Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Edward Kim

Abstract

Research shows that adolescents with disabilities often lack self-regulated learning skills. Current research further indicates that explicit teaching of self-regulation skills is beneficial to adolescents with disabilities. The site of this study was a local middle school in rural Georgia that did not assess whether or not teachers were explicitly teaching self-regulation skills to adolescents with disabilities. It was unknown, therefore, whether adolescents with disabilities were learning self-regulation skills in school and whether teachers faced problems in teaching these skills. The study sought to explore this gap in knowledge and practice. Zimmerman's self-regulated learning theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. The research questions addressed middle school teachers' experiences with and perceptions of teaching self-regulation skills to adolescents with disabilities. Purposeful sampling was used to select 8 teachers, including general and special education teachers, who were currently teaching students with disabilities to participate in semistructured individual interviews. Additionally, lesson plans were reviewed to determine the use of planning for self-regulation interventions. Data were grouped into categories using coding and thematically analyzed. The findings indicated that teachers had experience teaching some aspects of self-regulation; however, they reported needing more information about the specific needs of their students with disabilities, ways to fit self-regulation skill instruction into the existing curriculum, and strategies to help their students build self-efficacy and motivation. With an increased focus on self-regulation skills, teachers may see an increase in the academic skills and motivation of students with disabilities.

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