Dissertation
Establishing the role of principals in meaningfully involving secondary special educators in the school community
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00010636
Abstract
Special educators do not feel involved in their school community due to a lack of understanding of their area of specialty. This lack of involvement leads to special educators feeling their jobs and needs are misunderstood or ignored within their school. Without the intervention and support of their principals, special educators continue to struggle with being involved in their schools, which impacts their access to support from their general education peers. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the stories of secondary special educators as they describe their experiences with their principals and their efforts of involving them within the school community. This study seeks to center the voices of special educators at the forefront to clearly detail what kind of support they wish to receive as well as the impact their principal has on their professional identity. The research questions guiding this narrative inquiry were: 1. What stories do secondary special educators share about their principal's facilitation of opportunities to include them within the school community? 2. To what extent, if any, do secondary special educators describe experiencing collaboration and communication with their general education colleagues? 3. How do secondary special educators describe the connections between their principal's special education training and being included in the school community? The findings found in this study may be used to benefit special educators by informing principals, district level leaders, policy makers and principal preparation programs the skills and policies that principals and schools need to ensure that their special educators feel included and heard within their schools to increase special educators' retention and job satisfaction.
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Details
- Title
- Establishing the role of principals in meaningfully involving secondary special educators in the school community
- Creators
- Brea Cummings
- Contributors
- Stephanie Smith Budhai (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- viii, 163 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021889314304721