Supporting General Educators' Inclusive Practices in Mathematics and Science Education.
This paper describes a state-funded project at Southeastern Louisiana University that offered coursework and direct classroom assistance to general educators attempting to include students with disabilities for mathematics and science instruction. Thirty-five general educators in five parish school systems participated. A sequence of three credit courses was developed to include instruction in collaboration skills, in curricula/test accommodations, and in behavior management. The paper offers examples of how the general educator participants applied learned principles in inclusive settings including practical application of mathematics skills in a school coffee and beignet shop, mock elections, cultivating a school vegetable garden, collecting and analyzing water samples, and conducting field trips. The project was effective in dispensing information to general educators in curricular accommodations, behavior management techniques, and collaboration skills and participants were also successfully applying this information in their home classrooms. Preand post-testing indicated significant changes in attitudes toward inclusion and knowledge of special education. Twenty-three participants continued on to become certified in special education. Problems encountered included participant attrition, recruitment difficulties, and limited course options. (Contains 10 references.) (DB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Inclusion in Science and Mathematics 1 Supporting General Educators' Inclusive Practices in Mathematics and Science Education Rita Coombs-Richardson, Ph.D. Southeastern Louisiana University rrichardson@selu.edu and Sarah E. Al-Juraid, Project Inclusion Coordinator Southeastern Louisiana University
Perceptions of co-teaching by content area and special education teachers with and without experience
Schools are required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) to include students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Recently there has been emphasis on co-teaching as a method to comply with this mandate. Co-teaching is a technique geared at utilizing a special education teacher and a content area teacher to concurrently instruct both students with and without disabilities in the general education setting. It is well established in the literature that it is vital that together both the content area teacher and special education teacher in these settings be effectively trained to meet the needs of the students with disabilities without hindering the progress of the students without disabilities (Fleming & Bauer, 2007; Goor, 1994; Dieker, & Murawski, 2003). This study investigated the perceptions of special education and content area teachers with and without experience co-teaching of co-teaching. Twenty-two content area and fifteen special education teachers with and without co-teaching experience and currently enrolled (academic year of 2012-2013) in the graduate course of ED530 Teacher as a Researcher at Bridgewater State University responded to an 82-item survey to identify their experience and perspectives on co-teaching. Results of this study identified several features of content area and special education teachers’ experience and views of co-teaching. Recommendations are offered for future research in the area of co-teaching and co-teaching professional development.
The Propensity of Community College Chief Academy Officers to Leave an Institution
The study described in this report was designed to measure the propensity of community college chief academic officers (CAOs) to leave their current position and college, the levels of satisfaction they feel with their jobs, and their perceptions of role conflict and ambiguity. For the purposes of this study, a chief academic officer (CAO) is defined as the administrative head with responsibility for all academic affairs at the institution. At most community colleges the chief academic officer is the second highest-ranking administrative officer and reports to the president. Although there are numerous titles in use, the most common titles used by community colleges for the chief academic officer include academic dean, academic vice-president, vice-president for instruction, instructional dean, dean of the college, . . . . In addition, community colleges often use the title "provost" to designate the head of a campus in multi-campus or multi-college operations; in many cases, the provost also serves as the chief academic officer for the campus. Definitions aside, however, each institution recognizes its chief academic officer as the person responsible for the institution's academic programs, the academic leader who works directly with the faculty. (Vaughan, 1990, p. 6) Recently the executive vice president has become an increasingly popular title for those performing the duties of the CAO at community colleges. Despite the nearly universal existence of job descriptions for this position at community colleges, the responsibilities of the chief academic officer are often ill-defined (Wolverton, Wolverton, & Gmelch, 1999). Vaughan (1990) notes that researchers have documented from 48 to 168 separate duties for CAOs at community colleges. Although not all duties carry the same degree of urgency, the CAO is accountable for performing or supervising the performance of all of them. Because CAOs are the direct link between the administration and faculty, they may have a greater effect on the internal affairs of an institution than even the president (Birnbaum, 1992; Mech, 1997; Vaughan, 1990). Despite its potential for effectiveness, this position often means being caught between the administration and the faculty, which is a significant source of role conflict and role ambiguity for CAOs. Role conflict occurs when individuals find it necessary to handle duties that appear to be inconsistent or in conflict with their self-perception of their role or roles within the organizational structure. For example, for CAOs this might occur when (in their administrative role) they have to carry out a personnel action having a negative effect on a faculty member who (in their faculty leader role) they consider a colleague. Role ambiguity, on the other hand, occurs when a CAO is uncertain about the functional boundaries of his or her organizational role. For example, a CAO who believes he or she needs to seek higher-level approval for what to others is a routine decision may be experiencing role ambiguity. Suppose, for example, a CAO believes that a faculty member's willingness to develop an Internet-based course justifies reducing or redistributing his or his workload. If the CAO is uncertain, about whether he or she needs to seek presidential approval before offering the faculty member a reduced load this would be role ambiguity. Several researchers who have focused on institutions of higher education have concluded that there is a direct connection between job satisfaction and stress resulting from role conflict or role ambiguity (McBride, Munday, & Tunnell, 1992; Milosheff, 1990; Simpson, 1984). Researchers have also established that job dissatisfaction and voluntary job turnover are strongly correlated (Cano & Miller, 1992; Glick, 1992; McBride, Munday, & Tunnell, 1992). Job satisfaction represents the individual workers subjective evaluation of the degree to which his or her requirements are met by the work environment. …