Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Carol Watson

Abstract

Students with disabilities are less likely to graduate from high school and tend to score

lower on standardized tests than their general education peers. Although use of

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can improve these outcomes for

traditional students, it has been unclear whether its use positively affects learning gains

for the inclusion student. The purpose of this study was to determine if the academic test

performance of 5th grade ESE inclusion students was enhanced by implementing ICT as

a curriculum resource in their classrooms. Two frameworks provided structure for this

study: the theory of social constructivism and the capability approach. The study

population consisted of all 5th grade ESE inclusion students in 74 school districts in one

southern state. Data sources were the state's annual assessment scores for English

language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Data were analyzed using 2 Mann Whitney U tests

to compare ESE inclusion students' assessment scores in the 2nd year of testing as

compared to the 1st year of testing (2015-2016 as compared to 2014-2015). The findings

of the study revealed no significant difference between the ESE inclusion students' scores

in the 1st and 2nd years for ELA and math scores even with ICT used as a resource. This

outcome impacts social change by answering a question about whether ICT made a

difference as used, and indicates that other studies must be done to better understand why

ICT was not successful or how it can be used to significantly improve inclusion student

outcomes.

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