Presenter(s)

Kelsey Lamountain

Abstract

Students with severe disabilities continue to face multiple barriers in accessing their education compared to their non-disabled peers. Specifically, they can be segregated from their peers without disabilities, general education teachers, and the general education curriculum. Despite these barriers, special education teachers can work within their role to disrupt ableism and stop harmful practices. In addition to being case managers and teachers, special education teachers can take on the role as advocate as they work towards persisting past the above barriers. Research has documented the importance of teacher educators preparing special education teachers as change agents (Olson & Roberts 2017; Olson & Roberts, 2020). Specifically, a change agent needs to be ready and willing to recognize and disrupt practices that continue to marginalize students with severe disabilities. The purpose of this study is to understand positive changes that special education teachers have made around how students with severe disabilities access the general curriculum. Additionally, we queried why they made these changes and barriers and supports in doing so. We also sought to understand if special education teachers’ teacher preparation programs prepared them to engage in making these changes. Data was collected using a structured interview process. Qualitative data was analyzed using the software program Dedoose. Preliminary themes will be presented in this presentation. Critically, recommendations for how special education teachers can engage in this work will be provided. Moreover, we will outline ways that teacher preparation programs can prepare special education teachers to engage in this work.

College

College of Education

Department

Special Education

Campus

Winona

First Advisor/Mentor

Amy J. Andersen

Start Date

4-24-2025 2:00 PM

End Date

4-24-2025 3:00 PM

Presentation Type

Poster Session - Early-Year RCA

Format of Presentation or Performance

In-Person

Session

2b=2pm-3pm

Poster Number

30

Comments

WSU Review Needed

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Apr 24th, 2:00 PM Apr 24th, 3:00 PM

Changemakers for Students with Severe Disabilities

Students with severe disabilities continue to face multiple barriers in accessing their education compared to their non-disabled peers. Specifically, they can be segregated from their peers without disabilities, general education teachers, and the general education curriculum. Despite these barriers, special education teachers can work within their role to disrupt ableism and stop harmful practices. In addition to being case managers and teachers, special education teachers can take on the role as advocate as they work towards persisting past the above barriers. Research has documented the importance of teacher educators preparing special education teachers as change agents (Olson & Roberts 2017; Olson & Roberts, 2020). Specifically, a change agent needs to be ready and willing to recognize and disrupt practices that continue to marginalize students with severe disabilities. The purpose of this study is to understand positive changes that special education teachers have made around how students with severe disabilities access the general curriculum. Additionally, we queried why they made these changes and barriers and supports in doing so. We also sought to understand if special education teachers’ teacher preparation programs prepared them to engage in making these changes. Data was collected using a structured interview process. Qualitative data was analyzed using the software program Dedoose. Preliminary themes will be presented in this presentation. Critically, recommendations for how special education teachers can engage in this work will be provided. Moreover, we will outline ways that teacher preparation programs can prepare special education teachers to engage in this work.

 

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