brother. He was running in the house and that's why I hit my brother.] -Jorge, seventh grade English language learner in the same class Both Jorge and Rosa (all names are pseudonyms) are adolescent English language learners (ELLs) in the same seventh grade sheltered English class, a type of instruction in which students receive extra support in learning the language while still learning grade level content. Despite the disparity in their levels of English fluency evidenced in the above excerpts, both students have been placed in the second and final year of sheltered courses in their middle school. In the coming academic year, both will exit into a full day of regular courses for which they must be prepared to undertake grade-level academic concepts in a language that they are still struggling to make their own. In short, both are doing what Short and Fitzsimmons (2007) have recently called double the (p. 1) of ELLs in U.S. schools as they try to learn the English language while simultaneously trying to keep pace with their peers with what can seem an even faster-paced curriculum. Meeting the needs of both Jorge and Rosa, with such a discrepancy in their language levels, can be challenging even to the most experienced language teacher. This article documents how two educators-Jessica, an ESL specialist, and Paige, a researcher interested in language learning-teamed up to find a way to help shelter teachers who are new to the instruction of English language learners. In a two-year project, we matched cohorts of Jessica's students in one-on-one writing partnerships with preservice and inservice teachers who were taking courses focused on ELL pedagogy. In this online writing project, Jorge and Rosa, together with their ELL peers, interacted in a weekly writing exchange that we hoped would be a mutually beneficial experience for the students and inservice teachers. We anticipated, for example, that the ELLs would be more motivated to write when using technology to correspond with a partner outside the school context and that, as a consequence, they would also write more fluently and more confidently in English. We also anticipated that the teachers would benefit from the opportunity to better understand adolescent language learners through a personal one-on-one relationship. This article documents how online writing became a practical, engaging forum for teachers to discuss language learning and teaching and, specifically, to learn how to teach writing to ELL students. Learning about language learners Demographics are changing in many parts of the country, making it quite common for teachers to find a wide variety of ELL levels in their classrooms. In the decade between 1995 and 2005, for example, the overall school population only grew by 3.7%, while the population of limited English proficient (LEP) students grew by 57% (NCELA, 2005). Within the ELL population in secondary schools, 44% are first-generation students who were born outside the United States (Capps et al., 2005). Due to such rapidly changing demographic patterns, many teachers in public schools who work with ELL students are not trained language specialists. …

This article places the problem of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education in the context of the White privilege and racism that exist in American society as a whole. The author discusses how educational resource allocation, inappropriate curriculum and pedagogy, and inadequate teacher preparation have contributed to the problem of disproportionate representation. More important, she argues that remedies designed to address the disproportionality challenge must place the aforementioned structural forces at the center of education research, policy, and practice.

Twenty years ago, the educational rights of students with disabilities were dramatically and firmly established in law and practice. Prior to that time, many students were refused enrollment or special educational services. As recently as 1973, at least one million students were denied enrollment in public schools solely on the basis of their disabilities, and at least two million others were not receiving an education appropriate to their needs. Although every state has provided some form of special education throughout this century, these services were largely at the discretion of local school districts. Only since a federal court case in 1972 and the passage of federal legislation in 1975 have all states been mandated to provide a free, appropriate public education to all students with disabilities. Today, as Parrish and Chambers point out in this journal issue, special education for students with disabilities is the largest categorical program in public schools, costing an estimated $32 billion. Since the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975 (later retitled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or the IDEA), the number of elementary and secondary students receiving special education has increased from 3.7 million to 4.6 million, increasing also from 8% to 11% of all students in public schools. According to Parrish and Chambers, the population of students eligible for special education is expected to continue to rise. The IDEA governs the educational rights of individuals from birth to age 21, though only students in elementary and secondary school are addressed in this journal issue. The IDEA allowed access to the public schools for many students who had previously been denied enrollment. The IDEA has also been given partial credit for decreasing the rate of institutionalization of individuals with disabilities. Before the IDEA, many parents had the sole responsibility of meeting all the needs of their severely disabled children 24 hours per day; once schools began to provide extensive services to students with severe disabilities, more families were able to avoid institutionalization. Under the IDEA, states and local districts were given a mandate to provide specialized educational programs to students with special needs, and students and parents were given a mechanism for enforcement of their rights. In a 1989 survey, 94% of parents of students with disabilities agreed that services for these students had improved since the implementation of the IDEA. Yet special education today is widely criticized as expensive, ineffective, inadequately coordinated with regular education, and/or culturally biased. The National Association of State Boards of Education has recommended radical reduction in the size of special education. Special education also has its champions, who argue that many students perform better academically and have better self-esteem when provided with special services, often in a separate setting. This analysis addresses five questions concerning special education under the IDEA: (1) Why are so many students considered disabled? (2) What are the educational needs of students with disabilities? (3) How should appropriate, individualized services be funded? (4) Are the IDEA's procedural protections necessary? (5) Can regular education meet the needs of more students?

School connectedness is the extent to which a student feels that adults and peers on their school campus care about their overall wellbeing. Students who exhibit high levels of school connectedness are at a reduced risk to engage in health-risk behavior, however students with and without disabilities may experience difficulty with developing high levels of school connectedness. Because of the importance of understanding levels of school connectedness, a scale was developed to measure levels of school connectedness for students in special education and general education in elementary, middle, and high school environments. The scale was developed by administering an initial set of 24 items from a researcher-created 40-item pool to 68 students with emotional and behavior disorders in special education and 132 students in general education. A principal components analysis was then conducted on those data; 10 items were chosen for a final set. The School Connectedness Questionnaire has been shown to exhibit high internal structure validity and moderate internal consistency reliability for both populations.

Educating a nation of culturally, ethnically/racially, and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is one of the many challenges facing teachers and teacher educators, resulting in teachers’ questioning their ability to improve learning for these groups. Yet teacher efficacy is significantly related to student achievement, motivation, and students’ own sense of efficacy (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). Given continuous patterns of disproportionate representation of CLD students in special education, as well as inadequate services, it is important to understand the relation between teacher efficacy and success of CLD populations. The purpose of this pilot study not only examined the reliability of newly developed survey instrument but also investigated urban in-service special education teachers’ perceptions about their abilities to teach CLD students. Thirty-one teachers participated in this study. Among these teachers, six agreed to join the follow-up debriefing. The results demonstrated adequate reliability, and several hypotheses were formulated during analyzing data and discussed with peer debriefers. Implications of this study will be provided.

Experiential learning theory places experience at the center of learning. Kolb’s four-stage cycle of experiential learning suggests that effective learners must engage fully in each stage of the cycle – feeling, reflection, thinking, and action. This research assesses the alignment of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle with the week-long Summer Institute of Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL Secondary Content Teachers (ACT-ESL), the first stage of a professional development model designed to train content teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs). Qualitative and quantitative data analysis from pre- and post-surveys determined positive changes in participants’ understanding of key ELL concepts, knowledge, and understanding of instructional strategies and practices. Analysis indicated that the Summer Institute had a large effect (d > 2.00 for each scale), regardless of previous training in ELL instructional strategies. Findings show that the Summer Institute incorporated the cycle of learning and tenets of Kolb’s experiential learning theory and evidenced teacher learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education systems worldwide, leading to the closure of schools and the adoption of remote teaching and learning methods. Students in special education were one of the earliest to transition back to face-to-face lessons as schools were slowly reopening in Malaysia. It is crucial to consider the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on education due to the challenges faced by special need students during online learning inlcude limited access to technology, communication barriers, and the need for specialised teaching strategies. It requires a concerted effort from educators, parents and policymakers to ensure the provision of inclusive and effective education for all students especially the special need students. The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) as a core methodology to systematically screen, review, and synthesized the literature on teaching strategies of special education research. Through this review, the researchers aimed to examine the current trends in teaching strategies and the state of research in the field of special education. Moreover, there are significant gaps in the existing literature, particularly from special education perspective, which hinders knowledge expansion and practical applications. By conducting a systematic literature review from special education perspective, the study aims to contribute valuable conceptual insights and practical implications for the development of effective approaches for students with special educational needs.

The practice of inclusion is educating special education students in the general education setting alongside students without disabilities. This study sought to create an inclusive classroom that was receptive to the needs of special education students. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 included an administration member, general education teachers, and special education teachers. All participants provided insight into current systems. Action steps were created, implemented, and evaluated in Cycle 2 with creating a model inclusion classroom, used to strengthen inclusion practices by implementing co-teaching techniques between special education and general education teachers. The model inclusion classroom implemented best practices illustrated in the literature, including collaboration time between teachers, focused professional development opportunities, and administrative support. The teachers implemented co-teaching techniques, including teach and assist, parallel, and station teaching. Students in the inclusion classroom completed weekly questionnaires on the methods and teaching techniques they found most impactful, as well as a final questionnaire at the conclusion of the study. The evaluation of the Action Research study included student questionnaires on teaching techniques and classroom practices and teacher interviews. The study concluded that the model inclusion classroom, which implemented co-teaching strategies, specifically parallel teaching and station teaching were impactful to special education students, as there was greater engagement with the smaller group instruction and more individualized attention. However, the amount of time and resources to develop co-teaching teams are imperative to its success and requires continuous assessment to ensure that adequate time and attention be given to co-teaching teams to ensure that best practices are illuminated in the co-taught classroom. Implications for the organization included increased engagement in the needs of the inclusion class and the education of special education students. --Author's abstract