Inclusive Education: Dealing with Diversity across Settings and Abilities

#### **Chapter 7**

## Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

*Manal Alkharji*

#### **Abstract**

A way to safeguard university students' educational rights is through inclusive higher education. It allows deaf and hard of hearing students (DHH) to effectively access and gain from their education. To facilitate academic success, inclusive programs must provide DHH students with diverse educational services that ensure proper access to information in lectures. This chapter discusses the role of educational services in the inclusive higher education of DHH students. These services are an integral part for the academic success of these students in higher education. The following are some of the educational services for DHH students that will be covered in the chapter: modified classroom delivery, presence of coordinators, and note-taking services, as well as the teaching experience as important elements that will influence the development of inclusive higher education for DHH students. The aim of this chapter is to describe the role of educational services for DHH students in promoting inclusive higher education through an analysis of previous research, as well as an overview of the key issues regarding these services. It also compares the roles of these services in various universities around the world. This chapter also considers the challenges of providing and using these services as a component of a comprehensive strategy for the academic integration of DHH students.

**Keywords:** deaf, educational services, hard of hearing, inclusive higher education, modified classroom delivery, note-taking, presence of coordinators, teaching experience

#### **1. Introduction**

Over the past years, many nations have passed legislation to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for students with disabilities in high-quality inclusive education [1]. Therefore, proponents for inclusive education have worked toward a paradigm change toward an inclusive educational system, where students with disabilities are mainstreamed into a regular classroom setting with other students [1]. Since inclusive higher education is considered one of the most important elements of inclusive

education [2], there has been a significant increase in the number of universities offering services for students with disabilities globally.

Although there has been progress in higher education institutions toward full inclusion, there are many challenges regarding the change toward inclusive education and providing services [1]. There are various barriers that prevent equal access to education that hinders the quality of education for students with disabilities, including deficiencies in service provision [2]. According to Kouroupetroglou, not all these students receive adequate levels of support even in the same nation [3]. Therefore, it is crucial to support universities and colleges in their efforts to promote inclusive education by allocating larger funding for higher education programs. Likewise, methods can be developed for monitoring, evaluating, and implementing the inclusive education program [1]. Furthermore, understanding the philosophical, pedagogical, and environmental aspects that either support or undermine access and participation for students with disabilities is essential to inclusive higher education. According to Zhang, for inclusive higher education to be successful particularly for the deaf and hard of hearing students (DHH), a support system must be put in place [2]. Moreover, developing an inclusive university requires key factors, including administrative management system and service center for DHH students. Effective academic services for students with disabilities necessitate careful planning, a suitable organizational structure, personnel with specialized knowledge, cutting-edge technological support, significant implementation effort, and functional evaluation. Hence, students will be able to participate fully and benefit effectively from their education [3].

In order to receive a high-quality education that maximizes their skills, inclusive education attempts to mainstream DHH students in a flexible learning environment [1]. Higher education institutions are not the only ones facing difficulties in inclusive education but faculty members are also under increased pressure to do more to participate in inclusive educational systems [1]. Besides that, Williams noted that there are many difficulties faced by DHH students in higher education which hinders them from participating in various aspects of education [4]. According to Albash, when pursuing a university degree, DHH students confront different obstacles than their hearing colleagues, which relates to access to information in classrooms [5]. Therefore, many services must be provided, including educational ones, to ensure their success and completion of their university studies. These accommodations for the DHH include the provision of sign language interpreters, modifying methods to deliver lessons, taking notes, transcribers, and captioning that need to be made available in accordance with the preferences of the person rather than the program's convenience [6].

#### **2. Educational services for DHH students in higher education**

For DHH students, one of the topics that must be studied in higher education institutions is educational services [7]. Educational services are offered to DHH students to enable them to meet university standards and assist them to reach their highest level of academic success in accordance with their characteristics and educational needs [8]. Educational services include all components connected to the program that the university offers to DHH students, including educational curricula, study materials, testing procedures, tutoring, instructional methods, and effective teaching [9, 10]. Implementation of educational services could open the door for inclusive education to become more effective in higher education institutions [1]. Nevertheless,

#### *Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

there may be a difference between the usage and provision of support services. The effectiveness of the services and whether or not students find the staff in support services to be helpful determine whether students use these services [11, 12]. The best way to deliver these services to DHH students depends on their individual characteristics and needs [13–15]. Without efficient educational services, academic challenges may make it more difficult for DHH students to meet the goals of higher education programs [16]. DHH students may struggle to comprehend the material and take part in discussions in the absence of suitable accommodations and services, lessening their understanding of the lecture [17]. According to Al-Kharji, Al-Rayes, and Powell, Language competence for DHH students, especially in terms of literacy and communication abilities, is a major concern academically [16, 18]. It is expected that DHH students' achievement trails that of their hearing peers given that the education by spoken language predominates in higher education settings [7]. Therefore, academic performance has always been challenging for DHH students [15]. Even with the abundance of academic support services in higher education institutions, there may be differences in their level of academic achievement compared to other hearing students due to limited access to educational and extracurricular activities [15].

Besides, academic success is also influenced by the diversity of auxiliary aids offered to DHH students such as captions, note-taking, tutoring, translation, and sign language interpreters [19]. It is also crucial to give DHH students the tools they need to interact socially and communicate effectively with their faculty members and fellow students, as well as guarantee that faculty members and participants in administrative service programs can offer one-on-one guidance [17]. Therefore, establishing a special office for DHH students at universities that provides these services and aids DHH students in matters concerning their academics and extracurricular activities is essential to ensure DHH students reach their full academic potential [20]. In addition, the provision of amenities and facilities designed to remove obstacles has been shown to improve academic achievement and increase the possibility for DHH students to complete their undergraduate studies [21]. According to Lang and van den Heuij, DHH students may find it helpful to overcome these issues if they have access to support services, including tutoring, interpreting, and academic counseling [10, 12]. In higher education institutions, DHH students are provided with many important forms of educational services in universities. In particular, amendment of classroom delivery, note-taking services, and coordinators, as well as teaching experience are the most critical educational services in determining the academic success of DHH students [10, 13]. **Figure 1** illustrates the relationship between educational services and teaching experience on the academic success of DHH students.

#### **2.1 Modified classroom delivery**

One of the educational services that has been frequently employed to raise the achievement of DHH students is modification of classroom delivery. It is an application of the 1997 IDEA Law, which recommended making special accommodations for DHH students in the classroom [11, 13, 22]. These educational services consist of a set of adaptations to the normal classroom delivery, which include modification of the curriculum and lesson content, private tutors, speaking slowly and distinctly by faculty members, reduction in tasks and assignments, reduction in the amount of lessons, clarifying the language of the curriculum, modifying the language in textbooks, introducing new and visual methods and means to facilitate their education, language adjustment in exams, and additional tests when needed [10, 16, 23]. Moreover,

#### **Figure 1.**

*Theoretical framework of some variables affecting academic success of DHH students in inclusive higher education.*

improving higher education exam policy might be the first step to achieving the goal of inclusive higher education [2]. For that reason, exam modifications give extra time or the opportunity to take exams in a different room as an accessibility arrangement [12]. Hadjikaku, Petridou, and Stylianou confirmed that providing educational services related to modifying the classroom for DHH students is necessary to ensure their academic success [13].

Access to lectures and classroom discussions is one of the challenges faced by DHH students in higher education [24]. DHH students might experience difficulties since they require many educational services, such as adjusting the curriculum and teaching adaptation [2]. According to Lang, Biser, Mousley, Orlando, Porter and Liversidge, one of the academic difficulties faced by DHH students in higher education is the challenge of obtaining knowledge in the classroom [25, 26]. This is consistent with Cawthon, Schoffstalll, and Garberoglio, who mentioned that one of the barriers that DHH students faced in the higher education program relates to access to information within lectures, especially if the spoken language is predominant [7]. According to van den Heuij, DHH students have difficulty following lectures due to speech intelligibility issues and particularly bad classroom acoustics [12]. Therefore, to engage in lectures, or improve the lecture's speech understanding, access arrangements and adaptations in educational programs are required.

DHH students exhibit a higher academic need in order to reach academic success in higher education setting than hearing students in terms of academic skills and preferred communication style [27]. Evidence showed that these students lacked behind their hearing peers in academic skills [28], and they faced difficulty in social participation. Even with the provision of support services, DHH students may consider that the lectures are abstract or theoretical or that there is too much information presented in their classrooms [27]. Furthermore, previous studies indicated that DHH students face multiple academic and social difficulties, including difficulty at linking ideas between different topics [4, 29]. One of the main reasons for these difficulties is that DHH students must focus on different information sources at one time such as the faculty member, the interpreter, and the slides [23]. As a result, DHH students

#### *Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

who are enrolled in universities will frequently require support in lectures in order to reach their academic potential. For that reason, it is crucial that every higher education institution has a mechanism in place for identifying and documenting the needs of DHH students. These plans outline assistance and any appropriate modifications to promote students' academic success. Even though these plans specify how lectures and exams will be made available to DHH students, each faculty member will have a unique impact on how these suggestions are carried out [12].

Books, tools, and teaching methods must be modified, as well as a comprehensive service to cover the needs of the DHH students at a higher education level [25, 27]. Additionally, faculty members should use a variety of teaching strategies in the lectures, including cooperative learning strategy and participatory problem-solving strategy. Moreover, the methods of teaching in lectures must be flexible enough to meet varied requirements of all DHH students [30, 31]. Thus, it is possible to modify teaching methods to suit the skills and capabilities of DHH students [27] and take into consideration their characteristics in academic exams by allocating more time [9]. Al-Rayes noted that it is crucial to allocate DHH students an extra period of time that is at least a third of the time allotted for tests. Also, it is required and crucial to give books and lecture notes from faculty members to DHH students before the start of each semester [29].

Apart from that, sitting near the faculty member is the technique that most DHH students use in inclusive settings to understand lectures and dialogs [25]. Even though some DHH students exploited their residual hearing and considered themselves excellent lip-readers, many of them faced difficulties when the faculty members turned or walked around the room [27]. Additionally, noise reduction strategies in classrooms that prevent interference from outside and inside help these students learn more effectively. This is because it enhances the use of hearing aids and improves speech and communication among DHH students.

#### **2.2 Note-taking services**

Note-taking is a service that records information in the class, and it is providing written notes for spoken words as an alternative service for DHH students [24]. It is an important means for the learning of DHH students because it summarizes and records information during the lectures. It also provides the information from lectures that help DHH students to reorganize and fill in the missing information [32]. The advantage of this service is that DHH students can go back to the notes at home to fill in what they have missed and clarify what they did not understand in the classroom [33]. Therefore, a notetaker is a major assistance for the majority of DHH students in higher education [10].

For many years, DHH students did not receive as much information from lectures as their hearing peers [34]. While getting notes may be simple and common for hearing students, it might be challenging for DHH students, especially at higher education institutions [27]. Spradbrow and Power noted that DHH students in Australian universities miss information during lectures [35]. In addition, most DHH students find it challenging to take notes. Therefore, DHH students typically rely on a third party to provide access to information during lectures. Stinson et al. claim that DHH students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) frequently rely on others' notes as an important study tool, and they often rely on notes taken by others [24, 32]. In fact, there is little direct communication between DHH students and faculty members. Instead, they get information

from people who take notes or through publications outside of the actual time of the lectures [10]. Furthermore, DHH students may lack language skills and have difficulties paying attention to various visual tasks. Therefore, taking notes during lectures can be challenging for these students since they must focus on both the translator and the faculty member's presentations at the same time [10].

This was further confirmed by Hanafy, who noted that it was challenging for DHH students to write notes and read lips simultaneously in Saudi universities [27]. As a result, the university's support service office is required to offer the DHH students relevant services, such as utilizing the library and taking notes during lectures [10]. Additionally, employing a qualified person who can assist DHH students by creating lesson summaries and taking notes is pivotal, where this can be done by either a person qualified to write the notes down or by some hearing student colleagues who can assist them write the notes or photograph them [16].

Indeed, the views of DHH students regarding the notes were covered by Elliot, Stenson, Mackie, Everhart, and Francis, and they reported that the student found the note-taking services were very useful [36]. Additionally, university DHH students prefer to use note-taking services to advance their writing and reading skills, compile and explain their notes in class, and raise their academic accomplishment. This is in line with the findings of Liversidge in a Carnegie Research University in USA, who demonstrated that integrating DHH students by providing support services such as a notetaker encouraged them to achieve a higher academic rate and continued through the university [26].

Although it is important to take notes by the notetakers, Hastings, Brecklein, Cermak, Reynolds, Rosen, Wilson, and Stinson et al. described many limitations and challenges that DHH students faced with regards to receiving note-taking service including differences in the quality of notes [24, 37]. For example, the notes may exclude important information because the notetakers already know the information or do not appreciate its importance. Also, in some cases, notetakers cannot provide instant information upon asking a question or joining a group discussion. When DHH students do not have clear spoken communication skills, they may have to resort to using passing written notes from their hearing peers, which is often difficult. For this reason, some universities moved toward real-time captioning, where information from the faculty members is immediately copied and transmitted to the DHH students by using specialized equipment [33]. This is similar to the result of Stinson et al. who compared between services in raising students' academic success rate, which asserted that DHH students preferred to use the C-print and captioning service because it was more helpful than taking notes and translation by sign language in lectures, which had a great positive impact on their academic achievement [24].

#### **2.3 Presence of coordinators**

The presence of coordinators is one of the most important components of support services. It refers to individualized direct instructional approach in addition to group help [10]. It also refers to the supervisory arrangement of a higher authority in the form of a special department and units in the universities [31], which is intended to appoint certain qualified individuals who would be responsible for supervising and coordinating the learning process of DHH students [13]. These individuals can be tasked to establish a mechanism for evaluating university performance to achieve quality and efficiency in the higher education system for

#### *Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

DHH students [29]. Moreover, they can conduct regular assessment processes and provide DHH students with necessary instructions, guidance, and academic counseling related to university support services through a meeting between the student and the student assistance officer, especially for all freshmen at some universities [12, 29].

One strategy for coordinators is to pay close attention to how well support services are working [10, 13]. It includes special supervisors for DHH students who visit higher education institutions several times a week depending on the students' needs, share their knowledge with the faculty members, and discuss the problems which the students face. Faculty members believe that coordinators are very helpful to the successful integration of DHH students. Coordinators can also help faculty members in their work by giving lessons to small groups of DHH students. Besides that, faculty members might observe them to pick up effective teaching strategies [13]. Additionally, student support officers offer qualified information, counsel, and assistance to fulfill the requirements of the students [12]. Often, this supervision is under the management of the university's service office for DHH students to provide a suitable educational environment [27].

It is necessary to have a university's support service office for DHH students on campus in order to facilitate communication and academic performance through offering services that are suitable for each student's needs [27]. Al-Rayes asserts that it is critical for universities and colleges to establish support service offices to give DHH students access to an appropriate learning environment [29]. Also, Al-Fangary et al. recommended that the universities must establish an information and educational service office within the university, and the need for a center of university support services with quality standards for DHH students to achieve academic success [31]. Furthermore, Al-Rayes also advocated for the necessity of activating the role of the university's support service office. This is due to the significant role it plays in providing academic counseling and ensuring that a source room is prepared and equipped with the necessary requirements for DHH students [29].

According to Hanafy, the university's support service office is the primary means for DHH students to integrate into university life socially and academically [27]. According to Liversidge, DHH students who were integrated at the undergraduate level through the institution's support systems were better able to maintain their enrollment in the university and achieve higher academic rates [26]. In addition, the necessity of academic counseling for DHH students in higher education through the university's support services office was also emphasized in several reports [16]. More importantly, the support service office staff at the university must be flexible and willing to develop and implement new policies and procedures [38].

In contrast, the main problems that the service office faces include the lack of availability of support services. The lack of support services in higher education institutions is considered one of the biggest obstacles that limit the acceptance of DHH students [30]. Although support factors must be provided according to what the law states, the expenses incurred by the universities can be stunted [27]. Therefore, collaborative efforts are needed to ensure an inclusive environment that fosters engagement for DHH students is present [7, 39]. This was confirmed by Johnson and Fann who recommended the necessity of practices for campus access offices to accredit in order to effectively serve the DHH students [14]. These practices included mentoring of DHH students and the faculty members, providing expert advice, using student feedback, and increasing campus and community awareness of the services provided.

#### **3. The relationship between teaching experience and educational services**

Over the past years, there have been many difficulties regarding inclusive education and inadequate expertise in special education is one of them [11]. Universities have been seen to face challenges that are in line with the recent trends in teaching DHH students, and these include the lack of experience of faculty members in teaching these students. According to Zhang, Rosen, Cheng, and Li, the faculty members lack the necessary expertise, skills, and solutions to deal with the students with disabilities in higher education institutions [2]. This shows that an educational service center for these students, and an administrative support system for faculty members and students are all necessary for the efficient implementation of inclusive higher education. According to Relevant research, faculty members are the key to the support system, and they have a very important role in the development of inclusive higher education [2, 40, 41]. Additionally, faculty members with experience in teaching DHH students were shown to be more receptive to inclusive higher education by adapting their teaching strategies to address the demands of comprehensive education [2, 42]. Thus, cooperative human resources and improved teaching expertise have been proven to be effective strategies for successful inclusive education [43].

Since DHH students have special requirements, faculty members have important roles in affecting students' achievement in universities because teaching expertise can make a difference in students' learning. Engaging DHH students in a higher education context necessitates faculty members who can interact and understand them and modify their lessons to fit their needs [17]. Also, faculty members in higher education institutions have the responsibility to meet the needs of DHH students and help them achieve academic success. Therefore, they must also implement the best practices and effective educational interventions when they understand the support services that these students need [7]. Al-Fangary et al. asserted that the selection of teaching strategies made by university faculty members has a significant impact on the learning of DHH students since it facilitates the accomplishment of learning objectives [31].

Furthermore, the more important educational services that should be available to support the educational needs of DHH students revolve around teaching strategies and appropriate technologies through which they can reach or obtain the information required in the field of their specializations [29]. According to Zhang et al., faculty members lack inclusive teaching methods and adaptation techniques, as well as a comprehension of the unique demands of students with disabilities including DHH students. Therefore, before implementing inclusive education, university teachers must have a better understanding of the fundamental special requirements and fundamental adaptations of DHH students [2].

Moreover, measures must be taken to facilitate communication between the faculty member and the DHH students. This can be done either by writing a letter to the faculty members at the beginning of the new semester or by conducting a meeting between the teaching staff and the DHH students. These measures are important to inform the faculty members that there are students with DHH and discuss the services they need during lectures. Therefore, faculty members must have knowledge regarding the characteristics of the DHH students [44]. There is a big difference in the participation of DHH students in lecture discussions as much as the participation of the hearing students when the faculty collaborates with the students [10].

Furthermore, they must allocate additional time for DHH students to discuss and answer any questions they need [45]. There is also a need to emphasize the

#### *Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

importance of cooperation between the faculty members and the service providers. The importance of a positive working connection between the faculty member and the DHH student, as well as with other academic service providers serving as tutors in individual or group sessions, was stressed by Lang et al. [25]. The faculty members must provide sign language interpreters a copy of the courses before the start of the lectures with a good period of time for them to read, master, and be able to translate the lectures fully [45]. They should also give DHH students equal opportunity to raise questions while altering their lecture delivery. According to Braun, Clark, Marchut, Solomon, Majocha, Davenport, and Gormally, faculty members have to pause before asking students to respond for 10 seconds in order to give the interpreter enough time to translate for the students [14, 23].

Generally, faculty members understand the need for special preparations in their classrooms for DHH students [20]. In addition, inadequate teaching practices and teachers' lack of proficiency in sign language are two other significant barriers to the inclusion of DHH students in higher education [29]. Ju also noted that the faculty members are unaware of sign language. In fact, it may be difficult to require that every university instructor be a licensed special educator [46]. To expect everyone to become fluent in sign language is impractical. However, professionals with specialized skills could assist faculty members by educating them on a range of techniques for instructing those DHH students [2].

In summary, studies indicated that students who have integrated into the universities face multiple academic difficulties, including the lack of faculty expertise on how to teach DHH students [30]. To deal with the lack of experience of faculty members at universities, it is necessary to prepare those who will teach DHH students by different methods, whether in the preparatory year or at the university. First method is by training them with modern teaching methods. Al-Rayes stressed the need to prepare the faculty members who will teach DHH students in Saudi Arabian institutions using different teaching methods. These can help these students to illustrate the concepts [29].

Second is by holding training workshops on the characteristics, abilities, needs, and rights of DHH students at higher education levels. Several past studies have shown that more than 200 faculty members in universities indicated that 80% of them had limited or no knowledge regarding legislation for DHH students [47]. Therefore, education and training are necessary for the faculty members to deal and teach DHH students appropriately [17]. Third is by holding training workshops on how to deal with DHH students and different communication methods of these students, such as sign language and lip-reading [27]. Previous studies emphasized and recommended the necessity of holding training courses for faculty members on how to deal and communicate with DHH students [30, 31].

Fourth is by holding workshops to train faculty members on how to provide services for DHH students in universities. There are two important factors to provide appropriate modifications to DHH students. First is the faculty's knowledge on legal responsibilities, and whether they believe they are receiving the necessary support from the institutions in which they work. Second is training of faculty members through meetings and workshops to take advantage of all the services that are provided to DHH students in higher education institutions [48]. Moreover, Al-Ajlan indicated that the faculty members of 12 different institutes of higher education were unsure of the appropriate adjustments that needed to be provided [47]. Therefore, it is necessary for the faculty members to have sufficient knowledge and experience about these services and how to provide and use them in the learning process.

Lastly is the training on how to employ modern technologies in teaching DHH students. Technological proficiency should be a characteristic of all successful special education academics. Knowledge and skills of the faculty members in technology are directly correlated to the success of the students. Therefore, it is imperative for faculty members of the DHH students to be familiar with instructional technology such as assistive technologies, internet use, and educational software. They also should have experiences that help them develop their ability to use technology effectively [17]. According to Holmstrom and Schonstrom, the availability of technologies, such as hearing aids, real-time captioning, computer, and sign language interpreters, are insufficient in enhancing communication in the classrooms without teachers' knowledge on the use of technology and the methods of appropriate teaching [49]. Therefore, it is possible to benefit from Shulman's framework (1986) for technology, pedagogy, content, and knowledge (TPACK), which was developed by many




#### **Table 1.**

*Summarizes and examples of educational services and teaching experience in inclusive higher education for DHH students.*

researchers [50, 51]. **Table 1** summarizes the most important examples of educational services and teaching experience in inclusive higher education for DHH students based on studies and research.

#### **4. Methodology**

Several steps were taken to guarantee a high-quality review of the prior literature on educational services and teaching experience. Initially, a comprehensive search was done in academic journals that focused on DHH student education, particularly in higher education, and included the following publications: Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, International Journal of Education and Practice, Issues in Educational Research, Higher Education Studies, Journal of Postsecondary Education and disability, Higher Education Research and Development, International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, as well as Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. Second, basic terms, such as educational services, classroom modifications, note-taking, teaching experience of faculty members, supervisors, DHH students' academic achievement, and inclusive higher education were used to search in conference papers, PhD thesis, as well as the most recent research and studies. Google Scholar, ERIC, Proquest, Scopus, Web of Science, and Saudi Digital Library (SDL) were among the six databases that were searched. Third, new additional articles were searched in the references section of each article that was viewed. Finally, after reading all of these studies and papers, the findings and key points relevant to the topic of this review were summarized. 58 articles and research from the years 2000 to 2023 were

**Figure 2.** *A flowchart outlining the search and screening procedure of databases.*

located through the search. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed when developing the review [58]. **Figure 2** shows the PRISMA flow chart.

#### **5. Conclusion and recommendations**

This chapter has reviewed the educational services that DHH students need to ensure efficient access to information in classroom settings in inclusive higher education. The focus was on three types of these educational services, including modified classroom delivery, presence of coordinators, note-taking services, and as well as the teaching experience and its relationship to these services. Previous studies showed the importance of educational services on the learning outcomes of DHH students in inclusive higher education because these services assist DHH students in overcoming academic difficulties that may prevent some of them from obtaining a university degree [4, 7, 10, 15, 26, 30]. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of how these services are provided will greatly contribute to improving and developing higher education for DHH students and motivate successful experiences in universities and colleges [54]. According to Alkharji and Cheong, there is a positive relationship between the provision and use of the educational services provided by the university's support services office, such as note-taking service and the academic achievement of

*Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

DHH students in higher education institutions [54]. On the other hand, Mwanyuma indicated that there was a strong correlation between the lack of learning resources and the academic achievement of DHH students [59].

Besides that, some studies examined the roles and responsibilities that faculty members should implement to reach the best practices and effective educational interventions [7, 47]. For example, meeting DHH students' needs to help them achieve academic success [36], making minor adjustments to the curriculum [47], as well as allocating additional time for DHH students to discuss and answer any questions [45]. In addition, there are several educational strategies such as allowing more time for evaluation, choosing an alternative evaluation when needed, and slowing down the pace of instruction [31]. Sun and Huang indicated that teaching expertise as an independent variable has a direct effect on support services for students with disabilities in the classroom, such as modifications to the classroom environment and teaching methods [11]. Accordingly, faculty members who are teaching DHH students in universities should have a very high level of competencies, besides knowledge, skills, and abilities [47].

In light of the previous literature, a number of recommendations and suggestions were proposed that might help policymakers and decision makers in educational practices to develop inclusive higher education for DHH students more effectively. These recommendations are related to the plans, policies, and guidelines that should be implemented to ensure the quality and effectiveness, as well as educational services to reach the learning outcomes required for DHH students. Thus, achieving overall success in inclusive higher education for these students. These recommendations were presented to several bodies responsible for programs of DHH students such as policymakers, higher education institutions, university's support service offices, and faculty members, and they were presented as follows.

First, are the recommendations for the policymakers. They should work side by side with stakeholders specializing in higher education programs for DHH students in order to ensure the provision of all the educational services that reflect on students' learning outcomes and commensurate with the needs and abilities of these students. Moreover, a mechanism should be established to evaluate the performance of higher educational institutions to achieve quality and efficiency in the system of higher education programs for DHH students. Moreover, they should put in place policies and regulations that focus on classifying standards for educational services in higher education institutions to guide students' efforts toward success and achievement of goals. In addition, policymakers should grant the appropriate authority to higher education institutions to choose, employ, and use any educational service that may help in raising DHH students' academic success. In addition, policymakers and stakeholders in inclusive higher education should search for effective methods, systems, and policies that help them properly employ the educational services that contribute to the development of inclusive higher education programs for DHH students. More importantly, they should pay more attention to the importance of teaching expertise for faculty members in higher education by recruiting qualified faculty members to reach satisfactory results for both DHH students and higher education programs.

Second, are the recommendations for higher education institutions. Institutions that have a program for DHH students should establish a support service office to provide, follow up, and evaluate educational services for these students. Other than that, the institutions should conduct regular assessments that show how well each factor and service meets the needs of DHH students. Additionally, universities and colleges should establish a training center for faculty members who will work with DHH

students to train them in modern teaching methods in line with the needs of students. Furthermore, higher education institutions should focus on developing the teaching expertise of faculty members regarding teaching methods and communication with DHH students through holding workshops and training courses that enhance their teaching experience. Also, they should develop a tool to assess faculty members and their teaching performance at regular intervals in order to identify their weaknesses in teaching these students. More so, train the administrative apparatus within educational institutions on how to communicate and work with DHH students. Training courses for DHH students should be held before and during their enrolment in higher education to develop and enhance personal factors and academic, linguistic, and social skills related to supporting their academic achievement. Besides, higher education institutions must take into account the current results of DHH students in the future development plans of inclusive higher education.

Third, are the recommendations for the university's support service office. The university's support service office should provide the necessary educational services to DHH students, as well as instructions and guidance that relate to these services such as note-taking, one or group sessions, and sign language interpreters. Moreover, there should be clear procedures between the general supervisor and the supervisors of the support units specializing in the university's student program. Lastly, the supervisors working in the university's support services office should have a clear mechanism to deal with students' academic complaints and take measures to correct and address these problems.

Lastly, are the recommendations for faculty members. Higher education institutions should encourage faculty members who are working with DHH students in universities to pursue continuous professional training by providing support, for example, establishing a university program to train faculty members. Besides that, faculty members should provide individual and group sessions to these students to ensure understanding of the learning materials. Furthermore, faculty members should give DHH students in higher education programs more time when needed to take exams. They should also pay more attention in developing their competencies and skills that reflect positive results for these students in higher education through courses and workshops. On the other hand, researchers should investigate the views of faculty members and conduct interviews with them to explore and study more factors that help academic leaders understand the nature of inclusion of DHH students in higher education.

Through the previous review and recommendations, there are basic educational requirements and services for inclusive higher education that must be provided and employed appropriately. Higher education institutions need to delve deeper into inclusive education as they need policies and systems to evaluate the current situation and what is happening in practice. Higher education institutions should make an effort to understand DHH student diversity and consider students' full participation in decisions made about the education they receive by giving them the opportunity to provide feedback and participate in the selection and implementation of educational services. Therefore, providing comprehensive and supportive environments that ensure the availability of the educational services they need is one of the most important goals of Inclusive higher education.

*Role of Educational Services in Promoting Inclusive Higher Education for Deaf and Hard… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113874*

#### **Author details**

Manal Alkharji Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

\*Address all correspondence to: mmalkharji@pnu.edu.sa

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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### **Chapter 8**

## Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education in Nigeria Rural Communities: Teachers as Critical Stakeholders in Inclusivity

*Samuel Olufemi Adeniyi and Olubukola Abiodun Olufemi-Adeniyi*

#### **Abstract**

Learners with special educational needs are faced with multiplicities of challenges in and outside school environments. These challenges range from social, psychological, emotional to academics. The problems are often compounded when learners with special needs find themselves in rural communities where knowledge, understanding and pedagogical skills are lacking by teachers. It then beholds on teachers to advance his or her teaching by creatively managing the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of students with special educational needs under his or her instructional watch. This work anchors on Rogers' diffusion theory in education. This theory was used as a conceptual model to understand how teachers implement the innovations they had learned. The basic element of Rogers's diffusion theory in education hinged on innovation decision process namely: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. In view of these, teachers as critical stakeholders should prepare to manage curriculum to meet needs of learners with special needs in Nigeria rural communities through creative adaptation of curriculum in view of diverse learners, flexible pedagogical application, in-depth knowledge of instructional contents, resilience, encouraging and managing innovation as well collaboration and accommodation to promote all-inclusiveness in instructional delivery and knowledge acquisition by the students.

**Keywords:** curriculum, learners with special needs, teachers, rural communities, inclusive

#### **1. Introduction**

Learners learn effectively with interesting instructional contents, motivating learning resources, conducive learning environment with the ability to creatively mange instructional contents by dynamic teachers to meets the needs of different learners under their instructional watch. Sometimes teachers are often confronted with myriad of problems on how to adequately motivate students because of diversities of needs emanating from difference that exist among learners. This makes achieving the set goals by teachers very difficult. This is because many teachers believe that all students are believed to have the same potentials of exhibiting cognitive, affective and psychomotor behaviours at the same time and rate following the same process. This conception put may students at risk of academic retrogression and or non-achievement.

Quite unfortunately, learners with special needs suffer double jeopardy of not being understood by teachers in conventional schools. This suggests that the plight of some learners with special educational needs from low income areas (rural communities) from sub-Sahara Africa would be better imagine than experience because economic and social status and limited education by parents and the kinds of teachers that would agree to stay in rural communities. Having basic quality education by these learners become very difficult not because they are from rural communities but many of the time happen due to inability to creative manage curriculum in a way that all students will carry along. Hence, this scenario should not be left unattended to if the global aspiration of "Education for All" will be achieved.

#### **2. Theoretical framework**

This work anchors on Rogers' diffusion theory in education. The diffusion of innovations theory describes a process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system [1]. According to Rogers, innovation is an idea, practise or object perceived to be new by an individual. Innovation may have been invented many years ago but considered to be new to individual that values it for adoption. So, the newness of an innovation is related in term of the knowledge, persuasion and decision stage of an innovation-decision process. Sahin [2] noted people may decide to imbibe innovation or not because of uncertainty which is considered as obstacle and posited that sometimes an innovation may create consequences. Consequences are the changes that occur in an individual or a social system as a result of the adoption or rejection of an innovation [1]. To reduce the uncertainty of adopting the innovation, individuals should be informed about its advantages and disadvantages to make them aware of all its consequences. Moreover, Rogers claimed that consequences can be classified as desirable versus undesirable (functional or dysfunctional), direct versus indirect (immediate result or result of the immediate result), and anticipated versus unanticipated (recognised and intended or not). Rogers premised his theory of diffusion on three basic elements namely: innovation, communication channels, time and social system.

Innovation element exemplified an idea that is perceived to be new to the person that want to adopt it though idea might have existed long but if individual perceive it as new, it may still be an innovation for them. Hence, Rogers based the assumption of the newness on knowledge, persuasion and decision. A communication channel is a process in which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding [1]. Communication occurs through channels between sources and a source is an individual or an institution that originates a message. A channel is the means by which a message gets from the source to the receiver. Time is the third stage and the most the ignored in most behavioural research.

*Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

Arguably, including the time dimension in diffusion research illustrates one of its strengths. The social system is the last element in the diffusion process and it's defined as a set of interrelated unit engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal.

The Rogers diffusion theory becomes imperative and relevant to this work because curriculum management to include students that special needs is about innovation. Though the practise of curriculum adaptation and management might not be new in special education and to special educators, the practise in rural areas among conventional teachers could be an innovation within the space time and sociological environment (rural settlements in Nigeria). The aim of curriculum management is to meet the needs of diverse students in rural communities in order to achieve equal educational opportunities for all not minding geography, race and differences in intellectual, social, emotional, sensory and physical differences. This is about solving human problems within a specific time and location to achieve a common goal.

#### **3. Learners with special needs in rural communities in Nigeria: any hope of better education?**

Nigeria with over 200 million of both adults and children live in both urban and rural communities. The WHO reported that about 40 per cent (40%) of Africa population have people with one form exceptionality or the other including 10–15 per cent of school-age children [3]. The report further stated that the vast majority of Africans with disabilities are excluded from schools, though, Nigeria estimate of people with special needs remain elusive, it can be concluded that the report is disturbing and needs urgent intervention. The revelation and lack of accountability in figure as regards the population, education and living conditions are as results of many factors among which is the government attitudes towards learners with special needs teachers in rural communities. This is reflected in the enrolment of pupils for basic education in rural communities.

Nigeria government made primary school education compulsory and basic not minding the geography and status. With this, it is expected that rate of out of school children would have reduced to the barest level. Unfortunately, school enrolments across geopolitical zones in Nigeria are contentious. Though primary education is officially free and compulsory, about 10.5 million of the country's children aged 5–14 years are not in school. Only 61 per cent of 6–11 year-olds regularly attend primary school and only 35.6 per cent of children aged 36–59 months receive early childhood education [4]. This is evident in the report by UNICEF that Nigeria has the largest number of out-of-school children in the world with postulation that one in every five is out of school [5]. The concentration of these out-of-school children are in rural communities across ethnic and geopolitical zones. Most unfortunately is the impact of insurgency and insurrection in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. The reasons for such geometric number in Nigeria may be link to poverty, religion sentiment and the interest of both parents and their children.

Pathetic is the case of children with special needs. Large population of these children in rural communities find it difficult to access school based on non-availability of special and inclusive schools that could cater for their needs. The above could have affected their interest and enthusiasm. Worrisome is the paucity of teachers, professional competence, facilities and resources to manage the education of children with special need in rural communities across the stretch of the country. Many of these children are left for their daily living and invariably, encounter molestation and abuse.

The World Health Organisation reported that about 15 per cent of Nigeria population accounting for about 25 million have disability [6]. Often time, many of them face human right abuses including stigma, violence and lack of access to education, health and housing [7]. Among so many cases of these inhuman dispositions, few are reported and even those that are reported may not get adequate justice because of the social and legal systems. Though, the Nigeria government has passed both inclusive and disabilities laws, the efficacies of the laws as regards the issue of people with disabilities and their education still remain contentious as there is continuous violation of the right of people with disabilities in term of social inclusion, education, employment, discrimination and justice.

The International Centre for Evidence in Disability [8] reported that despite the presence of legal and policy frameworks in Nigeria at both state and national levels, there is evidence from research that indicates significant gaps in the delivery of inclusive education for children with disabilities in Nigeria. This happens because of lack political will to implement and dispense justice. Evidence from research indicate that there are inadequacies in the number of special and inclusive schools at primary and secondary levels to accommodate the millions of out-of-school children with disabilities; inadequate number of special teachers and other professionals required to provide support and services; inadequate assistive teaching and learning materials, including technologies; poor funding from government at all levels; low level of awareness on inclusive education among stakeholders; poor implementation of and low level of compliance with available legal and policy framework.

Furthermore, the rural community across states, regions and ethnics in Nigeria has been plagued with social, educational and infrastructural deficits making lives to be exceptionally difficult for rural dwellers. The effect reflects on socio-educational development. While the urban areas enjoyed some levels of development in term of education, the rural areas are at receiving end. Education in the rural areas in Nigeria is characterised with very poor infrastructure, insufficient academic staff, insecurity, and non-payment of academic staff among others. It is a common knowledge that majority of the population in developing countries like Nigeria live in rural areas and the level of education is perceived to be moderately low compared to industrialised countries. Nworgu and Nworgu [9] conducted a study on urban–rural disparities in achievement at the basic education level reflecting the plight of developing nations reported abysmal level of marginalisation of rural communities and schools and the unmitigated adverse effects on the development of rural communities and state of education.

This is a scenario in rural communities in Nigeria, students with special needs, especially learners with disabilities are likely to be educated in general education class and hence, this may place the learners at risk of under achievement because many teachers in rural communities might not be trained to take care of special needs and where present, they might be overwhelmed with work because of their numbers. More importantly, the impact of infrastructural decay and lack basic school amenities coupled with poor funding may make education in rural communities to difficult.

The impact of bad governance also reflects in the state of infrastructures and social amenities in rural communities having its attendance effects on school administration and management. Most infrastructures and social facilities are inadequate and sometimes in state of comatose. For instance, teachers and educational resource

#### *Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

are grossly inadequate in schools. The paucity of teachers in schools across rural communities in Africa has been attributed government attitude and lack of concern. Adedeji and Olaniyan [10] noted that the worth of teachers is very low, due to poor recognition given to the teaching profession as explained by various de-motivating factors. They noted further teachers in many African countries are working in challenging conditions that are aggravated by poor salary and housing, delay payment of allowances and promotion, scarce teaching and learning resources exacerbated by inattention from government and disrespect from parents and community. More importantly, learning resources are either not available or out-dated for the use of both teachers and students. This has led to attrition and lack of interest on the part of teachers.

The lack concern has further made teachers to demonstrate poor interest in teaching special needs learners especially in rural communities. Most unfortunately, apart from the fact that numbers of teachers are grossly inadequate with the population of the students in rural communities, neither special teachers nor schools for special needs are located in rural communities. This creates problems for students with special needs and may account for the rate of out of school among this group of learners.

Furthermore, leaners with special needs face difficulties in attending school because of the economic status of parents in rural communities in Nigeria. The Bureau of statistics in 2019 reported that about 40 per cent of the total population live below poverty's line per year [11]. Now in 2023, the figures had risen to 63 per cent with Northern part of the country account for 86 million and 47 million in the south out of the postulated 133 million living with multidimensional poverty [12]. With global economic downturn and local hyperinflation in Nigeria, scores in rural community are on the threshold of economic incapacitation. The reason for this is that most rural community in Africa and especially in Nigeria have their sources of income in subsistence agricultural practises and petting trading which bring less economic values to them.

The poverty rate had been in cycle, keeping some strata of the population under economic subjugation of the rich and limited access to education. The level of parents' education in rural community could adversely affect the education of their children especially those with special needs. This is as result of limited exposure to education and also economic incapacitation. It should be noted that the financial implication for caring for a special needs child may likely cater for multiple of children without disabilities.

In Nigeria, just like any other traditional African community and even some parts of the developed world, children with special needs are rated low and socially incongruent because of various traditional beliefs and cultural perspectives. This creates some level of challenges or barrier in the activities of people that are special needs. Ndlovu [13] noted that challenges and barriers faced by people with disabilities ranges from cultural, religious, and social to historical colouration and or combination of all. Though cultural, religion and historical perspective towards special needs children varied sociologically, nevertheless, the reaction towards this group of individuals still remain controversial considering the belief and religion systems.

Most traditional religions still hold the age long belief that children with special needs are as a result of law of karma, contravention of norms of the society and even sometimes see them as supernatural existence [14]. In some parts in Africa, disability is considered a disadvantage and a curse in several countries resulting to exposure of people with disabilities to violence and abuse, sometimes justified by culture or beliefs. This accounts for large number of out of school population among special children in

rural community in Africa and especially in Nigeria. Baker, Lund and Taylor [15] investigated the myths surrounding people with Albinism in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the outcome presented that people with Albinism are not as capable as others, they are cursed, fault committed by their mother, contagious and they do not die. A report like this may predispose some people with disabilities to attack, injustice and abuse.

#### **4. Teachers of special needs in rural communities and instructional delivery: pragmatic approach in managing curriculum**

Teaching in rural communities might be exemplary difficult because of so many factors. In developing countries of the world in which Nigeria happen to be one, rural communities are plague with poor infrastructural development and neglect from government. Most social and essential facilities are in state of comatose and unattended to. School facilities and learning resources are ether unavailable, inadequate and or in poor shapes coupled with the value place on teaching profession by government, parents and the students themselves. Quite unfortunately, many rural communities in Nigeria lack human and material resources to cater for the needs of learners with special need both at the elementary and secondary school levels. Nevertheless, learners with special needs have right to education not minding their location and economic status. In this regards, teachers in rural communities must be ready to be innovative, knowledge seekers, resilient and incline to change.

The Salamanca framework for action posited that training and retraining of teachers to meet up with inclusive agenda should be topmost educational agenda across the globe. The policy stated that appropriate preparation of all educational personnel stands out as a key factor in promoting progress towards inclusive schools [16]. The policy further enunciated that pre-serve teachers should be equipped with knowledge and pedagogical strategies to identify, teach and care for learners with special needs in conventional or inclusive classroom. And also, on the job training should also be given to conventional teachers in the areas of education of children with special needs so as to abreast them of the pedagogy, identifications and contents adaptation.

Adigun [17] in a study carried on comparative study on inclusive education among pre service teachers in Nigeria and South Africa reported significant difference in the attitudes of pre service teachers with Nigeria having higher score than South Africa. The implication of this is that the training for pre service teachers in Nigeria impacted positively on them than South African teachers. In the same vein, Adeniyi et al. [18] investigated pre service teacher's preparedness towards inclusive education in Nigeria reported high knowledge and improved attitudes. This could be regarded as encouraging development in low economic country. However, schools in rural communities are disadvantaged of having experts because; most teachers prefer staying at the cities where they have access to modern facilities and infrastructures. It therefore imperative for government and other stakeholders to bring the development of training and retraining down to rural communities where we have some special needs who may not afford to go to cities or urban areas for their education. By doing this, rural teachers will have the expertise of exploring curriculum and modifying it in a way that the needs of special needs will be met. Not doing this amount to denying this cluster of individuals their fundamental human right to education.

Again, today's classrooms are diverse and inclusive in nature. Differentiation of instruction and assessment and principles of universal design are now recognised

#### *Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

practises for teachers. In order to cater for interest of diverse group of students in the classroom as regards instructional delivery, teachers in the rural communities in Nigeria must be able to creatively adapt curriculum to reflect things that are peculiar to those rural communities at the same time not at variance with the standard and core contents. Doing this will accommodate diverse interest and needs of learners with special needs as well community colouration. Curriculum adaptation is a modification to the delivery of instructional methods and intended goals of student performance that does not change the content but does slightly change the conceptual and cultural difficulty of contents of the curriculum. The main future of curriculum adaptation is the goal driven process.

Julka [19] noted that creating an inclusive culture in classroom will involve attending to the curriculum, which includes the components of a course of study. This entails modification of syllabus, textbook, teaching and learning resources and processes as well as assessment and evaluation procedures. If teachers in rural communities teaching both special and non-special needs want to succeed, a flexible curriculum must be adopted and this must come from the understanding of the teachers. It is important that the school should provide enabling experiences so that learners experience success in learning and achievement up to their potential. This is only possible if the teachers respond to the diversities present in an inclusive classroom through curriculum adaptations [19].

Not alone, teaching diverse students in the classroom call for good orientation of pedagogical strategies, understanding of the students and contents as well as the time to change. Generally, special education pedagogy is focused on learning and education for those students that do not benefit from traditional learning arrangements. In modern classroom, learners' needs are diverse, complex and recognised as such [20]. Majorly, lack of understanding of the needs of students and lack of pedagogical innovation make students to risk academic failure. Therefore, in community schools in rural areas, teachers much be versed and equipped with diverse pedagogies to able to bring instructional contents to the door steps of every learners. This calls for creativity and flexibility on the part of teachers in rural communities in Nigeria. More importantly in this era of socio-digital generation, there is the need for blended approach to teaching involving digital aids methodology with traditional cum innovation to motivate learners with special needs in rural areas.

In addition, for teachers to be abreast of new teaching and learning innovation and efficacies of some interventions strategies, they need to be informed of the new development via research and constant professional development. This called researchbased instructional strategies. Research-based instructional strategies are strategies that have been identified, by independent research, to be the most effective at influencing student learning outcomes and student achievement. Bolt-Lee [21] noted that the use of research-based, high-impact teaching innovations increases the probability of strong student outcomes. In a study conducted by Bolt-Lee [21] on developments in research-based instructional strategies focussing learning-centred approaches for accounting education reported that evidence-based pedagogical approaches improve instruction and learning outcomes, potentially reducing the trial and-error method of testing a strategy's effectiveness.

The outcome of research on new innovation in learning provide springboard for application of such strategy aim at a particular learning construct in students. It must be noted that irrespective of the many changes that occur in schools, student achievement will not significantly improve until teachers consistently use and school leaders consistently promote research-based instructional strategies. Promoting good teaching and evidence based learning outcome anchors on ability of teacher to conduct investigation on current innovation in pedagogy, instructional management, classroom innovation and management and a host other techniques that will motivate students' attention and improve learning outcome.

Furthermore, successful teaching of students with different abilities by teachers depends on the understanding and accommodation of diverse groups. Accommodation in special education can be used to describe an alteration of environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows individuals with different abilities and strengths to gain access to contents and/or complete assigned tasks. Lovett and Lewandowski [22] defined educational accommodations as alterations made to the delivery of instruction or testing, while keeping the essential content the same. These kinds of arrangements are frequently provided for students who have been identified to have disabilities. For example, a student with attention deficit hyperactive disorders may be taken to a separate room where distraction will be limited to take test. Likewise, a child that is dyslexic may be provided with extra time for his or her reading assignment. This helps them to achieve their potentials.

For conventional teachers who will be in charge of classroom in rural community schools, the knowledge of accommodation will help them to plan curriculum and by extension their syllabuses lesson plans to accommodate diverse students in their classes. Juniar, Amang and Pawennei [23] submitted that providing reasonable accommodation and support are one of the keys to implement the right to education of all learners as mentioned in Article 24 convention on the right of persons with disabilities. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [24] noted that accommodations can help students successfully meet curricular outcomes and, in turn, demonstrate their learning mastery.

Also, success may be difficult to achieve if teachers believes they can do alone. Teaching should be holistic and this is the reason why rural teachers must develop skills of engagement. Engaging other related professions on some issues can help teachers to deliver instructional contents adequately. The special education paraprofessional assists the teacher in general daily classroom activities, help special needs students, and cares for their physical, emotional health and safety, affirming their abilities, and striving to promote dignity in all relationships. Paraprofessionals are arguably some of the most integral people in the special education system. They observe, support and communication some identified and unique traits in the classroom which might be hidden to the teachers. The paraprofessionals in rural communities include the Psychologist, Nurse, Counsellor, Social workers and Doctor.

The health providers give advice and prescription on matters that demand health issues of students. This helps teachers to plan their instructional activities to favour different abilities and needs in the class. Also, Sullivan et al. [25] posited that school psychologists have long been recognised as highly influential in this process and in schools' resultant decisions. Where such is available in rural communities, their services should be employed in assessment and comprehensive evaluation of both cognitive and behavioural disposition of some activities among students that be inimical to their academic achievement most especially among some hiding needs that teachers might not be able to identify because of lack competency in such area. In same vein, the help of other professionals who are related to teaching and management of school activities must be sought so as to aid meaningful instructional delivery for all categories of students in a classroom setting.

#### *Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

For effective curriculum management and service delivery among teachers in rural communities in Nigeria, there should cordial relations and partnership among teachers whether they are specially trained or conventional teachers. This affords them to cross fertilise ideas, share information and carry out team teaching for all different abilities groups under their care to achieve their potentials. For effectiveness in all inclusive classrooms, the traditional isolated classroom should be replaced with a more flexible structure that facilitates collaboration across school staff [26]. In this regards, teachers in rural communities must imbibe the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. This will aid effective service delivery among them.

The Individual Disabilities Education requires that consideration and adequate attention should be on least restrictive environment starting with the students' general education class. If this will be possible, a full continuum of services must be available to all students. In this regards, teachers must be trained in team-teaching techniques. It is also important that partners plan together whether on face-to-face, online, or on the phone on a regular basis to make instructional decisions for the whole class, based on student data, and to develop and adjust meaningful, universally designed and differentiated lessons. Doing so will help the teachers in rural communities to deliver quality learning instructions to their students.

Adequate curriculum management and implementation will not be possible if learning environment remain obsolete, poor and not conducive for learning. It is therefore imperative for teachers in rural communities in Nigeria to be innovative and creative making school environment to be welcoming to the students. Teachers in rural communities can improvise by using local materials in the environment to design good learning space. Ability to achieve this depends on creativity and hard work on the part of teachers in rural communities. Usaini et al. [27] investigated influence of school environment on academic performance of secondary school students in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The study found that adequate facilities as well favourable environment facilitates better performance. Hence, good environment aids learning and motivates school interest of students.

Now, the digital era has changed dimension of school activities both in rural and urban communities across the globe. Fundamentally, the traditional classroom may be unimpressive for digital native students whether in cities or rural communities. This makes it imperative for teachers in rural communities to incorporate digital learning in their curriculum. Being skilful and successful application of this cannot be possible except teachers in communities get ready for digital revolution instructional era. Haleem et al. [28] noted that one of the fundamental components of the United Nations' sustainable development 2030 agenda is quality education which aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all and this is consider possible through digital technologies. Technological in innovation in education is considered a tool that will make teaching easy and improve quality of instructional delivery.

#### **5. Inclusivity in curriculum management for learners with special needs in rural communities in Nigeria: teachers' looking forward**

Countries vary widely in their laws, policies and practise of inclusive education across the globe. While inclusion in education is internationally upheld as a broad vision encompassing the right to education of all children regardless of background, national legislation largely invokes inclusive education in the context of educating children with disabilities [29]. Only five countries namely: Chile, Italy Paraquay,

Luxembourg and Portugal have codified inclusion education as a system of education and only 16 countries have referred to inclusive education in their general education law [30]. Unfortunately, educational laws aim at addressing the needs of people with special needs are always marginalised and un-implementable.

In sub-Saharan Africa, out few countries that have demonstrated seriousness towards inclusive education, Nigeria cannot be regarded to have demonstrated serious commitment. While only 17 per cent of the laws in sub-Saharan Africa codify inclusive education, a full 42 per cent of the education policies promote inclusion. In 2018, the African Union adopted the milestone Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa [31]. As of August 2022, only 11 of 55 member states had signed on to the Protocol and only three member states namely: Kenya, Mali, and Rwanda had ratified it. With this scenario, stakeholders must come together in addressing that may make inclusive education achievable.

Government must demonstrate commitments to provide enough funds, materials, recruiting and training and retraining of teachers on special education in order to equip them with the skills to teach and control students with special needs and disability, provide equipment and upgrade facilities in schools across the nation be it rural and urban to make teaching meaningful and motivate students interest and attendance in schools. Adeniyi et al. [32] conducted a study on determinants of successful inclusive education practise in Lagos state investigating relationship between materials and manpower and reported joint influence of the two variables in making inclusive education work. Hence, it beholds on government to see that materials and manpower needed for inclusive education practise are available in schools in rural communities. The training and retraining of teachers should aim at equipping teachers with creative thinking to be able to manage curriculum to meet the needs of learners in rural communities.

Teachers are critical stakeholders in managing curriculum implementing inclusive education whether in rural and urban communities. In this regards, they must demonstrate resilience, persevere and accommodating in managing curriculum to meet the meet of diverse learners. Teachers' creativities and knowledge of contents in highly needed which call for constant research and in-depth study to be abreast of new innovation in teaching and learning process. UNESCO [33] noted that rethinking pedagogy for twenty-first century is as crucial as identifying the new competencies that today's learners need to develop. To achieve this, government must strive to see that teachers are well groomed and motivated through commensurate remuneration and incentive as well as ample professional development [34]. The new skills acquired must be applied for future classroom where digital innovation is now the order of the day.

Parents as partners in the education of learners with special needs should be ready to provide information about their children, help in managing and providing local resources that will aid the adaptation and management of local resources in the areas of learning resources. Success of education depends on the collaboration of all stakeholders. Unfortunately, parents do not consider education of their children with special needs very important. For instance Adeniyi and Adeyemi [35] investigated inclusive educational practises in South-western, Nigeria reported negative attitudes by parents and government. This scenario can of course create bottle neck in the implementation of inclusive education both in urban and rural areas. It must be noted that collaboration from parents can bridge the gap that lack of provision by government can bring. The future of inclusive and management of curriculum to meet the

*Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

needs of learners in rural communities lie with cooperation of parents and assistance in assisting teachers in adapting local contents in to the curriculum as innovation strategy.

#### **6. Conclusion**

Ensuring equity in education especially for students with diverse needs in rural communities in Nigeria cannot come to reality if teachers are not ready go extra mile in curriculum management for good instructional delivery. It beholds on teachers to ensure that all strategies at making learning easy for students are considered in curriculum management and implementation. Hence the way forward is active participation of government in term of funding and provision of necessary equipment, teachers' resilience, perseverance and creative thinking cum parents' collaboration will help students with special needs in rural communities to achieve their potentials.

#### **Author details**

Samuel Olufemi Adeniyi1 \* and Olubukola Abiodun Olufemi-Adeniyi<sup>2</sup>

1 Department of Educational Foundations, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria

2 Department of Special Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

\*Address all correspondence to: soadeniyi@unilag.edu.ng; safeadeniyi@unilag.edu.ng

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

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[2] Sahin I. Detailed review of Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory and educational technology-related studies based on Rogers' theory. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET. 2006;**5**(2):14-23

[3] World Bank. Disability Inclusion in Nigeria: A Rapid Assessment. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2020. Available from: http://hdl.handle. net/10986/34073

[4] UNICEF. Education. New York: UNICEF; 2022

[5] UNICEF. Evaluation Report: The Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI) February 2018. New York: UNICEF; 2018

[6] World Health Organization. World Report on Disability 2011. 2011. Available from: https://www.who.int/ publications/i/item/9789241564182

[7] Ewang A. Nigeria Passes Disability Right Law, Offer Hope of Inclusion, Improve Access. Lagos: Human Right Watch; 2019

[8] The International Centre for Evidence in Disability. Disability-Inclusive Education and Employment: Understanding the Content in Nigeria. London: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; 2022

[9] Nworgu BG, Nworgu LN. Urban– rural disparities in achievement at the basic education level: The plight of the rural child in a developing country. Journal of Developing Country Studies. 2013;**3**(14):128, 139

[10] Adedeji SO, Olaniyan O. Improving the Conditions of Teachers and Teaching in Rural Schools Across African Countries. Addis Ababa: UNESCO-IICBA; 2011

[11] The World Bank. Nigeria Releases New Report on Poverty and Inequality in Country. Washington D.C.: The World Bank Group; 2020

[12] National Bureau of Statistics. Nigeria Launches Its Most Extensive National Measure of Multidimensional Poverty. Abuja: National Bureau of Statistics; 2022

[13] Ndlovu HL. African beliefs concerning people with disabilities: Implications for theological education. Journal of Disability & Religion. 2016;**20**(1-2):29-39. DOI: 10.10802331252942

[14] Baker C, Imafidon E. Traditional Beliefs Inform Attitudes to Disability in Africa. Why It Matters. The Conversation; 2020. Available from: https://theconversation.com/ traditionalbeliefs-inform-attitudes-todisability-in-africa-why-it-matters-138558 People with Disabilities, 55

[15] Baker C, Lund P, Taylor J. The myths surrounding people with Albinism in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Journal of African Culture Studies. 2010;**22**(2):169-181

[16] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. Spain: UNESCO; 1994

[17] Adigun OT. Inclusive education among pre-service teachers from Nigeria and South Africa: A comparative *Managing the Curriculum to Meet the Needs of Learners with Special Needs Education… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113121*

cross-sectional study. Cogent Education. 2021;**8**(1):1930491

[18] Adeniyi SO, Oluwatayo GK, Otunla AO. Pre-service teachers' preparedness towards inclusive education in Nigeria. African Journal of Educational Management. 2016;**17**(2):15-32

[19] Julka A. Concept of curriculum adaptation. In: Abhiyan SS, editor. Curriculum Adaptations for Children with Special Needs. New Delhi: IGP Printers Pvt Ltd.; 2016

[20] Mintz J, Wyse D. Inclusive pedagogy and knowledge in special education: Addressing the tension. International Journal of Inclusive Education. 2015;**19**(11):1161-1171

[21] Bolt-Lee CE. Developments in research-based instructional strategies: Learning-centered approaches for accounting education. e-Journal of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching. 2021;**15**(2):1-14

[22] Lovett BJ, Lewandowski LJ. Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Research-Based Practice. Washington: American Psychological Association; 2015

[23] Juniar MW, Amang B, Pawennei M. Reasonable accommodation and support for inclusive education in Asia. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues. 2021;**24**(6):1-15

[24] Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Accommodation for Instruction and Assessment. Canada: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development; 2015

[25] Sullivan AL, Sadeh S, Houri AK. Are school psychologists' special education eligibility decisions reliable and

unbiased?: A multi-study experimental investigation. Journal of School Psychology. 2019;**77**:90-10

[26] Hehir T, Grindal T, Freeman B, Lamoreau R, Borquaye Y, Burke S. A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. São Paulo: Abt Associates; 2016

[27] Usaini MI, Abubakar NB, Bichi AA. Influence of school environment on academic performance of secondary school students in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The American Journal of Innovative Research and Applied Sciences. 2015;**1**(6):203-209

[28] Haleem A, Javaid M, Qadri MA, Suman R. Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A review. Sustainable Operations and Computers. 2022;**3**:275-285

[29] Jodl J, Bian M. Global State of Inclusion in Education: A Literature Review. Carson City: Special Olympic Global Center for Inclusion in Education; 2023

[30] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Global Education Monitoring Report 2020: Inclusion and Education: All Means All. Paris; 2020. 92310038

[31] African Union. Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa. 2018. Available from: https://au.int/sites/default/files/ treaties/36440treatyprotocol\_to\_the\_ achpr\_on\_the\_rights\_of\_persons\_with\_ disabilities\_in\_africa\_e.pdf

[32] Adeniyi SO, Owolabi JO, Olojede K. Determinants of suceesful inclusive education practice in Lagos state, Nigeria. World Journal of Education. 2015;**5**(2):26-32

[33] United Nation Cultural Organization. The Future of Learning 3: What Kind of Pedagogies for the 21st Century? Education Research and Foresight. UNESCO; 2015

[34] UNICEF & UNESCO. Envisioning Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Executive Summary. Paris: UNICEF and UNESCO; 2013. Available from: http://en.unesco.org/post2015/ sites/post2015/files/Post-2015\_en\_web

[35] Adeniyi SO, Adeyemi OA. Inclusive education practice in southwestern Nigeria: A situational analysis. American Academy of Special Education Professionals. 2015;(Spring/ Summer):121-130

#### **Chapter 9**

## An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve Narrative Writing and High Cognitive Skills

*Vasiliki Kokkali, Faye Antoniou and Diamanto Filippatou*

#### **Abstract**

Developing written expression is a challenging task for students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs). The current study describes a 28-hour novel writing intervention program for Greek 5th and 6th graders with SLD that focuses on cognitive and metacognitive written expression strategies. The resource room teachers used the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instructional approach. Participants were divided into two groups: experimental (N = 36) and control (N = 44). The study was designed as a pre-while-post-follow-up experimental study. All students were assessed on written expression and cognitive and metacognitive strategy knowledge. The ANOVA results showed that the experimental group improved statistically significantly in writing and metacognitive skills compared to the control group, providing tangible evidence that writing can be taught effectively to SLD students. The educational implications of the related findings are also discussed.

**Keywords:** writing, intervention, self-regulation, learning disabilities, reading

#### **1. Introduction**

The acquisition of written expression is undeniably critical for all students' educational success. Students who improve their writing abilities gain a valuable tool for learning, communication, and self-expression [1]. Nonetheless, according to a number of studies [2, 3], nearly 75% of children and adolescents are unable to write texts that meet grade-level expectations. Similarly, one-third of high school graduates are not prepared to write at the college level. In total, 60% of students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) did not meet the proficiency criteria for basic writing. For them, written expression is a complex process marked by repeated failure and slow progress [4].

Students with SLD have significant writing difficulties due to a variety of deficits that affect their writing abilities. First, they devote less time to planning and organizing a text. This has an impact on their writing process because they produce short texts that lack coherence, clarity, and purpose. Furthermore, many students struggle with transcription skills, which affect their writing fluency and ability to create

content [5]. They may have fine motor problems, a limited vocabulary, and an incomplete syntactic structure, and they make spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors [6–8]. Furthermore, because they have weakened memory as well as limited executive functioning and cognitive monitoring skills, they fail to recall cognitive and metacognitive strategies needed for the process of revision and evaluation of their manuscripts [4]. As a result, they frequently develop negative or self-depreciative thoughts, as well as low self-efficacy and motivation to write [4, 9–12].

Thus, various teaching models and practices have been developed over the last few years to help improve the writing expression of students with SLD, and have been shown to be effective in improving students' literacy abilities in special education.

#### **1.1 Effective writing approaches for struggling writers**

Because writing is so important, SLD students' text production should be encouraged through well-designed writing programs based on various practices. However, they are not all equally effective. Several researchers [1, 13] discovered that transcription and grammar instruction appear to be ineffective in improving writing expression, whereas prewriting activities appear to be ineffective in improving writing quality [14]. Interventions based on strategy instruction for planning, editing, revising, summarization, sentence combining, peer assistance, and scaffolding, on the other hand, improve struggling writers' writing skills [13, 15–18]. Setting writing product goals is another highly recommended practice that has been shown to be very effective for students with SLD's written expression [19].

More specifically, it has been reported that the above practices are effective when used in conjunction with a specific instructional approach. Direct/explicit instruction, for example, is based on step-by-step procedures that guide students through intensive practice with reinforcement [20], modeling [21], and remedial feedback [22]. As a result, several significant findings from meta-analyses and experimental studies confirmed that programs based on direct/explicit instruction were effective for improving writing not only for struggling writers but also for beginning writers [1, 19, 23–29]. Teachers' modeling [26], mnemonics to aid in memorizing strategy steps [27], practice opportunities and feedback [27], and students' independent strategy use are all examples of direct/explicit instruction [30]. Scaffolding through well-structured tasks is critical for releasing guidance and allowing students to work independently [25].

In addition to strategy knowledge, the ability to regulate one's own learning is essential for writing. As a result, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is another promising instructional approach for teaching writing among students with SLD or at risk for learning disabilities (LDs), as well as those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [24, 31–34]. In a recent meta-analysis, Kokkali and Antoniou (in press) discovered that adding self-regulation to strategy instruction was the most effective treatment to support written expression for students at risk for or with LD. They found that designing multicomponent programs of different practices, such as direct/explicit instruction of self-instruction and self-monitoring strategies, feedback, goal setting, and peer tutoring, are highly effective for increasing writing.

#### **1.2 Writing and self-regulation**

When students adapt their own writing strategies to a specific writing situation, they achieve self-regulation. Students with self-regulation skills can think about a task before beginning it and then self-monitor their progress, eventually completing

#### *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

the task [35]. SRSD is a method of teaching that combines direct instruction in an academic strategy with self-regulation skills. This approach is designed to teach the elements of the writing process in six instructional steps: (a) activation of prior knowledge, (b) discussion of the strategy, (c) modeling the writing process, memorization of the strategy, (d) supporting students in using the strategy, and (e) prompting independent work [36]. It has, even, been supported that students internalize and self-regulate strategies when self-instructional techniques are the main frame of strategy instruction [37].

#### **1.3 Purpose of the present study and research questions**

Much research has been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of SRSD instruction. However, little SRSD research has been conducted on students who have or are at risk of having SLD. It should be noted at this point that corresponding research in the Greek language is also limited. Importantly, the international literature review emphasizes the need to test its implementation when teacher-led instruction is intergraded into comprehensive writing programs across resource rooms. In order to understand why, how, and for whom SRSD works, it is also necessary to investigate its long-term cost-effectiveness in comparison to traditional instruction [38]. As a result, the proposed study can help to expand knowledge in this field by demonstrating that SRSD can be a valuable technique for instructing students with SLD.

The current study's specific goal was to implement a novel comprehensive writing intervention that includes explicit writing instruction enriched with self-regulation written expression strategies. The program was expected to have a positive impact on students' writing expression and metacognitive knowledge. The following were the study's research questions:


#### **2. Method**

#### **2.1 Research design and procedures**

#### *2.1.1 Research design*

The design of the present study followed a pretest, while-test, post-test, and follow-up test scheme, including control group. This design is effective for the evaluation of literacy programs and is significantly strengthened by the existence of a control group [39]. For this reason, the sample was divided into two groups: (i) Experimental Group (EG) and (ii) Control Group (CG). Tables, according to Cohen [39], were used to assess the sample size. Based on the formula: δ = γ <sup>Ν</sup> , 2 the sample


#### **Table 1.**

*Temporal structure of the study.*

size was evaluated as a function of a factor δ and it was found that a sample of the order of 25 individuals is sufficient in order to detect large differences (i.e., of the order of γ = 80 by Cohen), where γ is a size in standard deviations [40].

More specifically, the study was structured in accordance with the data presented in **Table 1**. All the related measures are described in full detail in section measures.

#### *2.1.2 Procedures*

The research process was initiated with the obtainment of permission from the Ministry of Education to implement the intervention program. Informed consent for student's participation in the study was granted by their parents. The participation of all involved members was voluntary and students could withdraw at any time during the study. Then, school principals and special education teachers in the resource rooms were informed about the study and they were invited to take part.

The students were assessed (IQ and reading fluency), initially, individually by the first author or by graduate students, who had undergone rigorous training, including one-on-one evaluation of testing skills. If students met the inclusion criteria for the sample selection, then they were assessed as a group on the remaining skills (writing quality and writing-strategy knowledge). The specially trained graduate students did not participate in the design of the intervention program; thus, they were not aware of the potential effects and research questions. All tests took place in quiet classrooms during regular school hours and did not exceed an hour and a half. On the fifth week (while-test- T2) of the intervention, the students of the EG and CG were assessed for written expression and metacognitive strategy knowledge in order to observe their progress. Following the completion of the intervention, that is, within up to 7 days after the last session, both groups were assessed (post-test-T3) by the research team. Finally, students were reassessed, 6 weeks after the end of the intervention (follow up-T4). Due to the withdrawal of two students from the EG during the intervention, the amount of data finally gathered, pertained to 80 students.

*An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

#### **2.2 Participants**

Out of the 162 students assessed at first, eighty 5th and 6th grade students with SLD enrolled in 23 resource rooms throughout the province of Attica met all inclusion criteria and participated in the study. The following criteria were used to determine inclusion: (i) achievement of an 85 or above intelligence quotient using Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, and (ii) performance under the 10th percentile in the reading fluency *via* the standardized reading test. Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neurological impairments, as well as emotional, behavioral, or sensory difficulties were preliminarily excluded from the study. The participants came from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Thirtysix students were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) (Νgirls = 16, Νboys = 20) and 44 to the control group (CG) (Νgirls = 25, Νboys = 19) without considering any blocking factors, such as grade or bilingualism. The selection of bilingual students based on the aforementioned criteria was permitted on the condition that they had attended Greek schools from kindergarten age. Sixty students spoke Greek only and the remaining 20 spoke Greek and another language at home (e.g., Albania, French, Indian, Arabian, Romanian, Polonian, Italian, and German). **Table 2** shows the demographic characteristics of participating students.

Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of chronological age, IQ, reading fluency, writing quality, or knowledge of metacognitive strategies (see **Table 3**). Chi-square analyses, also, revealed no


#### **Table 2.**

*Demographic characteristics.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Characteristics of participants at the onset of the study.*

statistically significant differences between groups in terms of grade (38 students in 5th grade and 42 students in 6th grade, x2 = .39), or in bilingualism (8 bilinguals in experimental and 12 in control, x2 = .604).

#### **2.3 Teachers' characteristics and training**

The intervention was implemented by nine teachers of the resource rooms for 28 teaching hours. To avoid potential teachers' effects, each was asked to provide information about their educational level, years of teaching experience, and previous participation in other intervention programs. The x2 analysis performed on the collected data revealed no statistically significant differences in the aforementioned variables between the experimental and control groups of teachers. During a special meeting, the educational materials (teacher's book and student's workbook) for the proposed writing intervention program were delivered and explained to the EG teachers. The authors conducted a 2-hour training session for the EG teachers, which included theoretical guidelines about SRSD and detailed information about the instructional material. Teachers received no additional training because it is believed that the brief training is sufficient to affect their daily practice [41]. Furthermore, the intervention program was fully scripted, so they were given the exact wording they needed to use.

#### **2.4 Measures**

#### *2.4.1 Non-verbal intelligence*

The Greek standardization of Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices [42] was used for the estimation of non-verbal intelligence. The final score was calculated based on the sum of correct answers (Cronbach's a = .69, mean time of testing-m.t.t.: 10–15 min).

#### *2.4.2 Reading fluency*

The reading fluency was assessed *via* subtest four of the reading test [43]. Reading test was standardized in the Greek student population, aiming at the early detection of reading difficulties by providing weighted means for each grade of compulsory education, and determining percentiles that allow the evaluation of the severity of reading difficulty. Students were asked to read individually and out loud an unknown pragmatic passage of 279 words for 1 minute. Their final score is equal to the total number of the correct words they were able to read at this time.

#### *2.4.3 Writing expression*

In order to assess writing expression, four pictures were given to the students, and asked to write the story on a piece of paper.

**Story grammar***.* To assess the schematic structure of stories, we adapted the Harris and Graham's story grammar scale [44] scoring the inclusion and quality of the parts of a story (main character, locale, time, starter event, action, ending, and reaction). Following Harris and Graham's scoring convention, a score of zero was assigned if the respective element was not present, and a score of one was assigned if it was present. Scores on the resulting seven-item scale could range from zero to seven points. The interrater reliability (Pearson's coefficient) was greater than .92.

#### *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

**Organization***.* This scale referred to the organization (introduction, main body paragraph, and ending) and coherence (linking words) of stories. For the first, a score of zero was assigned if the respective element was not present and a score of one if it was present. Scores on the scale could range from one to three points. Regarding the coherence, we counted the number of linking words that existed in every story. Interscorer reliability was greater than 0.94.

**Content***.* This scale referred to vocabulary. More specifically, this included active verbs and emotional words. We counted the number of them in each story. Interscorer reliability was greater than 0.90.

**Theme writing***.* Theme writing was assessed scoring one if the story was on topic and zero if it was not. The interrater reliability was .99.

**Writing quality***.* In order to assess the writing quality of students' compositions, a holistic rating scale was used based on previous elements. The rating scale assesses topics such as (i) story grammar, (ii) organization (introduction, main body paragraph, ending, coherence), (iii) content (active verbs, feelings-vocabulary), and (iv) theme writing.

**Story length***.* To obtain a measure of story length, two members of the research team counted the number of words in each story regardless of spelling. Their interrater reliability was .99.

#### *2.4.4 Writing-strategy knowledge*

In order to assess students' writing metacognitive skills, they were introduced to a writing-strategy knowledge test that was based on the metacognition questionnaire of Schlagmueller and Schneider [45] and Antoniou and Souvignier [46], and further modified by the first two authors. The inventory included three short passages presenting a problematic situation regarding writing. For example, the text presented a student whose goal was to write a text entitled "How I spent Christmas" but did not know what to do. Students, pretending to be teachers, were asked which were the best of six suggested strategies to accomplish the task (a. He/She has to think about ideas that are relevant to the topic; b. He/She has to correct spelling mistakes before giving them to his/her teacher; c. He/She has to analyze ideas and combine them with words that show feelings; d. He/She has to check the text for errors in content; e. He/She has to write something about Easter if he/she does not know about this title; f. He/She has to write a few sentences as they come to mind). A score of −1 was assigned if the selected strategy was wrong and a score of one was assigned if it was correct. Next, students were asked to write by themselves which strategies they would use under three specific circumstances (a. before writing a story; b. during writing; c. after finishing the story). Every correct strategy was scored with one (Cronbach's a = .45, m.t.t.: 15–20 min).

#### **2.5 Description of SRSD intervention**

#### *2.5.1 Material and instructional principles*

The intervention was implemented with a mixed-age class of 10–11-year-olds. Students received a workbook with activities and worksheets to guide students' independent work. Participating teachers received a detailed handbook on how to apply the program and implement the explicitly cognitive and metacognitive writing strategies, and self-regulation techniques. It included clear and precise information as well as elaborate examples for the lesson's sequence and guidance for the function of every


#### **Table 4.**

*Overview of SRSD lessons.*

strategy. Last, a check box is placed next to each step-strategy to mark its completion in order to help teachers to orient themselves while working with their students.

The program lasted 7 weeks, scheduled 4 days per week. Each session lasted one school hour and did not include more than four students. The program was based on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). The model was designed to teach the three phases of the writing process (planning, editing, and revising) as well as writing quality (organization of the paragraph, genre, content, and vocabulary) in six stages of instruction to help students develop writing composition that is clear and cohesive. These stages included activating students' background knowledge by discussing how to write successfully, discussing the strategy to be learned (i.e., mnemonic targeting story-genre), modeling the strategy, memorizing the strategy, and writing compositions through guided and independent practice. It, also, included after the completion of a task, a self-regulation strategy in the form of a writing plan accompanied by a checklist. Each session followed the SRSD stages with scaffolding. Apparently, teachers' guidance was progressively decreasing and finally discontinued in favor of students' autonomous work. **Table 4** shows an overview of SRSD lessons.

#### *2.5.2 Intervention program*

The writing program was organized into 7 units according to the stages of a storyline, which was entitled "The Myth of Lost Atlantis." The students pretended that they were explorers assigned to unravel a mystery by collecting clues and narrating stories from every place they visited. In that way, students realized how essential it was to proceed with a systematic and planned method to write a text. The purpose of this background story at the beginning of the program was to familiarize the students with the specifics of the procedure. Students had, as cognitive organizers

#### *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

and mnemonics in their workbook, explanatory and auxiliary symbols, which helped categorize the strategies and other important aspects of the program.

The first unit (week 1) focused on story grammar. Students were first taught to write stories with proper structure. Observing pictures that formed a story, students asked themselves the following questions represented by the mnemonic 7 *W*, *W*ho are the main characters? *W*hen does the story take place? *W*here does the story take place? *W*hat do the main characters want to do? *W*hat happens when the main characters try to do it? *W*hat happens in the end? *W*hat feelings do the main characters have? For each question, students generated notes and then, they used them in order to write the story. After completing each story, the students completed the checklist of the writing plan about the basic elements of the story (structure).

By second unit (week 2), organization of a paragraph, teachers had taught the students to construct correctly a paragraph. Here students had to look at a picture and write shortly a paragraph, including the 7 *W* and appropriate linking words. In each lesson, there was a bubble full of linking words, which over the sessions faded away. Every paragraph should have thematic sentence, details, and conclusion. At the end of each paragraph, the students monitored their script by a checklist and controlled if the basic elements and linking words were included in the text.

The third unit (week 3) incorporated content. This unit combined units 1 and 2; and a new element, the teaching of action verbs. This was the main difference between the first-second and third units. More specifically, during the third unit, students observed first the pictures of a story and were tested to determine whether they remembered what the story part reminder mnemonic (7 *W*) stood for and why they were important. They again practiced finding story parts and taking notes of them as they looked at the pictures, but this time they used a graphic organizer wherein they made notes for each part of the story by putting them in the correct paragraph using a new mnemonic *SME* (*S*tart, *M*ain body, and *E*nd). The teacher and students, further, discussed similar stories to the pictures the students have experienced and the last ones take notes using SME and action verbs. After that, students wrote their own stories using all the elements (*7 W, SME, linking words, and action verbs*) they had been taught. Last, using the metacognitive strategy of self-regulation, students checked their stories and determined whether they had met their goal.

The fourth unit (week 4) was based on vocabulary. The characteristics of a good story were discussed, including those stories, in order to be fun to read and write, and need to use exciting words. Students spent a few minutes looking at a picture and realizing how the main character feels. Τhen, they took notes of related words of feeling with the help of bubble words, which they had previously discussed with their teachers. Next, students write a paragraph using these words of feeling and following the steps that had been taught in the second unit.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh units (weeks 5–7) included the three phases of the writing process. In these units, the previous instructional stages are revisited and combined as necessary. The general planning strategy, taught to students, included three steps: first think, then write, and at the end check; by using a graphic organizer in the form of a map. Using this strategy, students acted like explorers by finding the most important elements of the story pictures and making notes.

During the first stage of instruction, developing background knowledge, students acquired the knowledge and skills needed to apply the three phases of the writing process. Its corresponding steps were introduced, and the teacher and students discussed why each step was important. Then, the characteristics of a good story were discussed, including that stories are fun when include exciting words. The

teacher introduced, again, the mnemonic 7 *W* and *SME*, providing examples. During the second stage of instruction, discuss it, students were first tested to determine whether they remembered what 7 *W* and *SME* meant and why they were important. They again practiced making notes for the story parts, looking at the pictures, and putting them in the correct paragraph (*start, main body, and end*). They, also, made notes of feelings-words that make the story more interesting. They, then, discussed with their teachers which parts they have included and which they have not. During the third stage of instruction, model it, the teacher showed students how to apply 7 *W* and SME and introduced the use of self-instructions (i.e., self-talk) as well. The teacher began by setting a goal to include all of the parts of a story and model, while "talking out loud," how to plan and write a story using these mnemonics. Students helped the teacher by generating ideas for the story. The next stage, support it, started with a collaborative writing experience. The teacher and students planned and wrote the story together using 7 *W*, *SME*, exciting, and linking words. This time, students directed the process, and the teacher provided support when needed. After a story was completed, students checked their script and controlled if every important piece of information was included in the text by fulfilling an evaluation sheet. This process took place at every session until students moved into the final stage, independent performance when each of them could use all these strategies on their own.

#### **2.6 Control group**

At the same time, the students of the control group received typical instruction from the remaining 14 resource room teachers. Diary entry and questionnaire conducted during the instructional period reveal that teachers adhered to a relatively traditional writing curriculum. This included teacher-directed guidance in generating writing ideas; exercises in prewriting and redrafting stories; instruction in grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. They instructed their students primarily in minilessons and in groups.

#### **2.7 Treatment fidelity**

Several practices were implemented to ensure the intervention's accuracy and consistency. First, the authors conducted a brief training session for EG teachers. Second, all EG teachers were given a teaching manual that included the script for each lesson and instructions for implementing all of the program's activities. Third, in terms of activity structure, they complete a step-diary every day based on the SRSD model's six stages *(Develop Background Knowledge, Discuss, Model, Memorize, Support, and Independent Practice*), with a check box next to each step to mark its completion. Instructors had completed 99.9% of the steps following the intervention. Following that, two trained members of the research team who were aware of the study's objectives observed each teacher's instruction twice during the intervention's implementation and completed questionaries about the steps of SRSD according to the teaching manual in order to evaluate teachers' adherence to the program. Because the observers were required to work independently, they were not permitted to interact during the observation of teachers' instruction. The treatment fidelity was 91.5%. Level of agreement between the two examiners was indicated by the pairwise correlation coefficient that was r = .86, *p* < .001. All the participating teachers were encouraged to communicate with the coordinator of the study for clarifications or to discuss possible difficulties. As for the reliability of data, all tests collected during the four different

*An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

times of assessment were firstly scored by the examiner and, subsequently, rescored by the primary investigator not knowing to which group the participants belonged.

#### **3. Results**

Using SPSS 25.0 for Windows, at pretest, t-test showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups for writing quality and writing-strategy knowledge (see **Table 3**). Means and standard deviations for each writing variable are presented in **Table 5**. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were deployed


**Table 5.** *Means (and standard deviations in parentheses) of EG and CG across variables.* for the investigation of the effectiveness of the writing intervention program. The interaction between time (T1, T2, T3, and T4) and groups was examined in terms of the extent of the differentiation in the improvement between students of the experimental and the control group from T1 to T4. Based on a 2 × 4 factorial design, time served as a within-subjects factor and group as a between-subjects factor. The analysis

**Figure 1.** *Writing quality.*

**Figure 2.** *Structure.*

*An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

**Figure 3.** *Organization.*

#### **Figure 4.** *Content.*

was performed for writing quality, writing length, and strategy knowledge. Extra analyses concerning the elements of writing quality (structure, organization, content, and theme writing) are also described. The main and interaction effects determined *via* the analyses are shown in **Figures 1**–**7**.

**Figure 5.** *Theme writing.*

**Figure 6.** *Length.*

Regarding overall writing quality, interaction contrasts suggested that the EG improved in significantly higher means compared to the CG from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 11.06, *p* = .001, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .12, T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 36.28, *p* = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .32, and from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 41.82, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .35, pointing high maintenance over the time *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

**Figure 7.** *Writing-strategy knowledge.*

of the gains for the EG compared to the CG*.* Since statistically significant interactions were observed, the main effect of time was not considered [47], as there was no statistically significant main effect for time of testing from T1 to T3 and from T1 to T4. **Figure 1** illustrates the improvement of students' performance from pre to follow-up for writing quality.

#### **3.1 Elements**

For the basic elements included in story texts, there were also statistically significant effects of their interaction (see **Figures 2**–**5**). Interaction contrasts were run yielding the following results: students in EG demonstrated greater improvement in structure of a story than the CG from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 7.58, *p* = .007, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .09, T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 62.99, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .45, and from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 48.60, p = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .38. There were also statistically significant effects of time for testing only from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 16.91, p = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .18.

Regarding organization, the two groups performed differences from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 5.28, *p* = .02, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .06 and from T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 25.13, *p* = .00, and *η*p 2 = .24, with the EG excelling. Also, between T1 and T4, the EG showed considerably higher maintenance compared to the CG *F*(1,77) = 28.66, *p* = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .27. There were, also, statistically significant effects of time for testing only from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 9.33, p = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .10.

For content, interaction contrast suggested that the EG improved in significantly higher means compared to the CG from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 8.00, *p* = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .09, T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 9.43, *p* = .00, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .10, and from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 14.84, *p* = .00, and *η*p 2 = .16, pointing maintenance for the EG. There was, also, a statistically significant main effect of time of testing from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 24.47, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .24, and from T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 14.45, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .15.

In terms of theme writing, there was, however, no statistically significant difference between EG and CG at any time point (T1,2,3,4).

#### **3.2 Length**

For the number of words included in narrative papers, although a decrease was observed from T1 to T2, SRSD approach improved the length of students' stories. Interestingly, the difference between groups on the change from T1 to T2 *F*(1,77) = 1.30, *p* = .25, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .01, and from T1 to T3 was not significant using the standard criteria *F*(1,77) = 2.80, *p* = .09, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .03. Nevertheless, the change from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 5.53, *p* < .05, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .06 was significant (see **Figure 6**). Additional analyses regarding the four times of the intervention (T1, T2, T3, and T4) yield statistically significant results.

#### **3.3 Writing-strategy knowledge**

As illustrated in **Figure 7**, SLD students in EG showed a significant improvement in strategy knowledge compared to students in CG. Specifically, from T1 to T2 the difference between groups was not significant *F*(1,77) = 0.91, *p* = .34, *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .01. However, the difference between groups on the change from T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 42.61, *p* = .00, and *η*p 2 = .35, and from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 64.39, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .45 was significant both in short and long term, proving that the effectiveness of the program on the strategic knowledge of the students was stable over time. There were, also, statistically significant effects of time for testing from T1 to T3 *F*(1,77) = 63.42, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .0.45, and from T1 to T4 *F*(1,77) = 63.81, *p* = .00, and *η*<sup>p</sup> 2 = .0.45.

#### **4. Discussion**

This study sought to enhance the written expression and metacognitive writing abilities of SLD children in grades five and six through a novel writing SRSD interventional program. The results revealed that the direct/explicit instruction intervention combined with self-regulation techniques was beneficial for students with SLD. Although both groups performed similarly in T1 (pre-test), the experimental group showed a slight degree of improvement than the control group in T2 (in the middle of the intervention) on a variety of skills such as structure, organization, and writingstrategy knowledge. Additionally, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group in both writing and metacognitive strategy knowledge in T3 (post-test) and T4 (follow-up). Because the effect sizes for all variables were large, it was concluded that the intervention had a significant long-term effect on the students with SLD and that they were able to generalize the strategies to new academic situations.

Α study conducted by Graham and Harris [34] found that teaching students with SLD-specific writing strategies, such as prewriting, planning, revising, and editing, resulted in significant improvements in their written expression. The study also found that when students were taught to use self-regulation strategies, such as setting goals and monitoring their progress, they were able to apply these strategies to other writing assignments and academic situations. Other studies [48–50] examined the effectiveness of a Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) approach to writing instruction for students with SLD. These studies found that students who received

#### *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

SRSD instruction showed significant improvement in their written expression, as well as in their ability to apply these strategies to new writing tasks. Patrick and McKeown [50] conducted a study that showcased the positive impact of the SRSD approach on students receiving special education. Their findings revealed that these students experienced enhanced linguistic proficiency as they exhibited a greater utilization of academic vocabulary, an increased written word count, and a heightened frequency in employing cognitive strategies. Teaching self-regulation techniques can assist students with SLD to become more independent learners and boost their academic performance, claim Berninger and his colleagues [51]. The authors suggest that self-controlled students are better able to control and alter their motivation, conduct, and emotions to meet the demands of academic responsibilities. These results generally agree with earlier studies on the effectiveness of similar interventions [19]. For students with SLD, explicit teaching in the stages of the writing process, goal setting, and guided feedback throughout the writing process have all been found to be effective strategies. For example, a study by Datchuk and his colleagues [24] found that these practices improved the writing skills of students with SLD. Similarly, Gestern and Baker [52] found that teaching students the writing process and providing regular feedback resulted in improved writing outcomes. Other studies [38, 53] have also found that these practices are effective in improving writing skills in students with SLD.

Students in the experimental group showed significant improvement in text writing quality and dimension (structure, organization, and content) after the program's implementation and 6 weeks later than students in the control group. This finding replicates the findings of previous meta-analyses [4, 52, 53], which demonstrated that students with SLD are more likely to improve their written expression through the use of writing and self-regulation strategies, and are able to generalize these strategies to new academic situations. The nonsignificant short-term results during the intervention (T2) could be attributed to the fact that students with SLD require more time to practice what they have learned in order to implement the strategies [54]. Students with SLD typically require more practice and time to implement the skills they have successfully mastered. This is because SLD students usually struggle to digest information and remember new ideas. They might require more time and practice to fully comprehend and implement new techniques into their learning process. Students with SLD who got SRSD writing interventions took longer to respond to the interventions than their peers who were typically developing [48]. The SLD students need more targeted attention and support in order to completely comprehend and use the writing strategies they learned during the intervention. Kim et al. [55] discovered that students with SLD who received writing interventions needed additional time and support to put the new methods into practice. Participating students needed more individualized feedback and instruction, as well as more practice using the strategies. It seems that students with SLD need more time to react to writing interventions because they have trouble planning and organizing their thoughts and might need additional in-depth instruction and practice in these subjects [35].

In terms of metacognitive writing skills, students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group in all assessments (T2, T3, and T4). This finding confirmed that students with SLD can broaden their knowledge of writing strategies and use these higher-order skills to improve their writing [56, 57]. They are more likely to acquire cognitive and metacognitive writing skills and apply them over time or to new subjects, according to the significant long-term findings [58]. According to Graham and Harris [59], training SLD students' metacognitive skills can aid in

their growth as writers and increase their awareness of their own writing processes. Englert et al. [60] conducted a review of the literature and discovered that teaching metacognitive strategies like planning and revising improved the writing abilities of students with SLD across a range of age groups and writing genres. The study also revealed that students who were taught metacognitive strategies were better able to apply these abilities to brand-new writing tasks and to settings in general education contexts. Similarly, in a study by Harris and Graham [61], college students with SLD who received a writing intervention that included instruction in metacognitive strategies showed significant improvements in their writing performance that were maintained up to 1 year later. The study also revealed that these students were more likely to use the strategies they had learned in various academic contexts, indicating that the benefits of metacognitive strategy instruction can transfer to new situations. Teaching metacognitive strategies to students with SLD can also help them become more independent learners and better equipped to succeed in the future. Training SLD students' metacognitive strategies can aid in their development of self-management skills and increase awareness of their own learning processes [59]. Students with SLD may find these abilities helpful as they manage academic and professional environments in the future.

#### **5. Implications for practice**

The findings from this study provide several important implications for practice. The current study found that the successful implementation of a highly structured writing intervention program requires two components: a specific instructional approach and detailed organization of each lesson in script format [61]. Both elements could easily be scaled up to assist other educators in incorporating the proposed activities, or the entire program, into their daily classrooms. Furthermore, the proposed program introduced effective practices for writing instruction through self-regulated learning and competence, as discovered in previous research and meta-analyses [16, 53, 62–64]. Teaching metacognitive strategies to students with SLD requires explicit instruction and modeling, along with opportunities for guided practice and feedback. Students need to be taught how to monitor their own writing processes and how to use metacognitive strategies to revise and edit their work. These strategies can help students with SLD become more independent writers and more successful learners with positive gains in motivation [65]. As a result, SLD students can benefit from intensive writing intervention. Combining different techniques that appear one inside the other (for example, teaching vocabulary – words of emotions – will be required at the editing stage to make the story more interesting) can help them integrate the new strategies more effectively. Overall, the study not only demonstrates how the difficult writing skill should be taught to students with SLD but it also lays the groundwork for future research in related interventions.

#### **6. Conclusions**

The aim of this chapter was to provide an informed view of an SRSD-based comprehensive writing intervention program for the inclusive classroom. The findings provide evidence that the explicit teaching of cognitive and metacognitive strategies was effective in improving the narrative writing expression of students with SLD. *An SRSD Intervention Study for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities to Improve… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112526*

The active participation of students during SRSD instruction can amplify their feeling of responsibility toward the strategy and enable them to comprehend the advantages of using it. At the same time, incorporating self-regulation methods into teaching helps students recognize the impact of their attitudes and efforts on the learning process. Additionally, teachers, who demonstrate enthusiasm, instill a positive "I can do this..." attitude, and provide regular praise promote students' confidence in their ability to progress.

To achieve favorable outcomes using SRSD, it is essential for educators to invest their time and effort in comprehending the model and executing it diligently. If teachers provide frequent, consistent, and continuous opportunities for writing practice, it can lead to successful teaching. As a result, they should instruct students with SLD in small steps, provide feedback, and encourage them to analyze both the process and content being taught.

Given these findings, a large number of students with SLD can benefit from high-quality teaching that explicitly teaches the techniques utilized by exceptionally proficient writers. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an evidence-based approach that has been demonstrated to effectively accomplish that goal.

#### **Funding**

The research work was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the 3rd Call for HFRI PhD Fellowships (Fellowship Number: 5192).

#### **Author details**

Vasiliki Kokkali1 \*, Faye Antoniou1 and Diamanto Filippatou2

1 Department of Educational Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou, Greece

2 Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou, Greece

\*Address all correspondence to: vaskok@eds.uoa.gr

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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### **Chapter 10**

The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School Task Performance Behaviors in Students with Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disabilities: A Multiple Baseline Design Study

*Mihaela Cristea*

#### **Abstract**

The development of programs aimed to promote self-determination in students with disabilities is a very popular research topic. Many of these programs have obtained the status of evidence-based practices, one being the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction. Although the literature emphasizes the link between self-determination and the school performance of students with disabilities, in Romanian research and educational practice there is a weak focus on specific programs to improve self-determined abilities, attitudes, and behaviors, these being rather in an early phase of study and application. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of the impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction on the academic performance of five students with intellectual disabilities. In this multiple baseline across participants design study, school performance is operationalized in reading comprehension skills, vocabulary communication skills, math problem solving, choice making, and goal setting and attainment. The preliminary adapted AIR Self-determination scale for Romanian students and individual observation checklists were used for each dependent variable to evaluate the competencies and indicators related to school performance in the baseline, treatment, and maintenance stages. Study findings indicated significant increases in the scores of behaviors and abilities observed throughout the experimental conditions, especially in the final intervention phase and maintenance stage. The academic performances of the five students were on an upward trend, remaining stable and robust over time. The results of the study showed improvements in students' abilities for self-determination expressed through knowledge, abilities, and perception. Conclusion: The study is a novelty in selfdetermination research in Romania, directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

**Keywords:** self-determination learning model of instruction, intellectual disability, reading comprehension, vocabulary communication abilities, math problem-solving, choice making, goal setting and attainment

#### **1. Introduction**

In the educational and therapeutic practice of self-determination, the effects of programs and strategies aimed to improve the self-determination of students with disabilities are described in the literature, and some educational programs focused on improving self-determination have become evidence-based practices in the applied field of self-determination and, as a result of the benefits gained by students, their use in educational settings and practice has become common. In the educational practice approach, programs, instructional strategies, and interventions having evidencebased practice status are applied to develop and improve behaviors and skills related to self-determination. These programs, whether they are applied throughout a school year, semester, or during smaller sequences, have as a purpose the development of specific self-determination skills such as making choices and decision making, decisional behaviors skills, solving problems, goals attainment and setting, planning, selfmanagement, and self-advocacy.

#### **1.1 The school task performance and self-determination in the context of disability**

The link between the school performance of children with disabilities and self-determination has been proven by researchers, many studies have found that skills associated with self-determination (e.g., goal setting and attainment, problemsolving, decision making) are critical in the learning process, and they are predictors of improved school and post-school academic outcomes [1, 2]. Several studies carried out on the subject of the relationship between school performance and selfdetermination have shown that the school and post-school academic results, as well as the higher performance in the educational and vocational domains, were consolidated especially during the transition activities, and were obviously marked and influenced by self-determination components (autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization) and skills (self-advocacy, auto-management, decisional behaviors) who can thus, under certain conditions, play the role of mediators or moderators [3–5]. The meta-analyses and systematic reviews on the effect of intervention programs have indicated the efficacy of several educational programs considered evidence-based practices in the self-determination domain, these educational interventions have an impact and strong direct effects in increasing the school performances of the students with disabilities, materialized by improving school outcomes, post-school academic results, and enhancing of socio-school behaviors and vocational skills [6–9]. The positive school task performances behaviors that appeared either as direct effects of the implementation of evidence-based-practice or as indirect conditional effects, as a result of the influence manifested by self-determination through the prism of associated skills that can play the role of mediators or moderators will be benchmark points in access to higher education and university programs, higher employment rate, and successful inclusion of students with disabilities in socio-professional vocational communities.

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

#### **1.2 Self-determination learning model of instruction: characteristics and efficiency**

Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is an evidence-based practice unanimously recognized in the self-determination literature, the implementation of this program had remarkable effects on the improvement of behaviors and skills associated with self-determination in students with disabilities. Based on the Causal Agent Theory [10], this educational program with the status of evidence-based practice in the self-determination and transition context [4, 6, 11–13] aims to enhance the self-determining actions, abilities, attitudes, pre-vocational and self-advocacy skills of students with and without disabilities [14, 15]. Researchers have supported the effectiveness of SDLMI in obtaining positive school and post-school outcomes, enhancing self-determining learning skills and behaviors [6, 16], access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities [17], and academic and transitionrelated goal attainment [18, 19].

Starting from the premise that self-determination is a multifaceted construct, it turns out that interventions are multi-component, and they must have therapeutic objectives related to the improvement of a wide range of competent behaviors and self-determining attitudes [5]. Created in the 2000s by Wehmeyer and colleagues, SDLMI is a self-determination learning model intended for students with disabilities, presented in the form of a guide that supports educators to enable students to selfregulate and self-direct the learning process, and as a result, to engage the students in self-determining learning. Students in the process of learning self-determination set educational goals based on interests, personal skills, and needs; participate in establishing the interventions that lead to the achievement of the objectives; implement strategies that enable them to modify and regulate their behaviors; use strategies that allow them to track their goals and action plan if needed [12]. In the literature, there are many studies that explore the effects of SDLMI impact on the achievement of educational objectives [4, 9, 12, 20–25].

#### **1.3 Implementation of self-determination learning model of instruction in educational practice**

Wehmeyer et al. [12] have established the primary SDLMI structure*,* with three phases included in SDLMI: Phase 1 *- Set a Goal*, Phase 2 - *Take Action*, and Phase 3 - *Adjust Goal* or *Plan*. In each phase of the program, teachers encourage students to answer four *Student Questions* which, in turn, correspond to *Teacher Objectives* that have the role of guiding learning. The program provides *Educational Support* to enable teachers to guide students to respond to the *Student Questions* and develop the skills associated with self-determined action that is needed to meet *Teacher Objectives*. Before the scheduled start of the program, together with Phase 1, the teachers initiate preliminary conversations with the students about the SDLMI objectives for that activity. In these conversations, teachers work with students to establish objectives, such as solving problems, setting objectives and ways to achieve them, and the roles assigned to teachers and students within the program, emphasizing that this process is different from an educational activity that involves typical teaching. The roles of the teacher in the program are those of facilitator, advocate, and instructor. Students learn to act self-directed, they are active learners, as well as self-advocates for what they need in the learning process to become successful. The teachers introduce the four key concepts used throughout the program implementation: objective, problem-solving,

plan, and evaluation. When SDLMI is applied to students with major difficulties, teachers should consider several considerations related to the representation ways and the communication ways through which students have easier access to knowledge. These ways appeal to understanding and differentiated expression through oral and written language, illustrations, video materials, tutorials, and personal examples. The understanding of the specific roles as well as the key terms, happens differently from student to student, depending on the learning features and profile of each student, the learning needs, and background experiences. Therefore, the preliminary clarifying conversations must be without a time limit and lead to a full understanding of key concepts. Researchers indicated that SDLMI is built to be a program with cyclical processes, this means that the students will pass successively, repeatedly, and cyclically from one phase to another, until, through their work, they will move towards achieving the proposed objectives at the beginning of the program [26, 27]. Therefore, the students will grow in knowledge and skills, after which they will set new goals and action plans to achieve the overtime goals [5, 20].

#### **1.4 The purpose of the present study**

In the Romanian educational system, specific programs focusing on learning behaviors and skills related to self-determination are lacking. From the multitude of evidence-based practices in self-determination skills, we chose *Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction* (SDLMI) [28], because it is tailored to the needs of students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and is very well structured in a hierarchical manner from simple to complex, and it is easy for students to follow it. The researchers showed that SDLMI can be successfully applied in the educational practice not only for learning self-determining behaviors but also for the purpose of improving school performance when students have to solve specific academic tasks [5, 28]. The present study aims to explore the impact of SDLMI in optimizing the performance obtained in solving academic tasks in the classroom and educational settings. In this research context, academic performance is operationalized as improving performance in school tasks, such as: (1) enhancing reading comprehension, (2) increasing vocabulary communication skills, (3) improving math problemsolving, (4) making choices in pre-vocational activities; (5) goal setting and attainment. The research questions are as followed:

*Research question 1:* Did the application of SDLMI increase the performance in school tasks and academic activities of the five students involved in the study?

*Research question 2*: Did the SDLMI improve self-determining capacities in terms of knowledge, perceptions, and abilities?

#### **2. Method**

#### **2.1 Participants**

In this study participated 5 students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities enrolled in 8th grade in a special middle school from Iasi. According to the Romanian National Education Law, students follow a special curriculum for students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities that is applied in special schools for students with special educational needs. For this research, the students were chosen from among the students enrolled in the 8th grade from a special middle school in Iasi,

#### *The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

on the recommendation of the school psychologist and the multidisciplinary team of specialists and teachers, and educators who work with these students. The criteria that were the basis of the selection of these students were the following: (a) meeting the criteria for mild and moderate intellectual deficiency as a result of medical, psychological, pedagogical, and social evaluations. The diagnostic criteria are listed and described in the International Classification of Diseases and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V); (b) the students are enrolled in the Romanian educational system intended for students with disabilities; (c) follow the curriculum for students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities as well as complex and integrated educational therapies and specific compensatory therapies (speech therapy, physical therapy, educational counseling). In the brief description of the characteristics of each participant, we used a pseudonym label.

*George* is a 15-year-old boy, enrolled in the 8th grade with support needs adjacent to a mild intellectual disability, he was directed to the school for students with special educational needs, after 6 years of following the general curriculum from the public boarding school. The major difficulties they face are in the development domain of language and verbal and written communication, where speech sound pronunciation disorders, dyslexia, and dysgraphia are severe. He presents difficulties in the lexical act, with poor abilities to understand a reading text. Arithmetic calculation skills are developed through the use of concrete support. Difficulties in the affective-emotional and behavioral domains are evident, with excessive shyness, anxiety, and the tendency to withdraw socially.

*Mario* is a 14-year-old boy, enrolled in the 8th grade with support needs resulting from his mild intellectual disability, he attends special middle school courses starting with the 4th grade, and enrolling in the school was one of the effects of the repeated school failures he had in primary school. *Mario* presents minor difficulties in oral and written language, both in terms of comprehension and expression, he performs arithmetical calculations with concrete support, and in solving problems he needs concrete intuitive support and model patterns, sometimes the processing and reasoning difficulties are major. He needs support in making choices, decision-making behavior, auto-management, and establishing and achieving objectives for pre-vocational activities.

*Maria* is a 15-year-old girl with support needs planning to recover from a moderate intellectual disability. She is in the 8th grade and was enrolled in the self-contained class; presents obvious difficulties in the field of oral and written language, both in terms of understanding and expression, and low performance in mathematical activities, arithmetic calculus, reasoning, and problem-solving skills which are developed on a low level. *Maria* gets involved in artistic-plastic activities and social activities and she enjoys the pre-vocational activities where she asks for support and guidance for completing the school tasks, choosing activities and tools, and setting and planning objectives and activities.

*Mihai* is a 14-year-old boy, enrolled in the 8th grade at the school mentioned above, his support needs are tailored to a mild intellectual disability. After 4 years of attending public school courses, he received the recommendation to follow special middle school courses. The difficulties encountered are in the areas of working with number concepts and arithmetic calculations, problem-solving activities, processing, and reasoning. *Mihai* demonstrates relatively good verbal and written communication skills, but difficulties in socio-school behaviors are evident, with difficulties in concentrating on a given school task, failure to complete school requirements, hyperactivity, attention deficits, and changes in affective mood, emotions, and adaptive

socio-school behaviors. He needs support and guidance in choice-making and setting educational goals for many school activities.

*Nicolae* is a 14-year-old boy with a support needs plan to recover from a moderate intellectual disability. Nicolae is enrolled in the 8th grade in a self-contained class of the school for students with special educational needs since 5th grade. His academic progress was at a slower pace, with repeated failures in the public mainstream school, and low academic performances throughout his schooling. Major difficulties persist in the field of expressive and impressive language, great difficulties in understanding and verbal processing and reasoning, the concept of numbers was acquired slowly, and his dyscalculia is accentuated. From the point of view of socio-school behavior, *Nicolae* is obedient and submissive, with an adequate level of personal and social autonomy. He needs support in pre-vocational activities, where he asks to be guided when he makes choices, solves problems, sets goals, and in planning.

#### **2.2 Setting**

The research took place on the school campus, especially in the Speech-Language Therapy room, as well as in the classrooms of the participating students.

#### **2.3 Independent variable**

For a period of 7 months, the Self-Determination Model of Learning and Instruction was implemented during the learning and therapeutic educational activities to the selected 5 students, following the 3 phases of the program: Phase 1 *- Set a Goal*, Phase 2 - *Take Action*, and Phase 3 - *Adjust Goal* or *Plan.*

#### **2.4 Dependent variables**

In this research, five dependent variables were considered for measuring and estimating the performance of students on school tasks, and in a synthetic way, the behaviors related to dependent variables are operationalized and defined as follows:

#### *2.4.1 Enhancing reading comprehension skills*

The ability to read and comprehend a reading text is a prerequisite skill that allows people to be an equal part of life in the community or society. The lexical act presupposes the capacity for comprehension and verbal reasoning skills and to make causal inferences that will have the right to finalize a correct overall understanding of what has been read [29]. The ability to decode a single text and to integrate the signified message extracted from the text is difficult for students with mild and moderate mental disabilities, dyslexia and alexia are frequent disorders among this population [30]. Developing the abilities to understand and process and rationalize a reading text will increase the students' chances of obtaining, first of all, better academic performance in the area of language and communication, and secondly, it will lead to the improvement of skills of understanding and adapting to the school context and social environment.

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

#### *2.4.2 Increasing vocabulary communication abilities*

Most students with intellectual disabilities show deficits in the volume of active vocabulary and disturbances in the level of expressive language. Communication is a complex process that involves the activation of cognitive, linguistic, and motor systems to allow us to interact with others, understand communication situations, and the manifestation of thoughts and emotions. These processes involve the optimal development of impressive and expressive language abilities, especially the acquisition and development of the student's active vocabulary [31]. In the context of cognitive deficits specific to intellectual deficiencies, these mechanisms are activated at a slower pace and require the planning of speech therapy and specific educational interventions that lead to an increase in the volume of vocabulary and communication skills so as to ensure adequate linguistic means of communication with the others.

#### *2.4.3 Improving math problem-solving competencies*

Solving math problems is a challenging school task for most students with intellectual disabilities. The difficulties derive from the complexity of the problem-solving process, which requires interpreting and understanding the linguistic aspect of the problem's requirement and finding the proper mathematical solution algorithm [32]. In the context given by mild and moderate intellectual disabilities, considering the difficulties of understanding and processing information from a linguistic point of view, such as weak reasoning abilities and operating with the concepts of numbers and quantities, and arithmetic operations, solving problems can become problematic in mathematics classes, and not only that. A procedural approach to problem-solving is required, and SDLMI, through its structure, offers very good opportunities to learn and consolidate arithmetic and problem-solving skills [4, 23].

#### *2.4.4 Making choices in pre-vocational activities*

The decision-making behavior of students with disabilities entails difficulties in the component of making choices in a quasi-constant manner, both within the actual school activities and in the pre-vocational activities carried out during the periods of planning and transition to independent adult life [33]. The researchers argued that the parents are the ones who replace the students in this behavior, and this aspect should be of concern because the ability to choices making of young people with disabilities is affected. In recent years, progress has been made on this behavior associated with self-determination, there are more and more situations where selfadvocacy activities, such as IEP meetings making choices regarding their vocational and professional future are encouraged [2, 34]. Considered by researchers to be a skill associated with self-determination along with decision-taking and setting goals and planning, it has been proven that choice-making can be substantially improved following the completion of the SDLMI program during educational activities [35].

#### *2.4.5 Goal setting and attainment skills*

Goals setting and attainment are critical components of agentic action [36], an integral part of self-determination. Setting the objectives and achieving them is

essential in the development and successful completion of any school task, or educational activity, the way in which the objectives are set will have effects on the school performance of the students. Moreover, students with disabilities manifest difficulties in this skill related to self-determination, in educational practice, students need support and guidance in setting objectives and planning activities to achieve the objectives. Built on the Causal agency theory of self-determination [10, 36], the implementation of the SDLMI program led to the optimization of setting and achieving goals and objectives skills, and several studies prove the effectiveness of this program in educational practice on this purpose [15, 18, 25].

#### **2.5 Measures**

To measure the skills and behaviors related to self-determination acquired pre- and post-the SDMLI intervention, we used the preliminary adapted version of the AIR Self-Determination scale for Romanian adolescents. Based on the self-determination learning theory, the AIR Self-Determination scale was developed by the American Institute of Research [37, 38] to assess and develop strategies for enhancing participants' level of self-determination. The AIR self-determination scale, student version, the scale used in this research is a 30-items, 5- point Likert scale, comprising a *Capacity* for self-determination with three sub-dimensions Knowledge, Abilities, Perceptions, and *Opportunities* to learn and express self-determination. Individual observation checklists were used for each dependent variable to evaluate the competencies and indicators related to school performance in the baseline phase, more precisely, the behavior functional checklists to assess student's performance for each school task proposed to be followed in this study: reading comprehension skills, vocabulary communication skills, math problem-solving competencies, choice making skills, and goal setting and attainment skills. In the intervention stage, to track the evolution of the 5 students, the same assessment instruments, as in the baseline stage, were used to monitor the rate of learning skills and behavior progress. Appendix A contains the academic task performance and functional behaviors checklists for the assessment of each dependent variable of the study.

#### **2.6 Experimental design and condition**

The experimental design was a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of the SDMLI program on the school task performance behaviors of the 5 students participating in the study. Experimental conditions included baseline, SDLMI instruction, and maintenance.

SDLMI was implemented in equal measure by the speech-language therapist, the special education teacher, the teacher-educator for complex and integrated therapies, and the educational psychologist. The team formed by these specialists worked with the five students participating in the study. In the Romanian special education system, usually, this is the team of teachers and specialists who, on a daily basis, provide constant basic educational and therapeutic services to students with special educational needs. The team made up of the three teachers specialized in special education mentioned above implemented SDLMI and worked with the 5 students on the school behaviors, school performance, and related skills proposed to be improved, from September 12, 2022, to March 10, 2023.

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

#### *2.6.1 Baseline*

In the middle of September 2022, when this study was initiated, in the baseline stage, the experimenter had preliminary conversations with the five participants about what they will learn during the intervention period with the SDMLI program. In the same stage, the five participants were administered the AIR Self-Determination scale to highlight the level of *Capacities* for self-determination, in terms of Knowledge, Skills, and Perceptions, as well as the perception of *Opportunities*. Functional behavioral checklists for the five behaviors and school skills proposed to be improved within the experiment were used with the aim of highlighting the current level of acquisition, specific to the pre-intervention stage. George and Mario were considered the first to enter the experimental intervention condition, being in the baseline for 3 sessions. Mihai, after 4 baseline sessions, started the experimental intervention activities. Maria and Nicolae entered the treatment condition after 6 baseline sessions.

#### *2.6.2 Experimental intervention: SDMLI instruction*

The experimental intervention consisted of the implementation of the SDMLI program, the independent variable of the experimental design, for each individual participant. The educational and therapeutic treatment took place in weekly sessions, the duration of each intervention being 45 minutes. The locations where the therapeutic and educational interventions took place were the classrooms and the speech therapy office on the school campus. The experimental educational intervention with SDMLI started differently for the five participants, depending on when they left the baseline stage of the educational experiment. The number of SDMLI instruction sessions varied between 13 and 20 sessions, the interventions within SDMLI being carried out in an individualized manner, in a 1:1 format.

*Phase 1: "What is my goal?"* In this phase, the intervention consisted of a series of structured interviews based on the following questions provided in the structure of the SDMLI program: *What do I want to learn? What do I know about it now? What must change for me to learn what I do not know? What can I do to make it happen?* The answers to these questions enable the students to specify the objectives and to become aware of the concept of optimizing performance on the school task through the lens of improving the five specified behaviors - increasing reading comprehension abilities, developing vocabulary skills, solving math problems, decision-making behavior skills and setting objectives in advocacy activities. Therefore, in this phase, George decided to focus on developing the skills to better analyze and understand the texts read, to increase performance in mathematics classes, and to propose and participate with his classmates in various social and vocational extracurricular activities. Mario decided to focus especially on working harder to improve his math grades, sign up for the book club, and build a plan to enter the technological high school. Maria wants to work extra time on additional math assignments, perfect her art skills by joining a club for young artists and plan her admission to a professional arts and crafts school. Mihai decided to enroll in the special math class to improve arithmetic skills, and in the library reading group to develop language, communication, and vocabulary skills and desirable social school behaviors. Nicolae has proposed to improve his school performance in all subjects, especially those in the fields of Romanian language and communication, as well as mathematics, by applying to the school's support group, he also wants to develop an action plan together with his teachers to be admitted to

vocational school. The interventions in Phase 1 took place over 2 sessions held individually with each participant.

*Phase 2: "What is my plan?"* In the second phase of the program, the participants developed action plans and strategies for self-monitoring the development of the planned actions to achieve the goals and objectives proposed in the previous phase. The action plans were a list of specific activities they performed every day to meet his goal. The participants answered four questions to develop their action plans: *Where do I start? What is in my way? How can I get these things out of my way? When do I start?* After developing the action plans for each proposed objective, the students chose strategies for self-monitoring the progress. All 5 students agreed to record their progress chronologically by creating portfolios in which the evidence and results of the activities and actions carried out will be uploaded weekly. After each intervention, the teachers noted in the functional behavioral checklists the evolution and performance of each student on a given school task out of the five proposed to be improved. To fully implement the experimental educational interventions from the second phase of the SDMLI, the action plans were different from one participant to another and depended on the moment the students entered this phase, as well as the evolution of the performances obtained. Thus, the number of educational intervention activities in the second phase was between 12 and 15 sessions.

Phase 3: "What have I learned?" After the second phase was completed, the study participants were taught to self-evaluate how they achieved the objectives proposed in the initial phase of the intervention. Students answered the following SDMLI integrated questions: *What actions have I taken? What barriers to success have I removed? What has changed about what I do not know? Do I know what I want to know?* The participants' answers to these questions facilitate self-regulation by making them aware of the differences between the purpose and the proposed objectives and the outcomes, more precisely, the final performances obtained following the experimental intervention program. The teachers with the roles of experimenters, who accompanied the students throughout the development of this study, scheduled two sessions of structured interviews with the five participants in the study on the proposed objectives and the results obtained, as well as on the analysis and evaluation of the elements submitted in the personal portfolios. Also in this phase, the experimenters summarize the results obtained after completing the checklists and evaluated whether 80% of the proposed objects were achieved. The results obtained in this 3rd phase showed that the objectives were fulfilled, and the five participants ended the experimental intervention stage, which ensures their moving into the final experimental condition.

#### *2.6.3 Maintenance*

The maintenance period highlights whether the experimental intervention led to the expected effects, in other words, whether these effects are maintained in the absence of the experimental intervention, or in the absence of similar treatments or reward-type conditions that could influence the correctness of the results obtained. In this experimental stage, the training was interrupted, and no feedback or rewards were provided to the study participants. The maintenance period lasted from 2 to 4 sessions, depending on the participant, the experimenters continued to evaluate the behaviors and skills taught, but this time, in the absence of the SDMLI intervention.

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

#### **2.7 Social validity**

After the maintenance stage was completed, the researchers elaborated and conducted structured interviews and focus groups with the teachers from the school who work with the students involved in the study, as well as with their parents. The topic of the structured interviews and focus groups was based on the level of development and acquisition of behaviors and academic skills taught during the intervention with SDMLI, manifested in the generalization phase to school subjects and classes attended by the study participants.

#### **3. Results**

The results of the study were quantified from the data obtained in the three experimental stages. The number of interventions specific to the three stages differs from one participant to another. **Table 1** depicts in a different individualized way the patterns of the development of the experimental stages for each participant in the study and their length. Cases are listed in increasing order of baseline, treatment with three levels, and maintenance phase length.

Further, for an exhaustive understanding of how the students performed in each experimental condition, the results are presented individually, for each participant of the study.

*George*. Related to reading comprehension skills, George was observed in three sessions in the baseline phase, the scores obtained ranging from 10 to 20% (M = 16.66%). In the treatment phase with SDLMI applied in three treatment conditions - T1, T2, and T3 - the performances obtained in the 17 sessions were distributed in the range of 20 to 60% (M = 33.52%). In the maintenance phase, without SDLMI intervention, the scores obtained in the 4 sessions remained around 60% (57.50%). Regarding the dependent variable of vocabulary communication skills, in the base phase, George obtained quasi-constant scores ranging from 20 to 30% (M = 26.66%), then he entered the experimental conditions, and during the SDLMI treatment he obtained scores that increased slightly up to 60%, the average for the intervention period being M = 44.70%. In the maintenance phase, George was continuously observed and his performance for vocabulary communication skills was measured in the absence of interventions with SDMLI or the offering of reward-type behaviors, the results showing the maintenance of scores at an average of 50%. To explore how math problem-solving competencies were improved, George was in baseline condition for


#### **Table 1.**

*Patterns of development experimental stages.*

three sessions, his performance increased rapidly up to around 40%. In the treatment phase with SDLMI, the performance scores obtained in math activities ranged from 30–90% (M = 54.64%). In the maintenance phase, during the four sessions, the results were maintained at a high level between 80–90% (M = 87.50%). Related to the dependent variable of choice-making, George entered the baseline stage with scores estimated around 38% (M = 40%). In the intervention phase with the SDLMI program, George's competencies regarding choice-making skills recorded values between 30% and 90%, M = 51.1%. In the maintenance phase, in the absence of SDLMI implementation, the choice-making skills were between 70 to 80%, and M = 75%. With regard to goal setting and attainment (GAS), the sessions in the base stage recorded scores ranging from 20–40%, with the mean, M = 30%. During the three experimental conditions of the treatment stage, the scores increased significantly, the values being between 30 and 80%, with the mean, M = 55.29%. In the maintenance phase, the specific GAS performances were maintained at a high level, the scores were in the range of 60 to 80%, with the mean, M = 72.5%.

*Mario.* To examine the evolution of the way in which reading comprehension skills were structured and built, Mario also entered the baseline stage with performances estimated at 30%, in the intervention stage with SDLMI, reading skills were increased rapidly and constantly to an advanced level reaching 80%, the scores from the treatment stage with mean, M = 57.64%. In the absence of stimulation with SDLMI, specific to the maintenance stage, school performances regarding reading comprehension skills remained constant around the values between 70–80%, with the mean, M = 77.50%. The investigation of vocabulary communication skills involved three sessions in the base phase, the scores increased from 20–40%, Mario entered the SDLMI treatment condition with this score (of 40%). In the intervention phase, in the 17 sessions delimited in three experimental conditions, Mario obtained performances that demonstrate progress, with increases from 40–90%, with the mean, M = 70%. These performances remained stable at around 80%, and in the maintenance phase, the scores had the mean, M = 77.50%. Related to the skills of solving math problems, Mario obtained low scores in the base phase of the experiment, the values measured in the base phase being between 10 and 20%, with the mean, M = 16.66%. In the experimental phase, the scores increased rapidly, remaining stable throughout the duration of the SDLMI intervention condition, the scores being estimated between 20–70%, with the mean, M = 44.70%. The high scores obtained as a result of the treatment remained relatively constant and in the absence of stimulation with SDLMI, the performances in the maintenance phase were predominantly set at a value of 60%. Regarding choice-making skills, Mario entered the base condition with scores in an upward trend, the values being between 20 and 40%. During the sessions of the experimental phase, the obtained performances increased to higher levels, the values being distributed in the range of 30–80%, with the mean, M = 57.64%. The GAS skills and behaviors remained stable during the maintenance period, M = 67.50%. Related to the GAS, Mario performed at constant levels in the base phase of the experiment, M = 36.66%, the high scores remaining constant in the intervention phase with SDLMI, the scores as the application of the treatment being distributed between 40– 80%, with mean, M = 58.82%. In the maintenance phase, scores fluctuated closely between 60–80%, with the mean, M = 70%.

*Mihai* entered the initial experimental condition of the base phase with high scores for Reading comprehension skills, in the four sessions of the base phase the average of the scores obtained was M = 35%. In the intervention stage with SDLMI, Mihai's scores increased in a successive and stable manner. During the three experimental conditions

#### *The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

in which he received treatment, the scores were distributed between 40 and 80%, with the mean, M = 61.17%. The trend of increasing scores established in the intervention phase continued and was maintained even in the absence of the SDLMI program, in the maintenance phase, the average score for the established performances was 76.66%. The examination of the dependent variable vocabulary communication skills in the base phase was achieved by obtaining high performances in the four sessions, the scores obtained were distributed in the value range of 40–50%, with a high frequency of scores of 50%. In the three experimental conditions with SDLMI treatment, the scores increased progressively and robustly, with the mean, M = 62.94%. In the last experimental stage, the maintenance, Mihai's vocabulary communication skills stabilized, with the average scores recorded in this stage, M = 86.66%. Regarding Mihai's math problem-solving abilities, he proved a fairly high level of performance in the base phase of the experiment, with the mean for the scores obtained in the 4 sessions in the base phase being, M = 27.5%. In the three experimental conditions with SDLMI treatment, T1, T2, and T3, the scores were constantly increasing from one phase to another, the values obtained by Mihai in the 17 sessions being in the range of 40–70%, with mean, M = 57.64%. In the three sessions of the maintenance stage, the values stabilized constantly at 70%. The results obtained as a result of measuring the abilities to make choices proved that in the base stage, these scores increased slightly from 30–50% (M = 42.50%), and in the phases T1, T2, and T3, they maintain a high threshold, with the mean, M = 68.82%. In the maintenance phase, the performances in terms of choice-making behaviors and capacities were at higher value levels, their average being M = 76.66%. A similar pattern was with the measurements of the dependent variable GAS, in the initial phase of the experiment Mihai obtained average scores in the 4 sessions, M = 32.50%. In the treatment conditions T1, T2, and T3, the scores improved obviously, registering a robust increase, the values being between 40 and 80%, M = 63.52%. In the maintenance phase, the specific GAS skills were kept constant at 80% in the last three sessions of the experimental condition. **Figure 1** shows the performance at 10 percent intervals of George, Mario, and Mihai on school tasks included in the three experimental stages, for the 5 dependent variables investigated: Reading comprehension skills, Vocabulary communication skills, Math problem solving, Choice making abilities, and Goal setting and attainment.

*Maria* had a more difficult start in the experimental condition of the baseline phase, her Reading Comprehension skills entered an upward trend from the 3rd session out of 6, the scores falling in the range of 10–30%, with the mean, M = 21.66%. In the phases T1, T2, and T3 of intervention with SDLMI, the scores increased from one experimental condition to another, more precisely from 30–80%, M = 56.66%. In the maintenance phase, without SDLMI and without rewards or feedback, the scores increased to values similar to those in the intervention stage, in the three sessions, the values being from 50–60%, average M = 56.66%. Similar behavior was recorded for Vocabulary communication skills, in the 6 sessions of the baseline phase, the data were distributed in the range of 5–10%, with a mean of M = 7.5%. In phases T1, T2, and T3, under the influence of SDLMI, the scores stabilized at higher values between 20 and 60%, with the mean, M = 37.33%. In the three sessions of the maintenance phase, Maria developed Vocabulary communication skills at higher levels than those in the intervention stage, these scores being between 40 and 50%, with a mean of M = 43.33%. Regarding the skills to solve math problems, Maria encountered difficulties in the first 4 out of 6 sessions of the baseline, the scores in this phase being reported at values from 7–10% (M = 8.50%). Then, in the intervention phase, the

#### **Figure 1.**

*The evolution of the performance measurements expressed in percentages for George, Mario, and Mihai.*

results showed a significant increase from 12–50%, with a mean of M = 29.26%. The scores stabilized in the maintenance phase at higher levels between 30 and 40% (M = 36.66%). Maria proved better choice-making skills and behaviors, the performances obtained in the 6 baseline sessions with scores between 10 and 20% (M = 15%). In the intervention phase with SDLMI, the choice-making behaviors were obviously improved, with the scores ranging between 20–60% with a mean of M = 39.33%. In the maintenance phase, the performances obtained as a result of the intervention were stabilized at similar levels as in the intervention phase, in the range of 40–50%, with an average of M = 43.33%. Maria's goal-setting and attainment skills were rated with low scores in the baseline phase, being between 5 and 20%, M = 11.66%. In the intervention phases T1, T2, and T3, the results obtained were between 10 and 60%, M = 32.66%. The performances obtained in the intervention phases remained constant in the maintenance phase, the reported scores being between 30 and 40%, with a mean of M = 33.33%.

#### *The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

*Nicolae.* Measurements of Reading Comprehension abilities showed a difficult debut in the baseline phase, the performances being related to scores between 5 and 10%. (M = 8.33%). Nicolae reacted very well to the SDLMI intervention, with the scores from the experimental conditions T1, T2, and T3 ranging from 10–40%, M = 22.50%. In the two sessions of the maintenance phase, performances were maintained at values of 30 and 40%, M = 35%. Nicolae's Vocabulary communication skills measured in the 6 baseline sessions indicated low values ranging from 7–10%, M = 8.33%. In the experimental conditions T1, T2, and T3, the performances obtained under the influence of SDLMI were increased to levels between 15 and 50%, with the mean M = 27.81%. During the maintenance period, the scores indicated values from 40–50%, M = 45%. Nicolae's Math problem-solving skills recorded low values in the baseline phase, the values being between 5 and 10%, M = 7.50%. In the experimental treatment conditions T1, T2, and T3 with SDMLI, Nicolae's Math problem-solving performance increased significantly, the scores obtained ranging from 20–40%, M = 32.50%, these values remaining stable even in the maintenance phase with values of 30%. Regarding the Choice-making abilities, Nicolae entered the baseline phase obtaining relatively adequate performances in the 6 sessions, the values being distributed between 10 and 15%, M = 12.50%. In the educational intervention phase with SDLMI, during the three conditions T1, T2, and T3, the abilities to make choices were in constant progression, with scores ranging from 15–60%, with the mean M = 35.31%. In the maintenance phase, performance on the tasks of making choices remained within the same limits between 40 and 50%. Nicolae's goal-setting and attainment skills measured in the initial phase from the baseline indicated relatively high scores, these being between 10 and 15%, M = 11.66%. In the experimental intervention phase, the task performances of setting and achieving goals were improved. The scores indicated, in the three experimental conditions, significantly increased from 15–40%, with the mean M = 24.06%. In the maintenance phase, the behaviors and skills learned during the intervention remained stable at a high level even in the absence of SDMLI implementation, the scores being between 30 and 40%. **Figure 2** graphically illustrates the performances at 10 percent intervals of Maria in academic activities carried

#### **Figure 2.** *The evolution of the performance measurements expressed in percentages for Maria.*

out in the three experimental stages, for the 5 dependent variables examined: Reading comprehension skills, Vocabulary communication skills, Math problem-solving, Choice making abilities, and Goal setting and attainment.

#### **4. Discussion**

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which SDLMI affects the academic performance of the five participating students, operationalized in five specific behaviors and skills: reading comprehension skills, vocabulary communication skills, improving math problem-solving, making choices in pre-vocational activities and goal setting and attainment. The interpretation of the study results is carried out by referring to the two research questions.

#### **4.1 Did the application of SDLMI increase the performance in school tasks and academic activities of the five students involved in the study?**

The results of the study indicated that SDLMI has a beneficial impact on students' school task performance, the effects of the application of the SDLMI program were manifested by obvious improvements and increases in the scores of the investigated academic behaviors and competencies.

#### **4.2 Reading comprehension**

Regarding this competence of decoding and understanding the reading of texts, the results of the study clearly indicated that the implementation of SDMLI has the effect of positive changes in the ability to understand the reading of texts of medium difficulty. Thus, George and Maria recorded a moderate increase in scores in the T2 and T3 stages of the intervention stage, which were then maintained not only in the experimental maintenance condition but also in different educational contexts. Mario registered a significant increase during the intervention period, maintained in Romanian Language and Literature classes as well as in similar study subjects. Mihai stood out throughout the experiment by obtaining the best performances in this competence, his scores being socially validated by obvious academic results supported by very good school grades and prizes. Nicolae's progress was at a slower pace, and although the results achieved materialized on lower scores, they were constant and stable and maintained and generalized. In the literature dedicated to selfdetermination, several studies have supported the major role that SDLMI plays in improving academic achievement, including reading comprehension and processing, and reasoning skills [8, 26, 39].

#### **4.3 Vocabulary communication skills**

The results of the study indicated that the procedural and cyclical application of SDMLI in controlled experimental contexts of learning and therapy determined for the five participants significant and stable increases in the volume of active and passive vocabulary and in the improvement of expressive and impressive language skills. Therefore, George had an upward trend in the baseline phase and the T1 and T2 treatment phases, and in the T3 and maintenance phases, he obtained scores with similar, constant, and stable values. Mario progressed at an accelerated pace after the

#### *The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

baseline phase, and in the intervention phases their vocabulary skills increase from one experimental condition to another, and in the maintenance phase, they remain stable and robust. Mihai entered the initial experimental condition with relatively high scores that he maintained at a higher level throughout the intervention and the maintenance and generalization phase. Maria and Nicolae had relatively similar developments, the vocabulary, the impressive and expressive language skills, as well as those of understanding communication situations, were much improved, especially in the last phase of treatment and in maintenance and generalization. The results obtained in the present study are supported by similar studies that also highlighted the positive impact of SDLMI on vocabulary activation and oral communication skills in various communication situations [6, 8, 40].

#### **4.4 Math problem-solving**

Previous studies demonstrate the effectiveness of SDLMI application in training and strengthening general problem-solving behaviors in general, and, in particular, in improving math problem-solving skills [4, 5]. In the present study, through the implementation of SDLMI in school tasks aimed at improving mathematical skills, improvements were highlighted in terms of the linguistic processing of problem requirements, the structuring of problem-solving in procedural steps and solving algorithms, and reasoning and calculation skills arithmetic. In this framework, the performances obtained by George are emphasized, which are in a constant upward trend from the baseline phase to the maintenance and generalization phase. In a similar way, Mario obtained high scores, especially in the tasks aimed at the procedural approach and mathematical reasoning, Mihai stood out by consolidating the skills of operation with the concept of number and arithmetic calculation. Maria and Nicolae evolved at a slower pace, obtaining progress in the skills of operating with quantities, and numbers, and elementary arithmetic calculation with concrete support.

#### **4.5 Choice-making**

The ability and behavior to make choices are circumscribed to the category of skills associated with the self-determination construct. Through its structure, SDLMI promotes the development of decision-making behavior, and knowing how to make choices is a vital element of this type of behavior, especially in the context of intellectual disability [14, 15, 41]. The results of the study supported this paradigm through relevant findings for the participants: George, Mario, and Mihai obtained average, quasi-constant scores, with slight increases during treatment and then stabilized during maintenance. Maria and Nicolae evidently had increasing scores in the phase of experimental conditions, which were maintained and were generalized and socially validated in multiple educational contexts, such as the prevocational activities. In the Romanian educational system, the pre-vocational activities take place within the Counseling and school and professional guidance classes. In these particular pre-vocational activities, the students participating in the study stood out for their higher decision-making and choice-making skills related to a possible future profession, these results being another proof of the effectiveness of the SDLMI program.

#### **4.6 Goal setting and attainment**

Study findings showed that the capacities for setting goals and objectives and planning activities to achieve them were improved. Thus, George and Mario had similar GAS behaviors in the treatment and maintenance conditions, obtaining moderate and stable scores over time, the difference was made by the baseline condition, where Mario entered with better performances than George. Mihai's scores showed a significant evolution in treatment phases 2 and 3 which stabilized at high levels in maintenance and generalization, social validation showing marked improvements on the GAS component. Maria and Nicolae acquired these skills at a slightly slower pace, the scores obtained in the treatment and maintenance conditions, although with lower values, remained stable and constant over time. The results of the study are reflected in the self-determination literature, several studies have indicated the beneficial impact of SDLMI on goal setting and attainment skills development, as essential behaviors of the self-determination construct [14, 19, 25, 26].

#### **4.7 Did the SDLMI improve self-determining capacities in terms of knowledge, perceptions, and abilities?**

The measurements made with the preliminary adapted AIR Self-determination scale for Romanian students at the beginning of the baseline phase and at the end of the maintenance phase indicated, for each participant, obvious increases in the scores for Capacities, more precisely those of Knowledge, Abilities, and Perception. These finds results supported that the application of SDLMI also leads to the improvement of students' capacities for self-determination.

#### **5. Limitations**

This study has several limitations, the first one refers to the uniformity regarding the disability label of the study participants, these fall under the incidence of mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. The study would have gained more value if the study participants included students with developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders, or sensory or neuromotor disorders. The second limitation is related to the number of dependent variables measured, the identification and introduction into the study of other dependent variables related to school performance would have been beneficial. The third limitation refers to the monitoring, in the generalization stage, of the behaviors and skills developed under the influence of SDLMI and observing them in different educational settings registering difficulties at times.

#### **5.1 Implications for future research and practice**

The present study is a novelty in Romanian research on self-determination in the context of disabilities, being the first study that measures the effects of the SDLMI program on the school performance of five students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. The obtained results can become a starting point for research that examines the impact of educational programs that promote selfdetermination on the development and evolution of students with different

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

disabilities. Further in-depth studies could be developed on the exploration of the effects of specific educational strategies aimed at optimizing the components of selfdetermination, as well as skills associated with self-determination such as selfadvocacy and self-management that have an essential role in preparing students with disabilities for independent adult life. Regarding the implications for therapeutic and educational practice, the results of the present study that proved the effectiveness of SDLMI in improving the school performance of students, and considering the status of evidence-based practice of this program could lead to the expansion and the implementation of this program as much as possible many learning situations in Romanian schools.

In conclusion, the current study was intended to explore the impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in improving school task performance behaviors in five students with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities, being one of the first studies developed in Romanian research on self-determination and disabilities. The results of the study are encouraging in the sense of launching new research directions as well as opening up the implementation in Romanian schools of programs aimed to develop self-determined behaviors and skills in students with and without disabilities.

#### **Appendix: individual observation checklists**

See **Tables A1-A5**.


#### **Table A1.**

*Academic task performance and functional behaviors checklist—reading comprehension skills.*


#### **Table A2.**

*Academic task performance and functional behaviors checklist—vocabulary communication skills.*



#### **Table A3.**

*Academic task performance and functional behaviors checklist—math problem-solving competencies.*


#### **Table A4.**

*Academic task performance and functional behaviors checklist—making choices in pre-vocational activities.*


#### **Table A5.**

*Academic task performance and functional behaviors checklist—goal setting and attainment skills.*

#### **Author details**

Mihaela Cristea Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Doctoral School of Psychology and Education Sciences, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania

\*Address all correspondence to: mihaela.cristea.uaic@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*The Impact of the Self-Determination Learning Model of Instruction in Improving School… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112527*

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### *Edited by Celestino Rodríguez Pérez and M. Mahruf C. Shohel*

In the landscape of twenty-first-century education, prioritizing equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is not just important, it is essential for ensuring human dignity. Recognizing and embracing diversity while advocating for inclusivity are fundamental pillars of human rights and progressive education. This book, *Inclusive Pedagogy in Contemporary Education*, explores diverse pedagogical approaches and global educational strategies that champion inclusion as a broader term within policy and practice. This book navigates the convergence of pedagogical theory, technological advancements, and inclusive methodologies. It serves as a guide for educators and practitioners committed to advancing inclusive education within academic contexts, both now and in the future.

*Katherine K.M. Stavropoulos, Education and Human Development Series Editor*

Published in London, UK © 2024 IntechOpen © NeoLeo / iStock

Inclusive Pedagogy in Contemporary Education

IntechOpen Series

Education and Human Development,

Volume 15

Inclusive Pedagogy in

Contemporary Education

*Edited by Celestino Rodríguez Pérez* 

*and M. Mahruf C. Shohel*