Promoting Transition Success for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Disabilities: The Value of Mentoring

David W Leake,Margo Vreeberg Izzo,Sheryl Burgstahler

doi:10.4236/ce.2011.22017

Abstract

Youth with disabilities are less likely to enroll in and complete postsecondary education programs and transition to employment than their non-disabled peers, and this is especially so for those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. To help provide insight into factors influencing the transition process, a multi-site study was conducted using survey interviews, focus groups, and case studies, with a focus on CLD youth with disabilities. The importance of mentoring emerged as a consistent theme. Most participants cited informal men- tors as role models and key motivators for gaining the social, academic, and career supports needed for success. They identified the relationships of individuals who served as mentors and what they did that helped them gain fresh perspectives and take steps toward personal, academic, and career goals. The insights gained from the re- search p

Highlights

Modern society is so complex that youth often need the “expert help” of knowledgeable adults to develop healthy identities and successfully transition to adulthood (Hebert, 2001)
An interesting finding was that 69.2% of the 52 interviewees not in college reported having a mentor during high school compared to only 56.8% of the 146 who attended college
The relatively low rate of mentorship during high school reported by those who attended college raises questions about how they negotiated barriers—did they manage on their own or were they significantly supported by parents or other family members? The intent of the question was to identify mentors from outside the immediate family, and this seems to be how the question was generally understood since only 14.9% of interviewees who reported kind of mentor responded “parent”

Summary

Introduction

Modern society is so complex that youth often need the “expert help” of knowledgeable adults to develop healthy identities and successfully transition to adulthood (Hebert, 2001). The need for such adult support is evident for youth with disabilities, who face greater difficulties in negotiating the transition process than their peers without disabilities. In addition to the various challenges associated with specific disabilities, most youth with disabilities must contend with social experiences of stigmatization and discrimination that may restrict their participation in normative school and community activities and thereby negatively impact their development of healthy identities (Gliedman & Roth, 1980).

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion