Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Smith, Kaleb

Committee Member

McCullum, Charcellor

Committee Member

Stubbs, Michelle

Committee Member

Freeman, Diane

Date of Degree

12-12-2025

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU Only 2 Years

Document Type

Doctoral Capstone - Campus Access Only

Major

Education (Educational Policy and Organizational Design)

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Division of Education

Abstract

Students with ASD are increasing in the general education inclusion classroom. This increasing incidence of ASD has impacted educators, as general education teachers need to learn appropriate teaching and support techniques to effectively teach this group of students. The primary purpose of this project was to aid in closing the gap between achievement of students with and without ASD, address the research-to-practice gap relating to EBPs proven effective for students with ASD, and address the classroom management gap in general education inclusion classrooms. Throughout this project, a theoretical framework built upon the Constructivist Learning Theory, cooperative learning, and Knowles’ Four Principles of Andragogy was utilized to answer four research questions, including the supports needed for inclusion teachers to effectively educate students with ASD, which EBPs and HLPs are most effective when educating students with ASD, and which specific PD formats are most effective for increasing the instructional capacity of inclusion teachers. This project utilized a desk-based approach, and research was conducted utilizing two databases, EBSCOHost Databases and Google Scholar, with peer-reviewed and time specific filters set, along with inclusive criteria utilized in order to focus the research on lower elementary, general education inclusion teachers. The culminating effort of this research was a multi-module professional development series, which provided a legislative overview, ASD student overview, and a sample of HLPs paired with EBPs. Overall, this PD training served as an aid to general education inclusion teachers, equipping them to be better prepared to teach and improve the quality of education for all students.

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