Date of Conferral

5-26-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Derek Schroll

Abstract

Students with mild to moderate exceptionalities often do not receive adequate instruction in self-advocacy skills during their elementary or middle school years. The specific problem addressed in this study was that many teachers at the research setting are not teaching the four component skills of self-advocacy to students with mild to moderate exceptionalities. Grounded by the theory of self-advocacy, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the strategies used and the barriers faced by teachers who are not teaching the four component skills of self-advocacy to students with mild to moderate exceptionalities. Four elementary and five middle school teachers who work with the target population participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis using open and axial coding was conducted, revealing three themes: (a) the self-advocacy skills being taught, (b) the skills not being taught, and (c) a need for school and district support from leadership. Key recommendations include that students with disabilities require more self-advocacy instruction at an earlier age as part of program goals and objectives. The teachers indicated that both general and special educators should be provided more training and support from school and district leaders to achieve this goal. All teachers indicated that students with exceptionalities need to be taught self-advocacy skills earlier to increase their chances for success in high school and beyond. District and school leaders, as well as teachers, could implement the recommendations in this study to potentially improve teachers’ instruction of self-advocacy skills. Implications for social change include that students with disabilities may develop the four component skills of self-advocacy needed to be successful in the school and real-world setting.

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