Appendix A
Dissertation Research – Interview Questions: Demographic Questions:
What is your full name?
How old are you and when is your birthday?
What city and state did you live in when you attended school? Where do you live now?
Do you have any brothers or sisters and if so, what are their names? What were your parents’ names?
Broad School Questions:
What elementary school did you attend?
Tell me about what you remember most about your elementary school years? What was the name of your junior high or middle school?
Tell me what you remember most about junior high or middle school? Where did you go to high school?
Tell me what you remember most about high school?
Did you enjoy school? What were the things that made it enjoyable/unenjoyable? How did you get to and from school each day?
What classes did you take and what were your classes like? What was your favorite subject and why did you like it? What was your hardest subject?
Did you have a lot of friends at school?
Can you tell me about your best friend and the things you liked to do together? Do you keep in touch with students that you went to school with?
Tell me which teacher was your favorite and tell me why you liked them?
What did you do outside of school or after school? Did you play sports or participate in other extra activities?
Can you tell me a story about the time you had the most fun at school? Can you tell me the story of a school year that wasn’t very fun?
When you were in school, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Did you go to college or technical school when you finished high school? If so, what did you study?
What was your first job?
Was there someone at school that had a positive influence on your life? What did he or she do to influence you?
Special Education Specific Questions:
When did you realize that you were receiving special education help at school and how did you find out? Did it change what you thought of school? Of yourself?
Do you feel like your experiences at school were different than kids who did not need special ed- ucation? (If yes, probe to tell how)
Were your classes big or small?
Do you recall a time when you only took classes with other special education students?
Did you ever take classes with general education students? (If yes to both prior questions, probe with: Why did your classes change?)
Did you ever attend your own IEP meetings? What were those meetings like?
What kind of relationship did you have with other kids in your school? Do you feel that they treated you different or do you feel like they didn’t know that you had a disability?
Do you feel your disability had any impact on your participation in extra activities and why or why not?
Were there other things you wanted to do but didn’t feel like you could do because of your disa- bility?
How do you feel special education classes were different from general education classes? How was participation in special education classes helpful?
Looking back, was your status as a special education student a significant part of your life? Why do you feel this way?
What significant changes to school do you remember taking place when you were in school? What do you think people should know about what it was like to be a special education student? How did special education change over the course of your years in school?
Final Thoughts:
Is there anything else you want to tell me about your experiences at school?
Appendix B
Georgia State University Department of Educational Policy Studies Informed Consent Title: Voices from the Other Room: Retelling a History of Special Education through Student Narratives
Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Deron Boyles
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): Dr. Chara Haeussler Bohan
I. Purpose:
The purpose of the study is to learn more about your experience in special education. Past studies have focused on special education from the view of teachers and other adults. To take part, you must have been in school between 1975 and 2005. You must be 18 years old or older. No less than 5 and no more than 15 people will take part in this study. The interview will last up to 2 hours. No more than three interviews will occur. We will meet at a time and location that is good for you and me.
II. What to Expect:
If you agree to take part, you will meet with the student investigator (SI) to answer questions about being a special education student. The interviews will be recorded.
You will only talk to the SI. You will only meet with the SI. The SI will explain what will hap- pen during the interview.
The interview will last for no longer than 2 hours. After the interview, we may decide to meet again for another interview. The SI estimates that no more than 3 sessions or 6 hours will be needed. Within 3 weeks following the interview, what you told the SI will be typed on paper and given to you to read. It is important that the information represents your experience. You may ask the SI to make changes if you think the information is untrue. You can ask the SI to make changes by sending an email. If you send an email, it could be read by other people. The SI will also meet with you in person to make changes.
III. Risks:
You will not have any more risk than in normal life.
IV . Benefits:
There is no benefit for taking part in this research. The SI hopes to learn about your experiences to better understand what education was like for students with disabilities who were in school be- tween 1975 and 2005. This interview may help with this. The interview with the narrator will help people understand special education from your point of view.
You are a volunteer. You do not have to be in this study. If you decide to be in the study and change your mind, we can stop at any time. You may skip questions. There are no consequences if you decide to stop being in this study.
VI. This Information is Not Confidential:
The interviews from this research will not be confidential. Your name will be included when the SI presents the study findings. The SI, PI, and Co-PI will listen to your interview(s). The inter- view(s) will be shared with those who make sure the study is done correctly (GSU Institutional Review Board, the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP). The SI will talk and write about you and use your name. The information from the interview will be published. The inter- views will be kept on a password and firewall protected computer. Additional hard copies will be kept in a locked file cabinet in the office of the PI or Co-PI. These interviews will not be de- stroyed. They will be provided to the oral history library at Georgia State University (GSU). If GSU does not take them, the SI will keep them. The interview will be written about in the SI’s final paper. What you share will be discussed as your personal experience.
VII. Contact Persons:
You can contact Dr. Deron Boyles using his email or phone number. You may call him to talk about the study or if you are concerned about the study. His email address is [email protected]. His phone number is 404-413-8270. You can also call or email Dr. Chara Haeussler Bohan. Her email address is [email protected]. Her phone number is 404-413-8402. You can also call if you think the narrator has been harmed by the study. You can call or email Susan Vogtner in the GSU Office of Research Integrity if you need help. Her number is 404-413-3513. Her email is-
[email protected]. She is not part of the research team. You can talk about any questions or
concerns. You can give her your opinion. You can get information from her. You can also make suggestions about the study. You can also call Susan Vogtner if you have questions or concerns about the narrator’s rights in this study.
VIII. Copy of Consent Form to Participant:
We will give you a copy of this consent form to keep. If you are willing to volunteer for this re- search and be audio recorded, please sign below.
_____________________________ Participant
__________________ Date
______________________________________________________________ Principal Investigator or Researcher Obtaining Consent
____________________ Date