Date of Award

Fall 12-2007

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership and Research

Committee Chair

Dr. David E. Lee

Committee Member 2

Dr. Gary Peters

Committee Member 3

Dr. Gaylynn Parker

Committee Member 4

Dr. Mary Nell McNeese

Abstract

This research project measured teachers’ perspectives of both planning instruction and consultation/collaboration as they related to fifth-grade special education students in both a regional and national setting. Data selected from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), specifically the ECLS-K Fifth Grade Spring 2003-04 were used in the present study. The estimated number of fifth graders was 1,031. In the regional sample, 30 teachers participated in completing the ECLS-K Fifth Grade Spring 2003-04, Fifth Grade Teacher Questionnaire.

A one-sample t-Test was conducted to evaluate differences in Research Question 1 and Research Question 2 that specifically measured whether teachers’ perceptions of planning instruction and consultation/collaboration are perceived as important to fifth grade special education students in both the regional and national cohorts, with a significant difference noted in both samples; specifically the regional mean sample significantly higher for both planning instruction and consultation/collaboration.

A hierarchical regression was also conducted in the national sample. The linear combination of SES, race, and gender primarily, and teachers’ instructional planning and consultation/collaboration secondarily, statistically significantly predicted the reading achievement of fifth-grade special education students.

Recommendations for future research in the area of special education students with respects to reading and achievement could analyze other factors perceived by teachers as important in special education students; extending to a larger sample size that is diverse in their supportive services.