03/05/2025
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Nancy M. Milligan on “Cultivating Equity: Increasing Teacher Efficacy to Foster Inclusive Classrooms."

Candidate: Nancy M. Milligan
Degree: Doctoral- Leadership in Schooling
Defense Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Remote Zoom link
Thesis/Dissertation Title: Cultivating Equity: Increasing Teacher Efficacy to Foster Inclusive Classrooms

Dissertation Committee
Dissertation Chair: Michelle Scribner, Ed.D. Clinical Professor, Mathematics and Science Education
Dissertation Committee Member: Christine Whittlesey, Ph.D, Adjunct Faculty, School of Education
Dissertation Committee Member: Yanfen Li, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Francis College of Engineering

Abstract
This three-manuscript Dissertation-in-Practice examines the impact of targeted professional development on teacher efficacy and collective beliefs in fostering inclusive classroom environments through the lens of improvement science. The study addresses a critical equity issue in the Rose School District, where disproportionate special education referrals result in only 48.6% of students with IEPs placed in full inclusion settings—significantly below the state average of 67.2%. This research is vital because unnecessary student identification perpetuates inequitable educational opportunities and denies students rightful access to grade-level instruction with peers. Across three manuscripts, the dissertation evolved from examining achievement gaps for economically disadvantaged students in the West School District (Manuscript 1) to implementing a targeted intervention addressing implicit bias, deficit thinking, and Universal Design for Learning principles (UDL) within the Rose School District (Manuscript 2), and finally developing a comprehensive action plan for systemic change (Manuscript 3). Using an embedded concurrent mixed-methods design, the researcher implemented a four-week intervention with 19 elementary teachers, collecting quantitative data through the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale and Collective Teacher Belief Scale and qualitative data from teacher feedback questionnaires. Results revealed an 8% increase in teachers' sense of efficacy with statistical significance (p=0.0159) and large effect size (d=1.01), while collective beliefs showed a 6.8% increase with medium effect size (d=0.53) but without statistical significance (p=0.101). These findings lead to three targeted recommendations: broadening the scope of professional development, enhancing collaborative structures, and adopting comprehensive UDL guidelines.

Keywords: teacher efficacy, inclusive education, Universal Design for Learning, improvement science, professional development