Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
Lisa Ard
Committee Member
Tambi Braun
Keywords
collaboration, transdisciplinary, interprofessional, team roles, team dynamics, team communication
Abstract
The purpose of this exploratory survey research was to examine parents’/caregivers’ and education professionals’ perceptions of collaborative models utilized in a specialized school for students with autism spectrum disorder. Education professionals included teachers, teaching assistants, therapists (speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, music therapists), and other professionals (social workers, vocational assessment instructors, behavior analysts). A total of 75 respondents completed the survey, with 37 parent/caregiver respondents and 38 education professional respondents.
An analysis of the data revealed similarities between perceptions of parent/caregiver and professional respondents related to collaborative models. Both groups indicated the team-teaching model and supplemental teaching model as ideal collaborative models. Furthermore, both groups ranked the team-teaching model as the most preferred method of collaborative instruction, while a non-collaborative method of instruction was ranked as least preferred.
Further examination of data revealed discrepancies between perceptions related to team roles, team dynamics, and team communication. Parents/caregivers, teachers, teaching assistants, and therapists consistently provided positive perceptions related to collaboration on IEP goals, generalization of skills, and the collection of data when utilizing collaborative models. However, parents/caregivers indicated neutral responses related to practices occurring in the classroom, such as student attention and time for communication. Similarly, other professionals indicated neutral responses and disagreement to many of the areas where teachers, teaching assistants, and therapists had positive perceptions related to practices occurring in the classroom. Although varying perceptions were indicated, all members of a transdisciplinary team must interact and communicate to support effective implementation of collaborative models in educational settings.
NSUWorks Citation
Kimberly Auletta. 2024. Transdisciplinary Perceptions of Collaborative Service Delivery for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (566)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/566.