▼ The purpose of this study was to survey core content teachers’ (CCTs) perceptions of working with children with disabilities in the subject areas of English, math, science and social studies in two school districts (referred to as school district 1 and 2). The survey consisted of 3 subscales: internal, external and social and were formatted in a Likert-type scale. The research questions in this study are: 1.) Do CCTs feel prepared to teach students with disabilities across districts and buildings based on the internal subscale? 2.) Do schools prepare CCTs to teach students with disabilities across districts and buildings based on the external subscale? 3.) Do CCTs see social improvements in students with disabilities across districts and buildings based on the social subscale? 4.) Does subject taught by the CCT have an overall effect on how inclusion is perceived based on the internal and external subscales? 5.) Do age, gender, degree awarded and district influence the way CCTs perceive inclusion based on the external subscale. With a significance level = .05, the perceptions of CCTs regarding how their school districts prepare them to teach students with disabilities are influenced by gender (p-value = .0149) and marginally by school district (p-value = .0804). Degree, age or building types did not have important influences on these perceptions. No other significant results were observed. Advisors/Committee Members: Renick, Patricia R.

▼ A purposive literature review was used in this study to develop a knowledge base on motivational factors impacting enrollment of African-American students in postsecondary vocational education program specifically in the STEP II program. This study examined books, articles, reports, and data from student interviews to understand what motivational factors influence decisions. It was found that low enrollment of African- American students in post-secondary vocational education is not only dependent on motivational factors emanating from the students themselves, but also stem from the institutions that offer training programs. Advisors/Committee Members: Dr. Finegan, Colleen.