Date

11-2015

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Kenneth Tierce

Keywords

Canadian Education, Epilepsy, Perceptions of Students, Teaching Methods

Disciplines

Accessibility | Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Disability and Equity in Education | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover how teacher attitude, knowledge, and practice with epilepsy impact the academic achievement of students who have epilepsy. This study assumed that middle school teachers perceive students diagnosed with epilepsy as lower academic achievers when compared to students who do not have epilepsy. The stigma associated with labels, such as epileptic, can negatively impact the academic performance of children with this disorder. For this study, stigma was generally defined as the negative perceptions about epilepsy held by middle school teachers. The participants included six middle school teachers from the Anglophone West School District in New Brunswick, Canada. The data collection techniques for the study were (a) interviews, (b) surveys, and (c) a focus group. The phenomenological analysis based on Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen's method was used to analyze the data. The study results revealed that middle school teachers who teach in the Anglophone West School District need training in how to properly teach and care for students who have epilepsy.

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