Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Joan Mignerey
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic performance, attendance, attendance records, cbt, classroom instruction, classroom measures, cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive delay, discipline, discipline records, education plan goals, emotional delay, follow-up, grade point average, group implementation, high school students, individualized education plan goals, language deficits, learning disabilities, learning disabled students, longitudinal study, physical delay, public high school, self-confidence, self-esteem, skills development, student achievement, support services, therapy
Abstract
This implementation was designed to improve the academic performance of students with learning disabilities. A learning disability is described as a physical, emotional, or cognitive delay that creates a deficit in language and learning. These identified students were not excelling in the classroom. Classroom measures (grade point average, attendance records, discipline records, and Individual Education Plan goals) showed that 78% of 288 students with learning disabilities at the writer’s school site were showing deficits in areas of academic performance. A target group of 16 students was selected. The target group’s classroom measures were recorded, and it was found that their averages were consistent with the learning-disabled student population. The major goal was that, by increasing the classroom measures, the student’s academics would improve.
The writer implemented support services based on the premise of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The program was implemented at a public high school in a class consisting solely of learning disabled students. During a 6-month implementation, students were seen every other school day. One hour was group implementation teaching and applying skills and techniques of CBT. The remaining time was follow-up time to allow the students to incorporate what they had learned into regular classroom instruction.
An analysis of the data revealed that CBT had a significant impact on high school learning disabled students. All classroom measure averages had increased. Grade point average, discipline, and individualized education-plan-goal objectives were met, but attendance-record objectives were not met. A 4-year longitudinal study is recommended to further evaluate the effectiveness that CBT has on academic performance of students with learning disabilities.