SRU ETD Test 20250603

Creating a fully inclusive educational environment continues to be a topic for educational reform. Children with disabilities have the right to access their education in the Least Restrictive Environment. In the United States, this right is protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004). Approximately 13.3% of the total number of students with disabilities in the United States are educated in a separate setting. In comparison, 49.2% of all students with a disability in the United States identified as having a cognitive impairment continue to be educated in a separate class setting (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). This study will use mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative data) analysis to examine the attitude of middle school teachers toward the inclusion of students with a cognitive impairment who access their curriculum using alternate standards in the regular education class setting, available training, and needed resources. This study identified factors which influence teacher attitudes toward the inclusion of students using alternate standards, available training, and teacher perceptions for needed resources for an effective inclusion program at the middle school level. The information from the study will be used to provide recommendations to school leaders related to improving supports, training, and services for teachers with the goal of increasing the participation of students using alternate standards in the regular education setting.

The issue of class size is a contentious issue in American education. While there is substantial empirical support for the existence of a negative correlation between class size and student achievement, numerous practical difficulties prevent schools from being able to further shrink class sizes. Policy-makers and educators need to achieve a more precise understanding of the degree to which class sizes make contributions to student achievement, as only such an understanding can allow decision-makers to set an effective class size policy. Educators have indicated that with smaller class sizes they are able to produce better student achievement results in reading and mathematics. With the increase in teacher accountability, class size is a topic discussed at the school district level.\n\nThis independent meta-analytic investigation occurred within the Mohawk Area School District. The study sample included 93 reading classrooms and 97 mathematics classrooms ranging from grade levels kindergarten through eighth grade. The purpose of this quantitative case study based on statistical meta-analysis \n as to calculate the effect size of class size on student achievement in the Mohawk Area School District, Grades K-8. This purpose was achieved through calculating the effect size using Cohen's d. The i-Ready assessment was used as the standardized measure to calculate the effect of class size on achievement in reading and math.\n\nThe analysis of this investigation indicates that there is no meaningful effect of class size on reading and math performance. These results are important considerations for the Mohawk Area School District as it faces budget constraints that impact the ability of the district to make class size decisions in the best interest of the staff and students.

Since the establishment of social emotional learning (SEL) as a conceptual framework to increase students' prosocial and emotional competencies, research has been conducted to provide an evidence base to its programmatic effects. This study examined the efficacy of Second Step, a universally delivered SEL curriculum. Evidence of efficacy is supplied through a mixed-method research design providing three separate data metrics for quantitative and qualitative analysis. The sample set was derived from the behavior data of 505 students who attended a suburban K-5 elementary school in northwest Pennsylvania for two consecutive years. Also included in the sample are 22 teachers who participated in a voluntary survey. Quantitative analysis was conducted through a quasi-experimental design utilizing a McNemar test to determine the statistical significance of negative behavior prevalence in comparing two school years. Additional quantitative data was supplied through a Likert-scale questionnaire. Contextual qualitative information was supplied from an open-ended survey. Through this study, it was determined that the Second Step SEL program had a statistically significant impact on the behaviors of students as well as an impact on the climate of the building. While teachers felt the stress of teaching the newly implemented SEL curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic, results from the study suggest that the benefits of implementing the program outweighed this negative effect. Results also showed an impact on students in the special education emotional support subgroup. The evidence this study provides will help schools work to strengthen their students' social, emotional, and behavioral capacities.

This qualitative thematic analysis explored children's varying degrees of trust during music therapy after having witnessed domestic violence. As rates of domestic violence increase across the United States, children's sense of trust is affected and there is a need for further music therapy research from the perspectives of these children. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four child survivors of domestic violence after receiving four months of music therapy to explore how they understand and experience trust, as well as how trusting relationships are established and maintained with a therapist. Additional questions considered personal qualities that lead to trust or distrust, aspects of music therapy experiences that lead to additional trust in the therapist at different times, how experiences of trust change over time, what contributes to this change, and how the sociocultural locations of the therapist and child influence trust. The findings demonstrated that trust is a complex process that evolves over time and depends on certain qualities in a therapist, familiarity, and various aspects of music therapy. Three main themes with 13 sub-themes were found: qualities for trust and distrust (qualities that increase trust, qualities that decrease trust), process of developing trust and overall evolution (initial distrust/trust, insecurities and fears from participants' past, familiarity leads to trust, connection to family/friends, feelings and experiences with trust, builds over time), and qualities of music therapy experiences (autonomy and choice, familiarity and predictability, types of instruments, types of experiences, music contains a wide range of expression). Findings provide recommendations for how practicing music therapists can create a trusting therapeutic relationship with child, adolescent, and adult survivors of domestic violence.

This research proposal aims to explore the perceptions of general education teachers towards children with disabilities who are integrated into general education classrooms. This qualitative study seeks to gain insights into how these teachers perceive the abilities and challenges of these children and how they believe they can best support them in their learning. The research will survey responses with a sample of general education teachers to collect data on their experiences and perspectives. The findings of this study could contribute to a better understanding of the attitudes and beliefs that inform teachers' practice towards children with disabilities in general education and inform the development of strategies to enhance inclusive education for all students.

Music therapy has historically not addressed sex as a topic within clinical practice despite its clinical relevance to the human experience. As a field that works with an abundance of disabled clients who are often harmed by social and systemic infantilization which prevents them from access to sexual knowledge, it could be argued that music therapists should be trained to provide basic levels of support to this community in particular given the high level of need. Nevertheless, there are many questions and conflicting ideas around music therapy scope of practice as it pertains to these topics, barriers to education and clinical implementation and viable solutions to this gap in knowledge as a profession. While the music therapy literature has seen an increase in disability justice research in recent years, it offers little to nothing on the topic of engaging in clinically relevant discussion of sex, and most certainly not within the context of disability. This study aimed to examine music therapists' educational and clinical experiences on engaging in sexual topics with disabled clients, as well as measuring personal feelings of comfort in engaging in these conversations. It was conducted via an anonymous survey intended to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a wide array of music therapists. Data was collected and analyzed according to an objectivist framework and qualitative data in particular was analyzed for common themes. Results indicate a lack of training and education in the facilitation of such topics, and the majority of participants reported complex feelings on the various intersecting layers of these conversations. While many reported feeling discomfort in relation to this topic, so too did many indicate a desire to reflect more critically and intentionally on the subject. It is hoped that this study's data will serve as an impetus for our field to shift cultural and education practices to better prepare therapists for these conversations on these topics.

This study explores music therapists' experiences of personal musicking. The research question is: What role does personal musicking play in the music therapist's life? Data was collected using individual, semi-structured interviews with five music therapists in the United States. Interviews were transcribed and coded for themes using reflexive thematic analysis. Seven themes emerged from the participant transcripts, which were (1) facets of positive musical relationship; (2) personal and professional connections; (3) ways of musicking; (4) music aspirations; (5) hindrances to musical relationship; (6) emotions; and (7) barriers to musicking. Within each theme, three to six subthemes were also identified, totaling 30 subthemes. Participants described a variety of music experiences which contribute to a positive musical relationship though many internal and external factors inhibited their actual ability to engage in musicking as much as they would like or desire. Participants compared their experiences of musicking in clinical spaces with that of their personal musicking, and the boundaries drawn between clinical and personal music were unique to each participant. Implications for the music therapy profession include: considerations of thinking styles and values around different types of musicking; a call for curricula adaptation in music therapy training to encourage musical identity formation via many ways of musicking; and encouragement for practicing clinicians to continue exploring their sense of musicianship to maintain ethical practice and recognize the ways that musicking influences their own health and wellness.

If music therapists are following the code of ethics, they should be striving to provide inclusive practices. This includes how gender, and its concepts are communicated by therapists. In context of clinical group work, promoting gender inclusivity can be cultivated through disclosure and musical choices. Additionally, there are contextual factors that influence clinical decisions made by the therapist. These factors can impact how gender identity is shared and explored by the therapist and clients in the group setting. There is growing research in the music therapy and counseling field regarding the impact of disclosing gender pronouns as well as how the therapeutic relationship is perceived to be impacted by the act of sharing pronouns with clients. However, minimal research has been curious towards how these decisions are made by the clinicians. This thesis aimed to explore the experiences of music therapists sharing or not sharing their pronouns within group settings, and how pronouns are considered when selecting songs for clinical experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants, who were recruited from social media postings. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data: 1) potential for harm, 2) culturally affirming practices, 3) context, and 4) musical considerations. The researcher hopes this research will be a useful addition to the growing literature exploring gender-inclusive music therapy practices.

The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of students who have experienced two different types of crisis intervention for aggressive or self-injurious behaviors, one being restraint and the other a restraint-free, trauma-informed approach. Studies on the use of restraint have found that it has detrimental emotional and physical effects, along with the risk of injury and death. Emerging research into the use of trauma-informed approaches (TIA) has demonstrated that they can substantially reduce or effectively negate the need for restrictive practices. For the purposes of this qualitative study, participants were in grades six through twelve and had a history with both restraint and Ukeru™. All were recruited from one school district in Pennsylvania and took part in face-to-face interviews with the researcher. Resulting themes confirmed previous negative associations with restraint. Conversely, Ukeru™ was described using neutral or positive terms and was deemed a safer option when students recalled experiences. The results of this study indicate that schools can safely support students in crisis without the use of restraint using Ukeru™, a TIA that avoids re-traumatization, increases safety, and maintains connections with staff.

A mixed methods research study involving an eight-week music therapy group was facilitated virtually for LGBTQIA+ parents experiencing postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was administered upon first session and last session to capture potential impact of music therapy group on mental health over time. The Brief Mood Introspection Scale was administered at the beginning and end of each session to capture short term impact of group music therapy. A semi-structured focus group was facilitated to capture experiences of and feedback from participants, and interviews were scheduled with participants who did not attend the focus group. Interviews and the focus group were transcribed and analyzed and six themes were identified: community and solidarity built around shared experiences, music within and beyond the group, expansiveness and generativity in parenthood, response to experience, attendance and timing challenges, and accessibility. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale did not show statistically significant changes in mood over the course of the eight-week group but was limited by sample size and an outlier score. The Brief Mood Introspection Scale showed more significant trends in increased pleasant mood, decreased stress, and increased positivity after the session. When LGBTQIA+ parents were able to attend the session, they reported meaningful impacts despite attendance challenges. Findings may be useful in developing music therapy practice and research.