Dr. Elizabeth Shaunessy

Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education
University of South Florida

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Intersections II: Understanding Interactions among Space, Relationships, and Self within Urban Schools and Communities

A pilot project investigating the experiences of and attitudes about differently positioned students will be undertaken. The primary goal is to learn more about how stakeholders (students, families, and educators) reconcile issues of includedness within their schools and communities. Students from non-majority backgrounds continue to be overrepresented in special education and underrepresented in gifted education but, there is a paucity of research examining the interactions and perceptions of inclusion and disproportionality from the perspectives of those affected. Researchers will survey students, families, and educators from two differently position schools/communities (one urban and one suburban), collect historical data on achievement and discipline, conduct focus group interviews with these participants, and collect visual representations of perceptions of includedness from participants. Results will be examined to determine whether these methods yield useful information that can assist researchers and stakeholders in better serving all students.