First Advisor

Urbach, Jennifer

First Committee Member

Bowen, Sandra K.

Second Committee Member

Peterson, Lori Y.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

8-2024

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Special Education, Special Education Student Work

Abstract

The inclusive service delivery model is a philosophy of education that involves changing how educators address disability and provide educational services. Arkansas has recently developed a plan to implement inclusion whenever possible to better comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guidelines for students with disabilities. Preparing for implementation, Arkansas leaders compared data from the Every Student Succeeds Act prior to and following the implementation of inclusive service delivery in pilot schools. Data were positive for increased achievement in literacy and mathematics. Arkansas has created a timeline for implementation, setting a goal for fully inclusive practices in Arkansas by the 2029-2030 school year. Speech-language pathologists are service providers within schools who provide intervention for children with speech and language needs. These providers are part of the plan for inclusive services, but there is little research into how speech-language pathologists view these services and how they work with general educators to help students access the general curriculum. The purpose of this study was to gain information about the experiences and perspectives of the inclusive service delivery model from both the SLP and the general education teacher’s viewpoints to explore how their roles and responsibilities change and to discover the strengths and weaknesses of the service delivery model. The research questions asked were: Q1 What are the general educators’ experiences and/or perceptions of the SLPs’ inclusive service practices within the general educators’ classroom? Q1a How have the SLPs’ inclusion practices impacted educational delivery in the general education classroom? Q1b What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the inclusive service delivery model from the general educators’ perspective? Q2 What are the experiences and perceptions of SLPs transitioning from pull-out services to inclusive services within the general education classroom? Q2a How have the SLPs’ roles and responsibilities changed during the implementation of inclusion? Q2b What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the inclusive service delivery model from the SLPs’ perspective? A transcendental phenomenological qualitative approach was used for this study. Four Speech-language pathologists and four general educators were interviewed together and then individually, and emerging themes and essential themes were formed to describe their experiences and perceptions. Two essential themes were formed from the general educators’ interviews: Benefits of Inclusion and Essential Elements for Effective Inclusion. The first theme was formed from two emerging themes: (1) Exposure to the Classroom, and (2) More Support. Two essential themes formed from the speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs) interviews. The first SLP essential theme is Benefits of Inclusion formed from two emerging themes: (1) Therapy Connects to the Classroom, and (2) Providing More Support. The second SLP essential theme was Essential Elements for Effective Inclusion. This theme was formed from the following four emerging themes: (1) Defining Inclusion, (2) Collaboration, (3) Environmental Factors, (3) Environmental Factors, and (4) Re-Thinking Roles.

Abstract Format

html

Extent

147 pages

Local Identifiers

Rine_unco_0161D_11253.pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

Download

Share

COinS