The Theory of Planned Behavior and Acceptance of Disability

198 Pages·2015·6.52 MB·English

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2013
The Theory of Planned Behavior and
Acceptance of Disability: Understanding
Intentions to Request Instructional
Accommodations in Post-Secondary
Institutions
Joann Rivas
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR AND ACCEPTANCE OF DISABILITY:
UNDERSTANDING INTENTIONS TO REQUEST INSTRUCTIONAL
ACCOMMODATIONS IN POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

By
JOANN RIVAS

A Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Fall Semester, 2013
JoAnn Rivas defended this dissertation on October 23, 2013.
The members of the supervisory committee were:

Deborah J. Ebener
Professor Directing Dissertation

Mary Frances Hanline
University Representative

Yanyun Yang
Committee Member

Debra Osborn
Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

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I dedicate this dissertation to my family, without their support at so many levels; I could never
have realized this dream without their individual help. I especially want to thank my mother
whose love of education made me dream and never give up on my dreams! Gracias mamie!

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While the process that is undertaken with the decision to complete a dissertation is an
individual decision and journey, it is a major endeavor that could not be completed without the
assistance, support and guidance of many individuals. While it is difficult to acknowledge
everyone, let me say thank you to all. However, I would like to take this opportunity to thank
some special individuals that enabled me to complete a journey that at times I thought I would
never complete due to some unexpected challenges.
First, I would like to thank my loving God for the blessing of life that enabled me to
complete this dissertation. Second, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Deborah J. Ebener, my
major professor, for her support, and guidance. Third, I would like to acknowledge the influence
on this dissertation by all the members of my committee. Among these I would especially like to
acknowledge Dr. Yang for her understanding when medications made my memory and
recollection challenging at times. Fourth, I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude
to the professionals at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Healing Place for their commitment to life
and healing. Among these medical professionals, I would like to acknowledge Drs. Robert D.
Synder and Shelieah Newman. These two individuals gave me the hope to succeed at what others
felt could not be accomplished at the time. Finally, I come to two special individuals who stood
by my side when things were difficult and dark. My mother, Sarah, and my very best friend and
niece, Audrey, thank you both for the strength, even when the thought of completing this journey
felt so impossible and out of my reach. Thank you for never allowing me to accept failure at any
level of my life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xii
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................2
Significance of the Problem .............................................................................................................4
Attitudes, Help-Seeking and Accommodations ..........................................................................5
Acceptance of Disability and Help-Seeking Behaviors ..............................................................7
Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................9
Theory of Planned Behavior .....................................................................................................10
Theory of Adjustment ...............................................................................................................12
Purpose Statement ..........................................................................................................................13
Research Questions ........................................................................................................................14
Definitions of Terms ......................................................................................................................14
Acceptance of Disability ...........................................................................................................14
Accommodations.......................................................................................................................14
Attitude Toward a Behavior ......................................................................................................15
Behavioral Intentions ................................................................................................................15
Perceived Behavioral Control ...................................................................................................15
Qualified Student with a Disability ...........................................................................................16
Requesting Instructional Accommodations ..............................................................................16
Subjective Norms ......................................................................................................................16
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Summary ...................................................................................................................................16
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...............................................................................................18
Overview and Historical Perspective .............................................................................................18
Instructional Accommodations Legislation and Post-secondary Institutions ................................19
Requesting Instructional Accommodations ...................................................................................21
Past Studies on Requesting Accommodations ...............................................................................22
Faculty Studies ..........................................................................................................................22
Campus Disability Services and Requests for Instructional Accommodations ........................28
Students, Peers, and Requesting Accommodations ..................................................................31
Theoretical Foundation ..................................................................................................................36
Theory of Planned Behavior .....................................................................................................36
Theory of Adjustment: Acceptance of Disability .....................................................................46
Requesting Instructional Accommodations and Help-Seeking Behavior ......................................56
Beliefs and Requesting Instructional Accommodations ................................................................60
Social Norms: Social Influence and Requesting Instructional Accommodations .........................65
Attitudes and Requests for Instructional Accommodations ...........................................................67
Summary ........................................................................................................................................72
METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................77
Overview ........................................................................................................................................77
Research Questions ........................................................................................................................78
Research Hypotheses .....................................................................................................................78
Research Design.............................................................................................................................80
Research Variables.........................................................................................................................81
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Participants .....................................................................................................................................82
Sample............................................................................................................................................84
Sampling Method ......................................................................................................................84
Sample Size and Statistical Power ............................................................................................84
Instrumentation ..............................................................................................................................86
Demographic and Instructional Accommodation Questionnaire ..............................................86
Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire ..............................................................................86
Reliability and Validity: TPB Questionnaire ............................................................................89
Adaptation to Disability Scale-Revised ....................................................................................91
Reliability and Validity: ADS-R ...............................................................................................91
Recruitment Procedures and Data Collection ................................................................................92
Human Subjects Authorization .................................................................................................92
Recruitment Procedures ............................................................................................................92
Data Collection Procedures .......................................................................................................93
Eligibility Criteria .....................................................................................................................94
Demographic Characteristics of the Study Sample ......................................................................94
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................96
Summary ......................................................................................................................................101
RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................103
Preliminary Analyses ...................................................................................................................104
Missing Data ...........................................................................................................................104
Outliers ....................................................................................................................................104
Normality ................................................................................................................................105
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Analyses of Variance ..............................................................................................................106
Analysis of Reliability of the Study Variables ........................................................................108
Analysis of Data ...........................................................................................................................111
Hypothesis 1 ............................................................................................................................113
Hypothesis 2 ............................................................................................................................113
Model Specification and Evaluation ............................................................................................114
Evaluation of Hypothesized Model: Model 1 .........................................................................114
Model 2 ...................................................................................................................................116
Model 3 ...................................................................................................................................117
Model 4 ...................................................................................................................................117
Hypotheses Testing ......................................................................................................................119
Hypothesis 1 ............................................................................................................................119
Hypothesis 2 ............................................................................................................................122
Summary of Findings ...................................................................................................................123
Research Question 1 ................................................................................................................124
Research Question 2 ................................................................................................................124
DISCUSSION ..............................................................................................................................126
Discussion of Study Findings ......................................................................................................127
Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavior Control, and Behavior Intentions ..............129
Perceived Behavior Control, and Behavior Intentions ............................................................130
Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavior Control, Behavior Intentions, and
Behavior ..................................................................................................................................132
Acceptance of Disability, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavior Control, Behavior
Intentions, and Behavior .........................................................................................................133
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Limitations of the Study...............................................................................................................135
Implications for Practice and Future Research ............................................................................137
Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................141
APPENDIX A: Demographic Information and Instructional Accommodations
Questionnaire ...............................................................................................................................142
APPENDIX B: Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire .......................................................145
APPENDIX C: Adaptation to Disability Scale-Revised .............................................................151
APPENDIX D: Informed Consents .............................................................................................155
APPENDIX E: Support Letters ...................................................................................................163
APPENDIX F: The Florida State University Human Subjects Committee Approval and
Revision ......................................................................................................................................165
APPENDIX G: Tallahassee Community College Human Subjects Committee Approval .........169
APPENDIX H: Permission To Use The Adaptation To Disability Scale – Revised ...................171
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................172
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................185

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