Date of Award

5-2012

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

Multidisciplinary Studies - Individualized Option, M.A.

Department

Multidisciplinary Studies

Advisor

Victoria J. Furby, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music

Department Home page

http://graduateschool.buffalostate.edu/multidisciplinary-studies

First Reader

Myrtle Welch, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social & Psychological Foundations

Second Reader

James A. Gold, Ed.D., Lecturer, Social & Psychological Foundations

Abstract

The central question of the thesis “Is classroom management possible for disabled teachers with or without accommodation?” is addressed through a review of the literature, a review of the legislation surrounding disabled employees and a discussion of reasonable accommodation, both as it is defined in the ADA and as it is applied in today’s public schools. In addition, general techniques of classroom management, traditional and current disciplinary techniques are discussed as they relate to the thesis’s central question. Finally, the similarity and contrast between classroom management techniques used by disabled and nondisabled music teachers is reviewed.

This thesis consisted of a qualitative study of three blind and/or visually-impaired teachers and their experiences with classroom management. Several types of questions were asked including discussions of demographic characteristics, classroom management beliefs, classroom rules, accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and changes in classroom management. The responses to these questions lead to the answer: classroom management is possible for visually-impaired teachers, but only with accommodation, whether those accommodations are made by the disabled teacher or by outside forces. Further studies are necessary to generalize these results to teachers with other disabilities.

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