Abstract
Students with intellectual disability (ID) tend to have different experiences than their peers without ID as it pertains to the curriculum they receive, the locations where they are taught, and the amount of time they are provided instruction. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the curricular areas and contexts in which high school students with ID receive instruction. A survey was conducted with 57 special educators from Pennsylvania who had at least one high school student with ID on their caseload that qualified to take the state’s alternate assessment. Descriptive and statistical analyses were utilized. Results indicated that all students received instruction in academic curricular areas, most (93.0%) in functional curricular areas, and slightly fewer (77.2%) in specialty curricular areas. Instruction in academic and functional curricular areas was primarily provided in the special education classroom. In contrast, most specialty content was taught in the general education classroom. Students with severe/profound support needs were more likely to receive functional instruction in the community setting than students with mild/moderate support needs. Finally, students from urban/suburban high schools were more likely to receive instruction in the school building (i.e., outside the student’s classroom, but still within the confines of the school campus) than students in rural schools.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data is available upon request.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Ayres, K. M., Douglas, K. H., Lowrey, K. A., & Sievers, C. (2011). I can identify Saturn but I can’t brush my teeth: What happens when the curricular focus for students with severe disabilities shifts. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 46, 11–21.
Bateman, B. D. (2017). Individual Education Programs for children with disabilities. In J. M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds.), Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed., pp. 87–104). Routledge.
Bonnike, D. R., Douglas, K. H., Chung, Y. C., & Peterson-Karlan, G. R. (2022). Social positioning to increase communication of adults with extensive support needs. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 60(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-60.1.1
Bouck, E. C. (2011). A snapshot of secondary education for students with mild intellectual disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 46(3), 399–409.
Bouck, E. C. (2012). Secondary students with moderate/severe intellectual disability: Considerations of curriculum and post-school outcomes from the National Longitudinal Transition Study‐2. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 56(12), 1175–1186. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2011.01517.x
Bouck, E. C. (2013). Factors impacting receipt of a functional curriculum: a secondary analysis of the NLTS2. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 48(4), 522–530.
Brock, M. E., & Schaefer, J. M. (2015). Location matters: Geographic location and educational placement of students with developmental disabilities. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 40(2), 154–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796915591988
Brown, L., Branston, M. B., Hamre- Nietupski, S., Pumpian, I., Certo, N., & Gruenwald, L. (1979). A strategy for developing chronological age-appropriate and functional curricular content for severely handicapped adolescents and young adults. The Journal of Special Education, 13, 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246697901300113
Causton-Theoharis, J., & Burdick, C. (2008). Paraprofessionals: Gatekeepers of authentic art production. Studies in Art Education, 49(3), 167–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2008.11518734
Claes, C., Van Hove, G., Vandevelde, S., van Loon, J., & Schalock, R. L. (2010). Person-centered planning: analysis of research and effectiveness. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 48(6), 432–453. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-48.6.432
Cohen, A., & Demchak, M. (2018). Use of visual supports to increase task independence in students with severe disabilities in inclusive educational settings. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 53(1), 84–99.
Collins, B. (2022). Systematic instruction for students with moderate and severe disabilities (2nd ed.). Brooks Publishing Co.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2022a). Arts & humanities. https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/Curriculum/ArtsHumanities/Pages/default.aspx
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2022b). World languages. https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/Curriculum/WorldLanguages/Pages/default.aspx
Cosier, M., White, J. M., & Wang, Q. (2018). Examining the variability in general education placements for students with intellectual disability. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 14(2), 16–52.
Dymond, S. K. (2017). Functional curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities. In J. M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds.), Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed., pp. 675–686). Routledge.
Dymond, S. K., Butler, A. M., Hopkins, S. L., & Patton, K. A. (2018). Curriculum and context: Trends in interventions with transition-age students with severe disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 52(3), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466918768776
Dymond, S. K., Rooney-Kron, M., Burke, M. M., & Agran, M. (2019). Characteristics of secondary age students with intellectual disability who participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The Journal of Special Education, 54(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466919851194
Education Commission of the States. (2020). 50 state comparison: Instructional time policies. https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-instructional-time-policies/
Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No. 114 – 95, § 1177, 114th Cong (2015).
Feldman, R., Carter, E. W., Asmus, J., & Brock, M. E. (2016). Presence, proximity, and peer interactions of adolescents with severe disabilities in general education classrooms. Exceptional Children, 82(2), 192–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402915585481
Gargiulo, R. M., & Bouck, E. C. (2018). Foundational concepts: etiology of intellectual disability and characteristics of students with intellectual disability. In R. M. Gargiulo, & E. C. Bouck (Eds.), Instructional strategies for students with mild, moderate, and severe intellectual disability (pp. 29–48). Sage.
Geverdt, D. (2017). Education demographic and geographic estimates (EDGE) program: Locale boundaries, 2015. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/docs/EDGE_NCES_LOCALE_2015.pdf
Giangreco, M. F., Shogren, K. A., & Dymond, S. K. (2020). Educating students with severe disabilities: Foundational concepts and practices. In F. Brown, J. McDonnell, & M. E. Snell (Eds.), Instruction of students with severe disabilities (9th ed., pp. 1–27). Pearson Education.
Groves, R. M., Fowler, F. J. Jr., Couper, M. P., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E., & Tourangeau, R. (2009). Survey methodology (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Hamre-Nietupski, S., Nietupski, J., & Strathe, M. (1992). Functional life skills, academic skills, and friendship/social relationship development: What do parents of students with moderate/severe/profound disabilities value? Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 17(1), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/154079699201700110
Harris, P. A., Taylor, R., Thielke, R., Payne, J., Gonzalez N., & Conde, J. G. (2009) Research electronic data capture (REDCap)—A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 42(2), 377-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2008.08.010
Hibberts, M., Johnson, R. B., & Hudson, K. (2012). Common survey sampling techniques. In L. Gideon (Ed.), Handbook of survey methodology for the social sciences (pp. 53–74). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3876-2_5
Howell, D. C. (2010). Statistical methods for psychology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Hudson, L. (2019). Development of the 2018 secondary school course taxonomy: Technical report (NCES 2019-046). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596493.pdf
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).
Kuntz, E. M., & Carter, E. W. (2019). Review of interventions supporting secondary students with intellectual disability in general education classes. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 44(2), 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796919847483
Lavrakas, P. J., Benson, G., Blumberg, S., Buskirk, T., Cervantes, I. F., Christian, L., Dutwin, D., Fahimi, M., Fienberg, H., Guterbock, T., Keeter, S., Kelly, J., Kennedy, C., Peytchev, A., Piekarski, L., & Shuttles, C. (2017). The future of U.S. general population telephone survey research. American Association for Public Opinion Research. https://www.aapor.org/Education-Resources/Reports/The-Future-Of-U-S-General-Population-Telephone-Sur.aspx
Mazzotti, V. L., & Test, D. W. (2020). Transitioning from school to employment and postsecondary education. In F. Brown, J. McDonnell, & M. E. Snell (Eds.), Instruction of students with severe disabilities (9th ed., pp. 525–574). Pearson Education.
McDonnell, J. (2017). Instructional contexts. In J. M. Kauffman, D. P. Hallahan, & P. C. Pullen (Eds.), Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed., pp. 649–661). Routledge.
Morantz, A., & Ross, L. (2022). Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities: Does ownership type affect quality of care? Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 60(3), 212–225. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-60.3.212
Morningstar, M. E. (2017). Transition to adulthood for youth with severe and multiple disabilities. In F. P. Orelove, D. Sobsey, & D. L. Gilles (Eds.), Educating students with severe and multiple disabilities (5th ed., pp. 465–508). Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.
National Forum on Education Statistics (2014). Forum guide to school courses for the exchange of data (SCED) classification system (NFES Publication No. 2014 – 802). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014802.pdf
Newman, L., Wagner, M., Huang, T., Shaver, D., Knokey, A. M., Yu, J., Contreras, E., Ferguson, K., Greene, S., Nagle, Cameto, R., & SRI International. (2011). Secondary school programs and performance of students with disabilities: A special topic report of findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2012–3000). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Special Education Research. https://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/20123000/pdf/20123000.pdf
Office of Special Education Programs (2022). IDEA Sect. 618 data products: Static tables-Part B. U.S. Department of Education. https://data.ed.gov/dataset/idea-section-618-data-products-static-tables-part-b
Pence, A. R., & Dymond, S. K. (2016). Teachers’ beliefs about the participation of students with severe disabilities in school clubs. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 41(1), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796915626009
Pennsylvania School Boards Association (2018). 2018 state of education. https://www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-StateofEducation.pdf
Poynton, T. A., DeFouw, E. R., & Morizio, L. J. (2019). A systematic review of online response rates in four counseling journals. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12233
Rooney-Kron, M., & Dymond, S. K. (2022). Participation of students with intellectual disability in community-based work experiences: A scoping review. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 47(2), 90–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/15407969221093378
Ruppar, A. L., Gaffney, J. S., & Dymond, S. K. (2015). Influences on teachers’ decisions about literacy for secondary students with severe disabilities. Exceptional Children, 81(2), 209–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402914551739
Ruppar, A., Bubash, S., & Kurth, J. (2023). Identify and prioritize long- and short-term learning goals. In R. Pennington, M. J. Ault, G. Courtade, J. M. Jameson, & A. Ruppar (Eds.), High leverage Practices and students with extensive support needs (pp. 134–144). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003175735-12
Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J., & Witmer, S. (2017). Assessment in special and inclusive education (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Sánchez-Fernández, J., Muñoz-Leiva, F., & Montoro-Ríos, F. J. (2012). Improving retention rate and response quality in web-based surveys. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(2), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.023
Seaman, M. A. (2019). Nonparametric statistics. In G. R. Hancock, R. O. Mueller, & L. M. Stapleton (Eds.), The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the Social Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 362–379). Routledge.
Simeonsson, R. J., Carlson, D., Huntington, G. S., Sturtz, G. S., McMillen, J. S., & Brent, J. L. (2001). Students with disabilities: A national survey of participation in school activities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 23(2), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/096382801750058134
Taber Doughty, T., & Shurr, J. (2018). Life skills for secondary students with intellectual disability. In R. M. Gargiulo, & E. C. Bouck (Eds.), Instructional strategies for students with mild, moderate, and severe intellectual disability (pp. 334–362). Sage.
U.S. Department of Education (2018). 40th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2018 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. https://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2018/parts-b-c/40th-arc-for-idea.pdf
U.S. Department of Education (2019). 41st annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2019. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. https://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2019/parts-b-c/41st-arc-for-idea.pdf
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2017). The 2017 AHS neighborhood description study. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/AHS-neighborhood-description-study-2017.html#overview-tab
Wynd, C. A., Schmidt, B., & Schaefer, M. A. (2003). Two quantitative approaches for estimating content validity. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25(5), 508–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945903252998
Yell, M. L., Collins, J., Kumpiene, G., & Bateman, D. (2020). The individualized education program: Procedural and substantive requirements. Teaching Exceptional Children, 52(5), 304–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920906592
Yudin, M. K., & Musgrove, M. (2015, November 16). OSEP dear colleague letter on free and appropriate public education (FAPE). United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/idea/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-fape-11-17-2015.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Julia E. Snider: Conceptualization, Writing- original draft, introduction, method, results, discussion. Stacy K. Dymond: Conceptualization, Writing- review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
The method and procedures were approved by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The procedures conducted in this study follow the tenants of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent for Publication
The participants provided informed consent for the authors to share their de-identified information for future research and publication.
Conflict of Interest
The researchers have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Snider, J.E., Dymond, S.K. Curricular Areas in Which Students with Intellectual Disability Receive Instruction. J Dev Phys Disabil 35, 295–315 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-023-09891-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-023-09891-y