An Exploratory Inquiry of the Education of At-Risk and Special Education Students as Described by School Administrators, Central Office Personnel, and Parents

This study was conducted to explore the use and effects of administrative practices under current Federal legislation applied to at-risk and disabled students. Most of the current literature involving at-risk and disabled students revolves around administrative theory and not the practical aspects of administrative decision making on the success of students. The goal of this research was to discover from the experience of administrators currently leading other educators and the parents of students who are completing or have completed public school education if Federal legislation produces its intended results. The research uses a qualitative inquiry methodology using as data individual interviews with school principals, exceptional children's directors, and parents to develop a sense of triangulation and therefore to provide some security in the quality of the findings. Dootson (1995) and others have described triangulation as "the use of multiple sources of data which all have a similar focus" (p. 184). The focus of this study is on the perceived level of success of schools whose administrators must adapt their leadership to the influences of Federal legislation designed to improve the education of at-risk and disability-labeled students. Areas discussed in the research are home and neighborhood environments, student resilience, legal influences, strategies developed from Federal legislation, and the effects of leadership practices on at-risk students.