The purpose of this study was to determine whether peer mentors and inclusive practices in the Foundations program increased students' IEP goal progress. Study participants consisted of 8th grade typical peers and 6th through 8th grade students in the Foundations Program in the Appoquinimink School District. Peer mentors inquired and were selected…

Annual goals are an essential component of Individual Educational Programs (IEP), which are developed for students with disabilities, and which are informed by data. However, the methods and practices that special educators use to make sense of data to inform the annual IEP goals represent a gap in research literature. This qualitative study was…

Literacy is an essential life skill, and adolescents need strong literacy skills to succeed in secondary schools and beyond. Low literacy achievement in the middle grades puts students, particularly students with disabilities (SWD), at a disadvantage heading into high school and can lead to negative outcomes such as dropping out. The intention of…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard military parents concerning their efforts to cultivate an environment of academic success for their children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Bowlby and Ainsworth's theory on attachment guided this…

The purpose of this study was to determine if Appreciative Inquiry affects assessment scores of middle school students, grades 6-8. The data used in this study was collected from a cohort of students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic school shutdowns with inconsistent return to structured, continuous in school routines. The data used in this study…

Some students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD), specifically conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), characteristically display oppositional behaviors that adversely affect their academic performance and cause gaps in their learning. The problem studied was negative behaviors exhibited by students with EBD,…

Over the last 37 years, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) has been the guiding document that outlines the needs of a student who receives special education services. Washington State utilizes an IEP Review form as the means to determine if an IEP has been properly written and formulated. This information partially fulfills the Federal…

As the population of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow in schools, so does the concern for their lack of academic progress and the possible inequitable representation of this culturally and linguistically diverse population in special education (Artiles, Rueda, Salazar, & Higareda, 2005; Guiberson, 2009; Mac Swan &…

This study examined programming practices that have identified in the research as critical for school success for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Secondary purposes of the study were to identify the extent to which these practices were used and to examine student social/emotional and academic outcome data in a public day…

Students with learning disabilities are entering postsecondary education in larger numbers, yet many lacks the self-advocacy skills needed to access services available to them. Explicit instruction in self-advocacy must begin in time for students to practice these skills before leaving high school. Currently, too many students with learning…

Black students, in general, are underserved academically (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Townsend, 2002) and overrepresented in special education (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Black students with disabilities are further overrepresented in more restrictive educational environments (Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons & Feggins-Azziz, 2006).…

This study determined whether chronological age differences among students in the same grade level affected their respective levels of academic performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) mathematics assessment. The study analyzed the additional independent variables of gender, socioeconomic status, and special education…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the perceptions of school membership, risk factors, and school outcomes among a sample of alternative school students. The study subjects were 48 7th-9th graders who were at high risk for school failure because of their serious and chronic behavioral and academic problems. All…