Using Implementation Science Active Implementation Frameworks to Implement an Instructional Framework to Increase Teacher Capacity for Instructional Access for Students With Disabilities

This article discusses the use of the Active Implementation Frameworks (AIF; Fixsen et al., 2005; Fixsen & Blasé, 2011) in a grant-funded project to implement the use of Universal Design for Learning as an instructional intervention to improve the access to quality instruction for students with disabilities. The discussion is based upon data specific to the AIF Implementation Drivers that facilitate and ensure the success of initiatives. The data illustrate the extent that characteristics of the respective schools and districts participating in the project impacted the fidelity of implementation processes and their associated outcomes.

Redesigning Deficit-Laden Assessments for Neurodivergent Students

In this chapter, the authors deconstruct the deficit views inherent in special education assessment wherein marginalized, neurodivergent students receive stigmatizing labels and are often deprived of opportunities for quality instruction. The authors examine how eligibility criteria based on deficit views of disability are culturally biased and scientifically invalid. Then, the deficit perspective of Individualized Education Programs are analyzed to demonstrate how neurodivergent students and their families are isolated and objectified through this legal process. Lastly, as an alternative to the current assessment system, universally designed assessment is recommended to provide more accessible and flexible platforms for demonstrating students' knowledge and skills and to restore the lost connection between assessments and daily instruction.

Urban Secondary School Administrators and Faculty Perceptions of Multitiered System of Supports/Response to Intervention

MTSS promises a school-wide early warning system, high-quality instruction, and evidence-based interventions. However, research has focused mainly on the elementary level. This study examined the beliefs and perceptions of over 300 administrators and teachers currently implementing MTSS in secondary schools using survey research. Results showed that special education teachers and administrators had significantly higher MTSS/RtI beliefs and perceptions of their own academic and behavioral MTSS/RtI instructional and intervention skills. Recommendations include the need for extensive and intensive professional development, delineation of role clarity, increased fidelity of implementation, and staff accountability.

Comparative Analysis of Student Engagement in Digital Textbook Use during Quarantine

Following the suspension of classes in Morocco due to the health crisis related to COVID-19, an adaptation of the pedagogical intervention of teaching is required. Distance learning is an essential lever contributing to ensuring the educational continuity of students. In this sense, our contribution is to ensure the educational continuity of students during the period of containment through the use of a digital manual. The digital textbook is made available to students of the 1st year of the qualifying secondary education. Through a tracking grid, we measured the student engagement during two different periods without and with the use of the digital textbook. The results show that the digital textbook was able to elicit student engagement in the completion of learning activities with a remarkable improvement of 57.1% in student engagement rate over the two periods (t (273) = 11.059, p < 0.001). Student engagement while using a digital textbook can lead to better academic performance (r = 0.743, p = 0.000 < 0.01). No one can deny the importance of distance learning as a powerful tool that allows teachers to improve their professional practices in the presence of solid, quality instruction in the classroom that promotes the acquisition of skills and the development of competencies in students.

“Trends Come and Go”: Early Childhood Rural Special Education Teachers’ Use of Reported Practices During Mathematics Instruction

Data suggest students are not meeting grade-level expectations in mathematics. If high-quality instruction is not provided, the inequitable outcomes observed in schools will be maintained. The goal of this study was to identify the frequency in which rural special education teachers (SETs) serving students in prekindergarten through third grade self-report using practices during mathematics instruction. A secondary focus was to investigate whether rural SETs differed in their reported use of practices compared with suburban and urban SETs, and rural general education teachers. Data from 901 teachers serving students in prekindergarten through third grade were retained. Of this sample, 150 teachers identified as SETs in rural ( n = 55), suburban ( n = 50), and urban ( n = 45) schools. Results suggest teachers reported using research-based and unsubstantiated practices frequently. Rural SETs reported using research-based and unsubstantiated practices with similar frequency to urban SETs. Suburban SETs reported using explicit instruction more frequently than rural SETs.