Examining Lived Experiences of Special Education Directors in Inclusive School Districts
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D)
Department
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
Spring 2025
Abstract
Special education directors in Texas oversee programing for special education services, including inclusion for students with disabilities. There is ample existing research on campus leader and teacher roles in implementing inclusive education. However, a review of literature conducted for this study indicated a need for further research on the role of special education directors supporting inclusive education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore special education directors’ experiences when implementing inclusive education. Through the use of hermeneutic phenomenology, the researcher sought to understand the essence of the lived experiences of directors in inclusive Texas school districts in relation to social model theory. In this study, the researcher used a semi-structured interview approach protocol to collect data. NVivo software was used to assist the researcher in interpreting the data and identify themes and subthemes described by participants and presented in the findings. Findings from this study include what special education directors of inclusive school districts identify as challenges in implementing district-wide inclusive services based on their lived experiences. Special education directors also identified what they have experienced to helpful. Among these are: are providing clear guidance and systems for meaningful decision-making and systems to support inclusive education, providing professional development that is differentiated for stakeholder groups, having a structured department with clear roles and high expectations for supporting campuses, having and communicating a shared vision and sense of community, leveraging principals since they are critical to inclusion, and developing relationships that are collaborative and grounded in trust.
Advisor
Melissa Arrambide
Subject Categories
Education
Recommended Citation
Avalos, Virginia, "Examining Lived Experiences of Special Education Directors in Inclusive School Districts" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 1255.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/1255