Christine L. Salisbury

Use of Instructional Time in Classrooms Serving Students with and without Severe Disabilities

This investigation explored the use of teacher and student time in an inclusive elementary school where students with mild to profound disabilities were enrolled in general education classrooms. Participants included 6 students with severe disabilities and 12 students without disabilities. Observers recorded time used for instruction, as well as levels and types of student engagement and types of interruptions. Students in each group evidenced comparable levels of engaged time, and students with severe disabilities had no effect on losses of instructional time. Results were discussed in light of this schools contextual characteristics and the inclusive schools movement.

On the Nature and Change of an Inclusive Elementary School

Qualitative research methods were used to conduct an in-depth study of an inclusive elementary school with the intent of characterizing its context and practices. It was reasoned that such detail would provide valuable insights for those involved in systems change efforts. Data were gathered over a period of 30 months and included observational fieldnotes, interviews, shared anecdotes from teaching staff, and an analysis of school publications and products. Multiple methods of triangulation were employed to validate the data collection process and our findings. Descriptive themes emerged from the data that characterize the nature and evolution of this schools reform toward a more inclusive context. These themes are discussed and implications for future research are presented.

Strategies That Promote Social Relations among Elementary Students with and without Severe Disabilities in Inclusive Schools

Using qualitative research methods, we studied the strategies that general education classroom teachers use to promote the development of positive relationships between children with and without moderate to severe disabilities in inclusive classrooms. We used observations and interviews with teachers, specialists, and administrators in two inclusive schools as bases for identifying five strategies used by classroom teachers: active facilitation of social interactions, empowering children, building a sense of community in the classroom, modeling acceptance, and developing school organizational supports. These practices are discussed in terms of their congruence with broader goals and best practices within K-12 education.

The Administrative Climate and Context of Inclusive Elementary Schools

Inclusive education has emerged as a schoolwide improvement approach for educating students with diverse abilities in general education classes. Despite the key role of principals in school improvement initiatives, few empirical studies have been reported of the administrative climate and context of inclusive schools. Five elementary schools actively engaged in inclusive approaches were studied using survey, observation, and interview methods. Findings revealed (a) commonalities in leadership practices and core principles across this diverse sample of schools, (b) consistent patterns in measured climate indices, and (c) a range of administrative strategies used by principals to promote inclusive practices. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Principals' Perspectives on Inclusive Elementary Schools.

A growing number of schools are engaged in efforts to become more inclusive in their service delivery and educational practices. To date, accounts of principals involved in reform efforts have largely been absent from the research literature. To address this need, this study examined the perspectives and experiences of eight principals who were involved in developing inclusive elementary schools in urban, suburban, and metropolitan communities. Quantitative indices of inclusiveness were combined with principal interview data to develop a deeper understanding of how inclusive education was viewed by these principals, their perspectives on implementation, and the challenges they encountered. Results revealed that despite being considered inclusive, schools varied markedly from one another in their level of implementation, and that level of implementation was unrelated to an index of inclusiveness or to a measure of program quality. Schools with stronger administrative support and commitment reported serving more students with disabilities, including those with significant support needs, in general education for a greater percentage of time. Patterns among proponents were contrasted with viewpoints of administrators voicing conditional support for inclusive education.

Caregiver Coaching Strategies for Early Intervention Providers: Moving toward Operational Definitions.

Early intervention (EI) providers increasingly coach and collaborate with caregivers to strengthen and support caregiver–child interactions. The EI providers learning to coach other adults benefit from knowing what, exactly, they should do to support caregivers. This article serves two purposes. First, it proposes an operationally defined, theoretically based, and reliably used set of definitions (behaviors) that describe coaching strategies that providers can use to support caregiver learning. Second, it suggests possible applications of these definitions for EI providers, administrators, and researchers. We discuss underlying theories of adult learning and the process by which the definitions were developed. Preliminary evidence regarding the utility of these definitions is presented by using videotape data of provider coaching practices in home visits from three different studies. Descriptive data from these programs and home visits illustrate how the coaching definitions can be used to distinguish implementation differences and how they could be used to support professional development efforts for EI coaching and consultation.

Provider Perspectives on Adopting and Using Collaborative Consultation in Natural Environments

An exploratory case study was undertaken to investigate the perspectives and experiences of six early intervention providers as they adopted and implemented a collaborative consultation approach to home visiting in urban neighborhoods. Survey, semistructured interview, and focus group methods were used over a 2-year period to obtain data about provider perspectives about the home visiting approach and their experiences in implementing it with parents of infants and toddlers receiving Part C services. The intensity of provider concerns about the use of collaborative consultation and routines-based, family-centered home visiting practices improved at posttest. Providers attributed these changes in large part to the culture of the organization as a learning community and its ongoing administrative support for reflective practice and problem solving about implementation issues. Providers also identified specific factors, such as time and opportunity to practice and problem solving with feedback, as having an impact on their ability to move forward in adopting and using family-centered home visiting practices. Challenges were identified related to home visiting generally, and a consultative approach specifically, in complex urban family settings. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Applications of a Policy Framework to Evaluate and Promote Large-Scale Change

The Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (CISP) was a 5-year federally-funded project focused on building the capacity of state and local systems to deliver inclusive educational services. A policy framework was developed to guide its training and technical assistance efforts across multiple states and districts. The framework incorporates standards-based reform within an inclusive schooling perspective. This article describes the six components of this policy framework and the various ways in which it was applied. Based on its utility in this context, the authors suggest ways in which this tool can be used by practitioners and policymakers at the district and school level.

Promoting the Instructional Inclusion of Young Children With Disabilities in the Primary Grades

We describe a process of curriculum adaptation that was used by teachers in an inclusive elementary school. It was used to enhance the degree to which young children with mild to profound disabilities were instructionally integrated in primary grade classrooms. The underlying assumptions of the process are described, as are the components of the process. We use case study examples of 3 students with mild to profound disabilities to demonstrate how the process can be applied in content area subjects to optimize the instructional inclusion of students, while not sacrificing the individualized nature of instruction. Implications for teaming and school practices are presented.

Measuring Collaborative Consultation Practices in Natural Environments

This article describes the development of the Triadic Intervention and Evaluation Rating Scale (TIERS), a 33-item instrument designed to evaluate patterns of parent, service provider, and child interactions during early intervention sessions conducted in natural environments. Twenty-eight parent—provider—child triads were videotaped in home and playgroup settings, quarterly over a 15-month period. Segments representing complete routines were selected and rated by service providers and research personnel. Scoring and scaling models were developed to evaluate the quality of triadic interactions during early intervention sessions. The TIERS (a) measured differences in providers’ use of collaborative consultation strategies and parents’ level of participation with service providers and their children; (b) distinguished features inherent in different sessions; (c) was easy to administer; and (d) showed appropriate psychometric properties. With additional validation efforts, this instrument may be used to evaluate the implementation of collaborative interactions between parents and early intervention service providers in natural environments.