PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROFESSORS REGARDING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
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Roberson-Shivers, Paralee A., A phenomenological descriptive study of perceptions of
community college professors regarding instructional practices for students with disabilities at a
college system in southeast Texas. Doctor of Education (Special Education Leadership), May
2021, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the perceptions of community college
professors regarding the instructional practices for addressing the needs of students with
disabilities at postsecondary institutions in Southeast Texas. The participants for this study were
purposefully selected from within a population of faculty as a snowball sampling. A total of 11
participants responded to the invitation to participate in the interview sessions. Participants
addressed all questions on the questionnaire during the interview sessions. In the descriptive
study, the researcher used the qualitative research methodology of hermeneutical
phenomenology. In doing so, the researcher gained knowledge as the participants in this study
conveyed their feelings, which described what they perceived and sensed through their own
experiences. The overall findings on the participants’ questionnaire responses and interviewee
sessions indicated that fifteen themes embedded in four categories emerged. The themes for the
Accommodations category included statement needed in syllabus, sensory impaired students,
testing, and administrating exams. The themes for Student Engagement category included in-class settings and online settings. The themes for Information and Training category included
face-to-face training, online video training, and external facilitated training. The themes for
Classroom Assistants, Assistive Software, and Technological Tools included sign language
interpreters, note-takers, Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART), Canvas,
Kaltura, YouTube videos, and PowerPoint presentations. Based on responses from participants in this study, provided support and skills needed to work successfully when providing instructions
to students with disabilities at a postsecondary institution.