Graduate Students' Abstracts

ANDERSON, Kerry. (In progress). Students living in foster care and the "Learning to 18" initiative.

The literature strongly suggests that students can be more successful academically when they are organized. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine if a cognitive learning strategy was effective in helping Grade 5 students develop their organizational skills. The Student Organizational Rating Scale was created to determine the level of organizational skills students possessed. Twelve Grade 5 students and three teachers (from three schools in Southwestern Ontario) participated. The participating students were the most disorganized students in their classroom as determined by the Student Organizational Rating Scale. The primary finding of this study was that Cognitive Credit Cards (CCCs) helped many students improve their organizational skills, academic progress, homework completion, and self-esteem. The major implication from these findings is that teachers need to be aware of this strategy so they can assist students to improve their organizational skills. Training teachers to use the CCC method and having them to understand the best way to implement it will help many students develop their organizational skills which ultimately will lead to increased self-esteem and academic improvements.

AUSTIN, Kimberley. (2006). Developing Organizational Skills in Grade Five Students.

The literature strongly suggests that students can be more successful academically when they are organized. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine if a cognitive learning strategy was effective in helping Grade 5 students develop their organizational skills. The Student Organizational Rating Scale was created to determine the level of organizational skills students possessed. Twelve Grade 5 students and three teachers (from three schools in Southwestern Ontario) participated. The participating students were the most disorganized students in their classroom as determined by the Student Organizational Rating Scale. The primary finding of this study was that Cognitive Credit Cards (CCCs) helped many students improve their organizational skills, academic progress, homework completion, and self-esteem. The major implication from these findings is that teachers need to be aware of this strategy so they can assist students to improve their organizational skills. Training teachers to use the CCC method and having them to understand the best way to implement it will help many students develop their organizational skills which ultimately will lead to increased self-esteem and academic improvements.

BAKER, Diane. (2007). The Principal's Contribution to Developing and Maintaining Inclusive Schooling for Students with Special Needs.

The purpose of this study was to analyse, clarify and determine the contribution of the principal in developing and maintaining inclusive schooling for students with special needs. The reason I chose this project is because I am very concerned about the varying degrees of understanding among principals about the philosophies, application and overall commitment to special education.

This study looks at "The Principal's Contribution in Developing and Maintaining Inclusive Schooling for Students with Special Needs". The case study method was used to analyse one particular secondary school that is noted for its "inclusivity". The principal, classroom teachers, special education teachers and department head of special education, along with educational assistants, were interviewed face-to-face, in order to provide the qualitative research findings for the study. A literature review was also conducted and this information was compared with the interview data to highlight the patterns and themes that are relevant to a successful inclusive school.

The key conclusions from this study are that the principal plays a key role in maintaining and developing inclusive schooling for students with special needs. With strong leadership skills, a supportive, collaborative approach must be taken by the principal in order to promote an inclusive school. Without strong leadership and support, an inclusive school is not possible.

BALDWIN, Michelle (2008). Enablers and barriers of community service for youth with disabilities.

The Ontario government implemented a community involvement requirement for students to graduate from high school in 1999. There is scarce research about the enablers and barriers for students with disabilities and the overall impact of the program. A qualitative approach (i.e. 30 minute interviews) to explore the enablers and barriers from the students' perspective was initiated with students with learning disabilities. For the sample in this study there were no significant accommodations or barriers specific to having a disability. Similar to general research in this area, the program structure did impact their ability to fully participate in the community involvement experience including not knowing how to get started and a lack of time. Family and peer relationships were significant to their decisions of where to volunteer. Community service and volunteerism should be encouraged as a viable option for adolescents with disabilities to gain employment experience, social interaction and increase participation in community. The Ontario Community Involvement Program needs to be restructured to offer more support and guidance to students to provide them with the most optimal experience.

BALILTY, Hila. (2007). Attitudes and Behavioural Interactions of Typically Developing Children Toward Peers with Special Needs.

This study examined typically-developing children's social interactions and attitudes towards children with exceptionalities. Twenty-five children attending an inclusive, university-based early childhood education program participated in this study. Participants were junior and senior kindergarten children between the ages of three and six years of age. Researchers observed children's social interactions from behind a one-way mirror and recorded these observations on a Play Observation Scale which records the type, frequency and duration of social contact between typically-developing children and classmates with exceptionalities. Results revealed whether children's attitudes were related to their social interactions, and whether their attitudes about befriending a child with a disability correlated with the degree to which they interacted with children with disabilities.

BASA, Ruth. (2010). The assessment of basic language and learning skills (ABLLS-R) and teacher education for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Increases in numbers of school-aged students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have prompted educators to use new resources to serve the learning needs of this population. The current study evaluated teacher perceptions of the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS-R) and its utility in creating specific and measurable communication goals for students with ASD. Seven participants, from both inclusive and congregated classrooms, attended two workshops on Applied Verbal Behaviour (AVB) and the ABLLS-R and had follow-up consultations provided by the researcher. Data on their perceptions of the ABLLS-R was gathered in a final interview. Overall, the teachers found the ABLLS-R both helpful as a programming too and as a template to create concise Individual Educational Plan (IEP) goals for their students with ASD. However, most of the participants required assistance from a consultant to help implement the ABLLS-R. Implications for future research on the ABLLS-R and teacher preparation practices are discussed.

BOIS, Mary Louise (2005). Nurse educators' knowledge, attitude and willingness to accommodate nurses with ADHD.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the knowledge about, attitude towards, and willingness of nurse educators in Ontario to accommodate nursing students/nurses with ADHD in the classroom and in the clinical setting. This is the first study of this kind in Canada.

Surveys were mailed out to 527 nurse educators in Ontario producing a 43.3% response rate. In general, nurse educators in Ontario indicated that they did indeed work with nursing students/nurses with ADHD and had some knowledge about this condition. Attitudes of nurse educators were positive and they indicated that they were willing to make accommodations for individuals with ADHD in both the classroom and in the clinical setting. Nurse educators also expressed some concerns about the potential implications of working with individuals with ADHD in the nursing profession and made several recommendations to address these concerns.

BROWN, Diane. (2009). Drama pedagogy and possibility: Building community and critical literacy in the classroom through artistic means.

This thesis investigates the role of drama pedagogy in facilitating both critical literacy and community in the classroom. To achieve this objective, I provide a theoretical overview of several theorists in the areas of classroom community, critical literacy, and aesthetic and experiential learning and compare their research findings to my own experiences with drama pedagogy, both as a student and teacher. These experiences are structured using narrative, and it is hoped that this personalized format will reveal the lived experience behind facts and events, and better illuminate how aesthetically based, experiential learning might contribute to the development of both critical literacy and engaged learning communities. Ultimately, I hope to bring together the traditionally disparate fields of the aesthetic and critical literacy through drama pedagogy, and suggest possible pedagogical implications for today's classrooms. This thesis incorporates some discussion of feminist theory, and instances of feminist advancement are highlighted as they arise.

Brown, Heather. (2009). Strengths and weaknesses in the writing of individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD).

This research compared and contrasted the expository and narrative writing of 15 adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD), and 12 of their non-disabled peers. The participants completed two texts, one expository and one narrative, prompted by the same video montage, along with tests of cognitive functioning, i.e the Social Attribution Task, Gestalt Closure Task, Block Design Subtest and the Vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)--III. The written compositions were analyzed for several linguistic features that included lower-order text variables and higher-order text variables. As predicted, individuals with HFASD tended to score lower than their neurotypical (NT) peers on higher-order text variables across both genres. Also, while it was predicted that individuals with HFASD would demonstrate strengths in lower-order text variables, this tendency was only seen in the expository texts. Finally, the Social Attribution Composite was significantly associated with the higher and lower-order composites for both expositories and narratives. The results suggest that while individuals with HFASD tend to score lower than their NT peers in many areas of writing, the distributions are overlapping and the scores of adults with HFASD are not extremely low. Also, the theory of mind skills - the ability to represent mental states such as beliefs and desires both for oneself and for others (Chari, 2002) - of adults with HFASD has an impact on their success at writing. This study was the first of its kind.

CALDEIRA, Monica. (2009). A synthesis of autism-specific emotional interventions.

The purpose of this study was to document inconsistencies arising from the critical analysis of the processes and results of various emotion intervention studies for individuals with Autistic Disorder and Asperger's Disorder. This research synthesis examined all peer-reviewed studies published in English between 1985 and 2009 in the PsycInfo, ERIC and Medline databases. Findings indicate that although 96% of the studies noted an improvement in emotion abilities post-intervention, that these improvements were limited in 50% of the articles. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the studies suggests that inconsistencies may exist within these studies, and that future work should attempt to correct these inconsistencies in order to provide individuals with Autistic Disorder and Asperger's Disorder the best opportunity to master these skills and successfully implement them in their social interactions.

DELORME, S. (2010). Children's beliefs about the causes of learning difficulties.

Research was conducted to determine 6th grade students' beliefs about the causes of learning difficulties. There were 15 participants, 11 girls and 4 boys, with a mean age of 11.36 years. The children were interviewed to gather their ideas about the causes of learning difficulties. The interview data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for themes to determine patterns and gauge the accuracy of responses. The research findings suggest that students at this grade level are more likely to give accurate responses more often than responses that are inaccurate, and/or misinformed, and/or no response at all. According to the thematic analysis, children demonstrated that they had varying beliefs about the causes of learning difficulties. This suggests that school administrators should focus on teaching young children about the causes of learning difficulties in order to eliminate stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination in the inclusive classroom.

ESCRADER, Anne. (2007). A marginal pedagogy: L'Arche and the education of the heart.

This thesis examines the pedagogy of L'Arche, a marginal community for persons who have developmental disabilities and those who support them. Three core questions address the subject of the research: What is meant by the pedagogy of L'Arche? How might the pedagogy of L'Arche be investigated? Why is it important to know about the pedagogy of L'Arche? In response to these three questions, the research is investigative, analytic and interpretive.

The theoretical framework for "what" is investigated draws from the writing of three scholars: Vanier's concept of person, Vygotsky's theory of the socio-cultural context, and Mezirow's theory of transformative learning. The research considers interaction between person and environment and suggests that the pedagogy of l'Arche is relational in origin, transformative in outcome, and often manifested within concrete relationships of shared mutuality and vulnerability among persons who have apparent disabilities and those who do not.

In terms of research methodology, the theoretical framework extends to address the question of "how" inquiry should proceed. Adopting a qualitative approach, the research uses Hermeneutic Phenomenology. Participant observation and interviewing are used as tools for data collection. The lived experience of community members and observers of L'Arche give shape to articulating the pedagogy of L'Arche. The data collected includes a variety of artifacts such as text, images and oral narratives. Furthermore, to analyze and interpret the data collected, a Hermeneutic of Marginality is adopted.

The findings expand and clarify Vanier's suggestion that a person must be viewed according to his or her capacity for relationship, rather than his or her capacity for reason alone. Vanier's insight stresses capacity for relationship over relationship itself and although the emphasis is puzzling at first, the research findings clarify that the pedagogy of L'Arche is not so much about relationship per se, but about the importance of putting people first. By putting people first, the pedagogy of L'Arche comes to include two inter-related movements: one that recognizes a person's capacity for relationshop and another that exercises this capacity. Thus, findings show how the pedagogy of L'Arche is lived out in the concrete immediacy of everyday life.

In conclusion, the research questions are answered in these ways: 1) a tentative definition of the transformative pedagogy of L'Arche is formulated; 2) the salient characteristics of this transformative pedagogy are identified; and 3) three stages of transformation are described. The contributions of this study, its limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

FLINN, Jennifer (2009). The educational impacts of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a rare genetic disorder that causes tumours to grow throughout the body. This can have serious consequences for individuals affected throughout their lifetime. People with TSC are affected by this disorder in terms of their medical health, cognitive and behavioural functioning. There is currently no research in the literature addressing the educational profile, needs, or cognitive profile from an education framework of children with TSC. As children with TSC move through the education system, a number of issues can potentially affect their educational success. This qualitative research study examined the educational impacts of TSC on children currently in the education system. The aim of the study was to gain an understanding of practices that are facilitating success in these children's education experience and specific deficits commonly experienced. In depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 10 parents of children with TSC (in Grades 1 through 8), and 6 of their teachers/educational assistants (EAs). Academic, social and medical findings and their implications are discussed.

JURAS, Mikael. (2009). Teachers' perceptions of the Tribes program: Effective components and social competence of students.

Tribes is a program that is intended to create a caring and co-operative learning environment in the classroom. This study investigated teachers' perceptions of the Tribes program. It focused on what teachers perceived to be the program's effective components, and whether they believed Tribes aided in the social skills development of their students. Participants were 30 teachers who completed questionnaires about Tribes. Ten of these teachers also participated in an interview to gain more detailed information on the use and value of Tribes. Results indicated generally positive perceptions of Tribes with acknowledgement of modifications being necessary for the success of the program in the classroom. By determining teachers' perceptions of Tribes and how they implement the program, it is hoped that teachers can use this information to implement Tribes in an effective manner that will aid in the development of students' social skills. Findings from this study are expected to assist teachers to implement Tribes successfully in their classrooms.

KALAT, Katarzyna. (2011).The experiences of literacy and numeracy coaches in implementing initiatives to raise student achievement

This thesis examines the initiative involving the implementation of elementary literacy and numeracy coaches. Using a case study. I examined the challenges and opportunities with which literacy and numeracy coaches were confronted. The study concluded that literacy and numeracy coaches have great potential for improving student achievement and raising improved teaching strategies through professional development. However, due to several factors, including: vague role definition; implementation of too many initiatives at the same time; the shifting of the role due to new initiatives enouraged by the ministry and the board; and too little time for effective implementation, caused the coaches to be overloaded and the schools to be unsure of the coaches' role, thus reducing the potential effectiveness of the coaching initiative. This study has made a contribution to the limited research on literacy and numeracy coaching in Canada and provided results that may help to inform future initiatives.

KESSLER, Naomi. (2010). Children's attitudes and group norms towards classmates of lower and higher ability.

Based in social identity theory, this study examined whether children's attitudes towards peers with learning difficulties and peers who find learning easy reflect group identity and group norms. Three perspectives were explored: participants' attitudes towards peers who find learning difficult or easy; participants' beliefs about how children who find learning easy would evaluate children who find learning easy or difficult; and participants' beliefs about how children who find learning difficult would evaluate children who find learning easy or difficult. Thirty-four children from grades 3 to 6 participated. Participants were found to have more negative attitudes towards children who find learning difficult than children who find learning easy. Participants' attitudes also reflected those of other children who find learning easy. These findings suggest an out-group bias against children with learning difficulties and an in-group bias towards children who find learning easy. The findings have implications for promoting inclusive learning environments.

KIRKPATRICK, Lori. (2007). Instruction to Improve Grade Seven and Eight Students' Compare-contrast Reports When Writing from Sources.

The purpose of this study was to improve Grade 7 and 8 students' compare-contrast reports when writing from sources. A six-lesson unit was designed and implemented for this purpose. It focused on increasing students' knowledge of compare-contrast text structure (the macro-aspect structure identified by Spivey, 1991) and on having students memorize and use a table to plan the structure of their reports. The unit was very successful. Students in the instructional group made far greater gains in the holistic quality of their writing (from pre-test to post-test) than students in the control group. At post-test, all students in the instructional group used a local level comparison structure and over half used the global macro-aspect structure. All students in the instructional condition were also able to thoroughly integrate information from source texts. These findings indicate that instruction focused on text structure can improve students' compare-contrast reports when writing from sources.

LEWIS, Joan. (2007). Assessment and Evaluation in Elementary Schools: Current Practices and Future Directions.

The objective of this research project was to determine the current assessment and evaluation practices of elementary school teachers in the London District Catholic School Board, and to see how well they align with expectations in various Ministry and Board documents. The information gathered would then be used to provide recommendations for future professional development activities.

Fifty-eight teachers from primary, junior, intermediate and French/Music division participated in the study. The results showed that teachers are using a variety of appropriate and effective strategies, but there are key areas where changes need to be made. These include feedback to students, use of peer and self-assessment, completion of evaluated tasks at school, consistency in determining final grades for reporting and use of exemplars. As well, participants identified their own specific areas of need for professional development, including grade/subject specific resources, time for dialogue and planning, and consistency of practice.

LOPATA, Joel. (2010). Pre-service teacher beliefs about the antecedents to bullying and victimization: A concept-mapping approach.

This study gave an opportunity for pre-service teachers to voice their beliefs and knowledge about the antecedents to bullying and to victimization. Concept mapping was used to analyze the data. The information yielded from interviews was clustered into themes according to sorting tasks completed by participants. Regarding the antecedents to bullying and victimization, pre-service teachers had accurate and inaccurate beliefs, lack of knowledge, and differing beliefs about bullies and victims. Concept maps and accompanying factor rating tables indicated that participants believed important antecedents to bullying to include family factors, abuse, instability, and socioeconomic factors, school and academic factors, interpersonal factors, and personal factors. Results showed that important antecedents to victimization were social factors, physiological factors, school factors and exceptionalities, and family factors. Results may inform faculty of education and new-teacher program personnel of what knowledge on the antecedents to bullying and victimization pre-service teachers have, and what information about antecedents needs to be taught.

MANTLER, Karen. (2009). How can alternative assessments enhance the quality of Individual Education Plans (IEP)?

Students with special needs rely on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to increase their access to general education curriculum. This literature review identifies assessment practices that accurately represent students' abilities and enhance the quality of their IEP. A discussion of the limitations of current assessment practices identifies the benefits of using alternative assessments to achieve a conclusive overview of a student's ability. Literature on teachers' attitudes toward IEPs indicates a need for new assessment methods that evaluate a student's learning potential and do not limit performance. Assessment practices that collect functional data about a student's ability can supplement psychoeducational data to produce more individualized goals and objectives for IEPs. This literature review informs educators and administrators about the benefits of a combination of alternate and psychoeducational data to develop IEPs and improve the quality of the goals and objectives therein.

McMANUS, Tara. (2007). Tribes: A Program of Evaluation of Effectiveness of Promoting Inclusive Attitudes and Practices.

This study was an evaluation of the Tribes training program, a program aimed at providing educators with strategies and methods for creating an inclusive classroom environment. This was a pilot project that attempted to asses 'Tribes' ability to enhance educator and student positive attitudes toward students with learning difficulties as well as attitudes toward mainstreaming/inclusion. Educators involved in the training, and students enrolled in classes implementing the training, completed pre and post training questionnaires. Results indicated that for both educators and students, attitudes generally improved from pre-test to post-test in experimental and control groups. Therefore, it could not be concluded that Tribes training was responsible for these changes. However, as was noted in the qualitative portion of the questionnaire, educators themselves believed there was a change in classroom and school environment as a result of Tribes. For students, both the control and experimental groups had less positive attitudes toward students who find learning difficult compared to students who find learning easy. Also, scores on some of the attitude measures showed a significant relationship with Tribes' outcome measures, suggesting that the Tribes program may be tapping into aspects of attitudes that are associated with the acceptance of children with learning difficulties. There were several significant correlations found within the Tribes measures, as well as between the subscales on the measures.

PAYNE, Jutta. (2005). Affirmation of ability among gifted/LD adolescents: A qualitative study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term educational journey of three gifted/learning disabled adolescents, who were in their final year of high school in order to find out how this combination of strength and weakness shaped them as individuals. Participant, parent, and teacher interviews provided information on early signs of ability, the individual manner in which identification took place, the search for alternative schools, the participants' patterns of academic achievement, the role of extra-curricular activities, what the participants had to say, and included advice from the parents. While the parents and teachers supported the participants in their educational success, the journey was difficult. These participants struggled to meet systemic educational expectations and experienced a measure of success; however, they did not fully realize their learning potential, which may compromise their plans for the future (Holiday, Koller & Thomas, 1999).

PICK, Jennifer. (2005). High School Students' Attitudes Toward Students with Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular education setting has been increasing since the 1950's. The present research investigated attitudes toward students with Pervasive Developmental Disorder that are held by peers without disabilities in a school that practices a high level of inclusion. Students without disabilities at the high school level were interviewed to determine the influence of prior contact and context of interactions on attitudes toward those who have Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Findings indicated that the pleasantness of previous contact has a direct relationship to attitudes. Also, students were less willing to include a student with Pervasive Development Disorder in more public social contexts that within the walls of a classroom.

POMPEO, Michelle (2009). When Your "Problem" Becomes Mine: Adult Female siblings' Perspectives of Having a Brother with a Disability. Exceptionality Education International, 19(2), 50-62.

This study is a retrospective look at adult female siblings' perspectives of their childhoods and present identities based on having a brother with a disability. This paper focuses on siblings' experiences within educational and public domains, and how such experiences have shaped their personalities and career choices. Qualitative findings were organized into four central themes, each with subcategories: (a) Siblings' Fear and Worries, in-school bullying, school friends coming to the home; (b) Anger and Resentment, towards the perceived advantages of having a disability, towards teachers; (c) Positive Impacts, acceptance of others in varied public contexts, advocacy; and (d) Career Choices, entering the teaching profession. Findings are discussed in relation to both the emotional and educational significance for siblings.

PUSKARICH, Meghan. (2009). Participation profiles: Measuring adolescents' engagement in school and extracurricular activities.

The participation of 18 Grade 8 students was studied through analysis of semi-structured interviews of students, parents, and teachers. The interviews focused on the students' daily activities, supports and barriers to participation, and descriptions of roles. Participation portfolios were created for each adolescent from the interviews. The portfolios incorporated key characteristics of participation including the variety and structure of activities that typically occur at school or in the community and the development of activity-related identities. Three participation profiles reliably distinguished the presence of activity-related identity, depth of involvement in structure activities, and positive interaction with peers. All adolescents engaged in three to seven activities. They varied in their depth of involvement in one or two activities, in the structure of the activities they engaged in, and the degree to which they identified with an activity. Participation profiles allow for a more complex description of participation and their utility is discussed.

ROHATYN, Natalia. (2010). Measures of Processes of Teaching (MPOT) reliability and validity.

This thesis assesses the psychometric properties of a measure of teacher expertise/effectiveness, The Measure of Processes of Teaching (MPOT). A survey was completed by 142 students (69 boys and 73 girls) in grades 4 to 8. The MPOT demonstrated acceptable levels for test-retest reliability, and internal consistency. Construct validity was assessed using Factor Analysis, resulting in a 17-item questionnaire. Three underlying factors were found: Positive Teacher-student Relationships, Cognitive Engagement, and Personal Control. The MPOT demonstrates acceptable measurement properties when applied in an educational setting, and when used, would benefit both teachers and students.

RUMBOLD, Rita. (2006). The Effects of a Writing Workshop Designed to Improve Narrative/Story Structure and Organization of Students with ADHD.

Ten boys with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Grades 4 to 8 participated in a writing workshop that was tailored to suit the needs of poor writers with ADHD. The workshop combined a teaching technique developed by Graham & Harris (1997), termed the Self-regulated Strategy Development, with recommended teaching techniques to use with students who have ADHD. Story quality was measured before, during and after the course of instruction, using the Test of Written Language (TOWL-III) (Hammill & Larsen, 1996), and a writing assessment instrument constructed by the researchers. There was a significant increase in the scores of stories written after the instruction. Implications for teaching writing to students with ADHD are discussed.

Smith Hudson, Heather. (2010). The transition from nurse to nurse educator.

This directed research project examined two research questions: "What are the needs of Personal Support Worker (PSW) staff members?" and "What is the perceived level of teaching competency of PSW staff members?" These questions were examined using a questionnaire that examines the views of ten female nurses ranging in age from 29 to 59 as they embark on a career as a nurse educator in an adult high school of a Southwestern Ontario school board. It was found that their orientation to clinical teaching was inadequate, an orientation manual and more mentoring is presferred and that the adult high-school setting is unique in terms of learners and PSW teacher training. The program co-ordinator needs to work closely with administration to determine the needs of each new staff member and to ensure that they receive a sufficient orientation.

WASHINGTON, Karla. (2007). Exploring the Impact of Two Direct Treatment Programs for the Remediation of Expressive Grammar Deficits in Preschool and Kindergarten Children with Specific Language Impairment.

This small sample research study explored the outcomes of three different types of treatment designed to enhance expressive grammar in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Twenty-three, 3 to 4 year-old children with SLI characterized by moderate to severe expressive grammar difficulties served as participants in a 10-week intervention study. All participants were assessed using a variety of standardized testing tools of language including analysis of spontaneous language samples that were obtained in play with an adult. Using the consecutive sampling method of convenience sampling, participants were consecutively assigned to one of two direct treatment types: Conventional language treatment (CLT), Treatment 1 (n=7), or Computer-Assisted Treatment C-AT, Treatment 2 (n=7). A convenience sample of children receiving general facilitation techniques at home while awaiting treatment served as another comparison group, No Direct Treatment (NDT) – Treatment 3 (n=9).

The general design used was a pre-to-post assessment with an intervening 10-week treatment program, followed by a 3-month post-treatment assessment. Language skills were assessed at each time point. Because previous research has suggested that direct targeting of expressive grammar skills can facilitate increased social and emergent literacy skills, these two skill areas were evaluated at each time point. The influence of nonverbal IQ and initial language severity in predicting language gains post-intervention also was investigated. Results showed that direct treatment participants significantly outperformed participants receiving NDT on all evaluative measures. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two direct treatments. However, examination of effect sizes showed that C-AT had a smaller unexplained variance for all language measures compared to CLT. Participants' social and emergent literacy skills significantly increased over the course of the treatment program showing that direct targeting of expressive language skills can facilitate gains in these two skill areas. Further, both nonverbal IQ and initial language severity had significant and different predictive ability of language gains with treatment.

White, Matt (In progress). School re-entry protocols for children with acquired brain injury.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) results from trauma that causes temporary or permanent brain damage. Once critical medical issues are resolved, rehabilitation mainly involves learning and relearning; thus, schools play a critical role. The primary problem facing educators is the lack of appropriate school re-entry protocols to facilitate the transition from medical to educational settings. Without proper protocols, appropriate information is omitted, inappropriate decisions are made, and inadequate individual education plans are developed (Glang, 2008). Detailed research revealed that the extant literature contains no comprehensive protocols and Ontario school boards had no, or inadequate, protocols. This study uses a three-fold analytic framework to research and design a re-entry protocol based on research exemplars and best practice. The final version of the protocol will help bridge the gap in the healthcare-to-education continuum of care that is needed for students with ABI.

WILLIAMS, Amanda. (2005). Assessing Prospective Teachers' Attitudes Toward Students with Behaviour Difficulties over the Course of Pre-service Training.

This study examined the impact of practicum experience on pre-service teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of students with behaviour difficulties in the regular educational setting. A questionnaire package, consisting of the Educational Attitude Survey (EAS) (Reynolds & Greco, 1980) and a demographic information sheet, was administered to pre-service teachers at two different points in time: one in September at the beginning of the program before students had experienced practicum placements, and one in January in the middle of the program, after students had experienced practicum placements. The sample consisted of 37 participants who returned the questionnaire packages at both time points. Comparisons were made using paired and independent samples t-tests and chi-square analyses. Practicum experience appeared to significantly impact pre-service teachers' attitudes toward students with behaviour difficulties, where attitudes increased positively after exposure.

YOUNG, Gabrielle. (2007). The Effect of Assistive Technology on Perceptions of Academic Achievement and Self-esteem.

This study examined the impact of assistive technology (AT) computer programs, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, Inspiration, Kurzweil, and WordQ, on self-perceptions of academic achievement and self-esteem of students with severe learning disabilities. Participants were 23 students (16 males and 7 females), ages 11 to 15, in their first year of attendance at a demonstration school located in Ontario. The Self-Perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students assessed participants' self-esteem, and indicated an increase in perceived General Intellectual Ability. The Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale(PIADS) (Day & Jutai, 1996) assessed participants' views of the technology, and found that use of AT had a positive impact on participants. Open-ended interviews assessed whether the AT had affected participants' achievement and self-perceptions. Interview data indicated that AT had a positive impact on reading and writing, thus enabling participants to feel more confident in their academic abilities.

Young, Gabrielle. (In progress). Examining students' use of assistive technology, self-concept and school motivation across school transitions.

Assistive technology (AT) refers to any equipment that can be used to improve the functional capability of an individual (Reed & Bowser, 2005). For individuals with learning disabilities (LD), this includes computer programs that provide speech-to-text, text-to-speech, graphic organizers and word prediction capabilities. The current study employs multiple data sources to examine the impact of AT, and the effect it may continue to have on the self-concept of students with LD, school motivation and academic achievement as they transition from a two-year demonstration school program and are re-integrated back into the regular school system.

Twenty-four students with LD completed the Self-Perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students (SPP-LD; Renick & Harter, 1988). This was done in order to determine if there was a change in self-concept scores from when participants had little previous experience with the use of AT, to when they had frequent supported use of the AT. Twelve of these former demonstration school students participated in the current study. In addition to completing the SPP-LD, these students were asked to complete the Motivation and Engagement Scale (MES; Martin, 2009), the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS; Roeser, Midgley & Urdan, 1996), and the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS; Day & Jutai, 1996), at two points in time. These scales were used to asses changes that may occur in students' school motivation, their perceived level of support in both school environments, as well as the impact of AT on various components of participants' lives. These students and their parents were interviewed at two points in time. Interview questions surrounded students' experience at the demonstration school, students' transition to their new school, their use of AT, and whether their self-concept and school motivation changed as a result of attending the demonstration school and their current school.

Results from the PIADS indicated that the use of AT had a positive impact on students' competence, adaptability, and self-esteem, both at the demonstration school and at their high schools. Data from the PALS demonstrated that students perceived the student-teacher relationships to be more supportive at the demonstration school than at their high schools. Results from the SPP-LD indicated that students' perceived general intellectual ability, and their perceived reading, writing, spelling, and math competence increased from when participants started their residency at the demonstration school, to when they were near completing the demonstration school program. These increases in academic self-concept remained when students were near to completing their first year back at their local high schools. The interview data supported the survey data and further clarified students' increases in academic self-concept. Students demonstrated that attending the demonstration school helped to improve their school motivation. This level of increased motivation persisted when students returned to their local high schools as data from the MES established that there was no significant difference between students' motivation and engagement at the demonstration school and at high school.

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