Search

This study investigated 128 post-secondary educators' attitudes toward disability at a college and a university in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The participants completed the Educators' Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS) and a demographic questionnaire that included questions about their experiences with disability. There were three research questions at the heart of this study: (1) What are post-secondary educators' overall attitudes toward disability? (2) Do demographic factors predict post-secondary educators' attitudes toward disability? (3) Does exposure to people with disability predict post-secondary educators' attitudes toward disability? The findings of this study suggest post-secondary educators hold overall positive attitudes toward disability and there were very few differences observed between groups (e.g., based on age, gender, discipline, etc.). Educators' experiences with people who have a disability, however, were positively associated with their attitudes. This factor included personal experiences (e.g., friends, family, etc.), but also professional experiences (e.g., students in their classes).

Inclusive education is a philosophy and practice that has been promoted internationally. Most scholars now agree that inclusion is more than the placement of students with exceptionalities in a general education class. Instead, definitions of inclusion have expanded to encompass feelings of belongingness. This definition is an improvement, but begs the question: how do we help students to feel more of a part of their class? Ableist attitudes held by students without special education needs may be hindering inclusive ideals. This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of current research (2012-2019) on students' attitudes toward disability. The searching strategy resulted in 37 peer-reviewed journal articles. This review offers a synthesis of the research in the field, which includes determinant studies and intervention studies. The article pool includes 21 determinant studies and 16 intervention studies. Eight determinant and three intervention themes are presented. Recommendations for future research and implications for inclusive education are discussed.

This paper explores the development of a flexible, free, online certificate program built on open educational resources to support instructors transitioning to online and non-traditional teaching modes. The program offers multiple pathways to completion, including recognition of prior learning and immersing participants in the online learning environment. We describe the challenges learners had to overcome to engage in the program and how, in doing so, they were able to embrace constructivist and connectivist approaches. These, in turn, afforded them ongoing connections, broke the mold of preconceptions and myths when preparing to engage future online learners, and shaped their practice through exposure to learning theories and evidence-based practices. In this paper, we explore the initial design of the program through the lens of the program facilitators and learners from the first cohort, and share our collective learning and reflections from this process.

This article presents an assessment tool for doctoral students preparing their comprehensive portfolio. This tool was created from my firsthand experience in the Joint PhD program in Educational Studies--a collaboration between three universities in Ontario, Canada: Lakehead University, Brock University, and the University of Windsor. Following the three criteria for evaluation of the comprehensive portfolio in the program handbook, I developed nine sub-criteria (three for each criterion). This assessment tool can be used for educational purposes, as doctoral students begin to organize and narrate their doctoral journey. Students can map their experiences to the sub-criteria developed, allowing them to be explicit about how their presented scholarly tasks have helped in preparing them for candidacy. While this tool has an obvious application for students within the Joint PhD program, students in other programs with similar requirements may also find it useful due to its theoretical grounding in literature on the process of scholarship.

Poor attitudes towards disability held by one's peers can negatively impact the social experiences of students with exceptionalities. Fortunately, educational intervention efforts can serve to enhance children's attitudes towards disability. This quasi-experimental study tested the effectiveness of the Tripartite Intervention (TI), a 12-lesson educational intervention aimed at improving students' attitudes towards disability. Two Grade 4 classes from a large rural school in Southwestern Ontario made up the control and experimental groups. The CATCH scale was used to measure students' attitudes towards disability before and after the intervention. 2 × 2 mixed ANOVAs were calculated to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. There was a significant main effect for time, but a non-significant interaction effect when global attitude scores were examined. A significant interaction effect was found, however, for the cognitive dimension. These findings indicate that the TI had an impact on how students thought about disability. Determinant factors were also examined. Having a family member was associated with more positive attitudes towards disability, whereas self-reported gender and friendship with someone who has a disability were not. Replication studies on the effects of the TI with larger and more diverse samples are needed.

Cet article presente un outil devaluation destine aux etudiants de doctorat qui preparent leur portfolio. Cet outil a ete cree a partir de mon experience personnelle dans le programme conjoint de doctorat en pedagogie--une collaboration entre trois universites en Ontario, au Canada : l'Universite Lakehead, l'Universite de Brock et l'Universite de Windsor. En suivant les trois criteres d'evaluation d'un portfolio que contient le manuel du programme, j'ai developpe neuf sous-criteres (trois pour chaque critere). Cet outil d'evaluation peut etre utilise a des fins pedagogiques alors que les doctorants commencent a organiser leur parcours doctoral. Les etudiants peuvent suivre les neuf sous-criteres developpes, ce qui leur permettra d'expliciter la facon dont les taches universitaires presentees les ont aides a se preparer a leur candidature au doctorat. Bien que cet outil ait une application evidente pour les etudiants du programme de doctorat conjoint, les etudiants d'autres programmes ayant des exigences semblables peuvent egalement le trouver utile en raison de son ancrage theorique dans la litterature au sujet du processus de recherche. Mots-cles: etudes doctorales, evaluations globales, portfolio du doctorant, analyse, candidature This article presents an assessment tool for doctoral students preparing their comprehensive portfolio. This tool was created from my firsthand experience in the Joint PhD program in Educational Studies--a collaboration between three universities in Ontario, Canada: Lakehead University, Brock University, and the University of Windsor. Following the three criteria for evaluation of the comprehensive portfolio in the program handbook, I developed nine sub-criteria (three for each criterion). This assessment tool can be used for educational purposes, as doctoral students begin to organize and narrate their doctoral journey. Students can map their experiences to the sub-criteria developed, allowing them to be explicit about how their presented scholarly tasks have helped in preparing them for candidacy. While this tool has an obvious application for students within the Joint PhD program, students in other programs with similar requirements may also find it useful due to its theoretical grounding in literature on the process of scholarship. Keywords: doctoral studies, comprehensive examinations/portfolios, assessment, candidacy, Introduction An important milestone for many doctoral students is the successful completion of a comprehensive examination (sometimes referred to as a candidacy examination, or colloquially referred to simply as 'comps'). [...]

This article presents the Educators' Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS). This scale was developed from the Social Workers Attitudes toward Disability Scale (SWADS). A sample of 128 postsecondary educators from one college and one university in Ontario, Canada completed the EADS, the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons scale (ATDP), and a demographic questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to verify that the subscales from the original SWADS (i.e. affect, behaviour/practice, and cognition) were present in the EADS. Pearson's correlation was also calculated between the scores on the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons-Form B (ATDP-B) and the EADS as a measure of validity. Finally, Cronbach's alpha was calculated for the purpose of internal reliability among the items in the EADS. Preliminary findings suggest that the EADS may be a valid and reliable instrument, but measures attitudes unidimensionally.

In recent years, educational assistants (EAs) have taken on an integral role in special education. They often work with the most challenging and vulnerable student population (i.e., students with exceptionalities). To prepare EAs, some of Ontario's publicly funded colleges have developed pre-service training programs. In Ontario, the number of students receiving special education services from kindergarten to Grade 12 is increasing, and policy trends are advocating for inclusion. Literature has suggested that educators' attitudes toward educational inclusion may impact the extent to which inclusive strategies are implemented. Despite the importance that EAs bring to the special education team, very few studies have investigated their attitudes toward inclusion. This qualitative study investigated four pre-service EAs' attitudes toward educational inclusion through the use of semi-structured interviews. Participants held mostly positive attitudes toward inclusion, but expressed concerns about implementation. Recommendations are made for policy, practice, and research based on three themes that emerged from the data.

This paper explores the development of a flexible, free, online certificate program built on open educational resources to support instructors transitioning to online and non-traditional teaching modes. The program offers multiple pathways to completion, including recognition of prior learning and immersing participants in the online learning environment. We describe the challenges learners had to overcome to engage in the program and how, in doing so, they were able to embrace constructivist and connectivist approaches. These, in turn, afforded them ongoing connections, broke the mold of preconceptions and myths when preparing to engage future online learners, and shaped their practice through exposure to learning theories and evidence-based practices. In this paper, we explore the initial design of the program through the lens of the program facilitators and learners from the first cohort, and share our collective learning and reflections from this process. Nous nous penchons ici sur l’élaboration d’un programme de certificat gratuit, souple et basé sur des ressources éducationnelles ouvertes. Offert en ligne, ce programme est conçu pour aider les professeurs à faire la transition vers l’enseignement en ligne et vers des méthodes d’enseignement non traditionnelles. Il existe de nombreuses manières de satisfaire aux exigences du programme, y compris la reconnaissance de l’apprentissage et de l’immersion dans un environnement d’apprentissage en ligne. Dans notre article, nous faisons état des difficultés auxquelles les apprenants ont été confrontés lors de leur participation au programme. Nous montrons comment, en surmontant ces obstacles, ils se sont approprié des approches constructivistes et connectées, lesquelles leur ont permis d’établir des connexions et de déconstruire certains mythes et préjugés au bénéfice des futurs apprenants en ligne, tout en les aidant à façonner leur pratique au moyen de théories de l’apprentissage et de pratiques fondées sur des données probantes. Notre étude examine la conception initiale du programme à partir du point de vue des animateurs et des apprenants de la première cohorte. Nous présentons également les réflexions et les leçons que nous avons tirées, collectivement, de cette expérience.

Disability is a complex phenomenon that children often find challenging to fully grasp. Understanding how children perceive disability, however, could have important implications for the social inclusion of students with disabilities. Once we understand how children conceptualize disability, efforts can be made to help students critically analyze misconceptions and stereotypes. Negative stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination toward people with disability can contribute toward ableism in schools. Ableism cannot be addressed with the cognitive dimension alone but developing an accurate understanding of disability seems to be a necessary first step, especially for children. In this study, students in a Grade 4 class in Southwestern Ontario were asked to define the word disability in their own words, draw a character with a disability, and provide a description of their drawing. The majority of drawings were of characters with physical disability and most of the definitions of disability were based upon deficit thinking. Children's understanding of disability in definition and drawings were examined. As part of a larger intervention study, students were asked to define the word disability and draw a character with a disability, as well as provide a description of their drawing. Students' definitions of disability fell into 5 categories: (1) Disadvantaged, (2) Special, (3) Assistive Devices, (4) Attention and Support, and (5) Types of Disability. Students' drawings of disability were categorized by the type of disability that was drawn/described. These included: (1) Physical Disabilities, (2) Autism, (3) Sensory Disabilities, and (4) Learning Disabilities. Drawings were mostly of characters with physical disabilities and most definitions focused on the perceived disadvantages of having a disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agile Faculty: Practical Strategies for Managing Research, Service, and Teaching by Rebecca Pope-Ruark Illinois, United States of America: The University of Chicago Press, 2017, 190 pages ISBN-13: 978-0-226-46315-5 (paper) The [...]