Postsecondary Programs Research Articles

Introduction to Special Series: Adults With Low Academic Skills

The purpose of this special series five articles is to highlight issues regarding decoding, comprehension, oral language fluency, and writing for adults with low literacy skills. Our authors’ samples include adults attending adult literacy programs, as well as those who are attending postsecondary programs who may or may not have official learning disability diagnoses. The authors address issues that are not often covered in adult literacy scholarship. Through this special series, we hope to highlight the importance of, and directions for, future research on adults with low literacy skills, including individuals with specific learning disabilities.

Professional ruptures in pre-service ECEC: Maddening early childhood education and care

This article engages in an autoethnographic analysis to offer an argument for the importance of bringing mad studies to pre-service early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs. Through both analysing reflections on two "maddening moments" during pre-service teaching as a mad-identified pre-service ECEC educator and discussing relevant mad studies literature, I aim to forward an argument for the criticality of maddening pre-service ECEC programs and pedagogies. I argue that mad studies can provide ruptures to normativities ingrained in the developmentalist curricula and pedagogies in pre-service ECEC post-secondary programs and offer new ways of thinking of children, educators, and ECEC outside of developmental and normative tropes of early childhood educators (ECEs). As such, I examine how a maddening pedagogy in pre-service ECEC can bring affect into the classroom and disrupt how sanism functions through the knowledges and normativities prioritized within pre-service ECEC.

What happens when post-secondary programmes go virtual for COVID-19? Effects of forced telecommuting on travel demand of post-secondary students during the pandemic.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads globally, disrupting every aspect of everyday activities. Countermeasures during the pandemic, such as remote working and learning, proliferated tele-activities worldwide during the COVID −19 pandemic. The prevalence of telecommuting could lead to new activity-travel patterns. It is in the interest of transport demand modellers to capture this developing trend of telecommuting using state-of-art travel demand forecasting techniques. This study develops a modelling framework using activity-based and agent-based microsimulation to forecast activity-travel demand considering telecommuting and the pandemic. For empirical application, the modelling framework investigates changes in travel behaviours in post-secondary students when all major post-secondary institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, decided to go virtual during the pandemic. The empirical investigation reveals that enforced telecommuting and the pandemic caused significant mobility drops and shifts in students' trip starting time patterns. While only considering the influence of telecommuting, the empirical exercise reveals noteworthy dynamics between telecommuting and the overall travel demand. Telecommuting could simultaneously reduce the need to commute but also induce discretionary travel. When telecommuting is enforced, students' overall trip rates drop by 14.2%, despite increasing trip rates for all discretionary activities except shopping/market. Moreover, the study demonstrates that it is beneficial to model at-home productive and maintenance episodes when telecommuting is prominent.

어느 특수교사의 졸업생 사후관리 경험에 대한 자문화기술지

Objectives This study aims to investigate post-management service experiences for graduates among teachers in a post-secondary program for vocational education in an auto-ethnographic inquiry, thus examining their post-management service experiences from multiple angles and searching for plans to vitalize their post-management service. Methods For these purposes, the study made an auto-ethnographic approach. Auto-ethnography is a methodology for researchers to look at their experiences in a first-person narrator and observer to understand their social and cultural contexts. I collected personal internal data, interview data, participation observation data, and local data in order to explore the post-management service. The data were interpreted through the process of the comprehensively analytical procedure based on the practical eclecticism. This study tried to reflect on meaning of the post-management service from the perspectives of a teacher as an insider. Results First, the subjects reflected on problems with their post-management service provided only in documents and had a self-examination into the need for post-management service for graduates; secondly, they felt their limitations with the improvement of the post-management service system, but they managed to establish a post-management service environment that was realistically feasible and search for ways to make a cooperative approach with concerned agencies; and finally, they took into consideration what kind of talents that corporations wanted and practiced individualized post-management service reflecting students' individual needs. Conclusions The investigator felt a need to continue post-management service for the successful job retention of graduates as a teacher in a post-secondary program for vocational education. There should be efforts to prepare guidelines at the level of municipal and provincial education offices, have regular discussions about post-management service in a consultative group of concerned agencies, and expand the scope of post-management service throughout life so that post-management service can be vitalized.

27.1 Paths to Postsecondary Education Enrollment Among Adolescents With and Without Childhood ADHD

Despite the long-term deficits associated with ADHD, some adolescents with ADHD enroll in postsecondary education (PSE). Postsecondary students represent a relatively high-functioning segment of the population, but students with ADHD continue to experience academic difficulties in higher education. Beyond admittance to postsecondary programs, do adolescents with ADHD histories who enroll in postsecondary studies differ from those who do not? We aimed to determine whether symptoms and academic functioning are distinct developmentally from childhood through adolescence between adolescents with and without ADHD who did and did not enroll in PSE.

전공과 특수교사의 교육경험에 대한 협력적 자문화기술지

The Post-Secondary Program is for career and vocational education of special education provided to students who have graduated from high school. It has emphasized achievements such as employment rate rather than students learning. This study is a reflection on educational experiences of a special education teacher who has worked at a Post-Secondary Program for Vocational Education with teachers in a professional learning community. I explored my educational experience and meaning with autoethnography. I collected personal internal data, participation observation data, interview data and local data in order to explore. The data were interpreted through the process of the comprehensively analytical procedure based on the practical eclecticism. The results of this study are as follows. First, I was able to face an uncomfortable educational culture to increase the employment rate and sales of school enterprises rather than student learning. Second, I and the teachers in the professional learning community have empathized with the lives of the students and have tried to meet their educational needs. Third, the Post-Secondary Program for Vocational Education must form an identity so that students can continue their enjoyable learning. This study will provide a deeper insight into the meaning of the Post-Secondary Program for Vocational Education by understanding the educational experiences from a socio-cultural perspective.

Early earnings trajectories of international students after graduation from postsecondary programs: evidence from Canadian administrative data

ABSTRACT Using two administrative datasets, this study investigates the role of various pre-graduation characteristics in accounting for earnings differences between international and domestic students during their first five years after graduation from Canadian postsecondary institutions. It demonstrates that international students earned less than domestic students when they worked in Canada after graduation. Fewer years of pre-graduation work experience and lower levels of pre-graduation earnings among international students accounted for most of their observed disadvantage in post-graduation earnings. We discuss possible interpretations of the results and the implications in reducing the earnings gaps between international and domestic students after graduation.

An Exploratory Study of Instructors Who Became Administrators of Post-Secondary ESOL Programs in the United States

Since the voices of program administrators in adult English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs in post-secondary and higher education settings were underrepresented in the research literature, this exploratory study of instructors of adult emergent bi/multilingual learners (EBLs) who became program administrators was an initial attempt at addressing this gap. The professional reflections of three program administrators, specifically regarding their transition into administration, were explored through semi-structured interviews. Analysis of their interview transcripts through a priori coding yielded three overarching themes: (1) leveraging preservice preparation and teaching experience as program administrators; (2) fostering professional development and growth of program staff and instructors; and (3) receiving guidance and support from superiors. The accuracy of the portrayal of the participants and the study’s findings were affirmed through extensive member checking. Characteristics of effective administrators of adult ESOL programs and preliminary suggestions for adjusting preservice preparation and ongoing professional development to support instructors to transition into administrative roles were identified. Areas for future research were also suggested.

A practice brief: Virtual supports in ACE-IT’s inclusive higher education program

BACKGROUND: During the onset of COVID-19, universities across the country shifted to virtual modalities. For inclusive postsecondary education programs, this shift required developing new strategies to continue highly individualized supports for students with ID/DD. Navigating this shift demanded collaboration and communication between program staff and students. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this practice brief is to share strategies used in the 2020-2021 academic school year for VCU ACE-IT in College. In this practice brief, ACE-IT staff reflect on practices to support virtual work and school so other inclusive postsecondary education programs can replicate innovative supports. METHODS: To prepare this practice brief, program staff reviewed program materials and identified programmatic changes that occurred during the 2020-2021 academic year. Program materials included student academic and career case notes, employment shift notes, staff meeting agendas, communications between staff and college instructors, and program training materials. RESULTS: Program staff implemented a variety of strategies to improve organization and communication between students, program staff, college faculty, and employers. Many of these systems have been retained since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Alternative formats for work and school continue to evolve. It is critical for inclusive postsecondary education programs to integrate virtual supports into their practices so students can prepare to enter the pandemic and post-pandemic workforce.

How Do Peers Benefit From Peer-Mediated Interventions? Examining Impact Within Secondary and Postsecondary Programs

Peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) are evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Determining whether peers also benefit substantively from their involvement in these widely used practices is key to establishing the reciprocity of PMIs. This study examined the breadth and depth of ways that peers perceive they are impacted by their experiences in PMIs and the factors that shape this impact. More than 250 secondary and postsecondary peers completed the Peer-Mediated Impact Survey for Peers ( PMIS:P). Peers reported being impacted in multiple positive ways clustered within seven thematic areas: rewarding impact, advocacy impact, changes in views, future impact, social impact, skill and intrapersonal development, and self-worth impact. Several factors were associated with variations in peer impact, including having supported at least one student with autism, supported at least one student who was nonverbal, prior familiarity with a student, received ongoing support from an educator or other school staff, and more time spent together. We provide recommendations for research and practice aimed at addressing the myriad benefits of involving peers in PMIs.

Turning the Corner from Epistemic Myopia to Gnostic Rasa: Dances From South Asia and Postsecondary Dance Programs

ABSTRACT The need for a shift in approach to dance education and non-Eurocentric dance forms in postsecondary dance programs is apparent. This paper begins with a fundamental why and then offers the frameworks of gnosis (knowledge by perception) and episteme (knowledge by systematic study) and process-based teaching-learning as viable approaches to inclusion. Embracing values such as inquiry, plurality, and reflection is essential to postsecondary dance programs including South Asian dances, whether in formal academic structures or informal spaces of partnership. Simultaneously, South Asian dancer-collaborators take on response and responsibility in this work and reflect deeply on what we know, as we share our knowledge. This paper enumerates possible manifestations of including South Asian dances in postsecondary education, which depend on dance programs fully embracing new approaches in education. Together with South Asian collaborators, programs can perform their work so that all participants relish the rasa (profound engagement) of the experience.

특수학교 전공과 개별화전환교육지원팀의 개인중심 ITP 운영에 관한 협력적 실행

The purpose of this study was to examine special education teachers’ practical knowledge on the person-centered individualized transition plan through cooperative practice with an ITP(individualized transition plan) team. The participants of this study were six students from a post-secondary program for vocational education, their guardians, and six teachers. Regarding the cooperative action research method, nine case-conferences were conducted through a cyclical and reflective process. The collected data was analyzed through the inclusive analytic procedure. The practical knowledge of special education teachers, summarized as “Why use person-centered ITP,” “How to use person-centered ITP,” and “Person-centered ITP of students, by students, and for students,”, was derived into three super-categories, nine sub-categories, and 30 semantic units. As a result of the study, it was possible to effectively implement person-centered ITP operations through the communication and cooperation of the ITP team. Person-centered ITP meetings were found to be an opportunity for students to improve their self-expression, and for guardians to increase their interest in specific explorations of their children’s adult life and conversion plans. In addition, person-centered ITP was effective in establishing and executing the individualized transition plan for post-secondary programs for vocational education. The teachers who participated in the cooperative implementation focused on the students’ strengths and made efforts to develop their potential.

Aspirations Are Not Enough: Barriers to Educational Attainment for Youth Involved with Child Welfare

Children of families involved with child welfare services are considered high-risk and are vulnerable to developing problems in a number of domains. In particular, educational achievement among this population tends to be lower relative to general population peers. The goal of this qualitative study was to understand the educational aspirations and subsequent pathways of young adults with former child welfare involvement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven young adults (mean age of 31 years) from Ontario, Canada about their educational aspirations in high school and factors that served as facilitators and obstacles to their achievement. The results indicate youth had high hopes and dreams for their future in high school. However, complex challenges impeded the realization of these dreams. Although all seven participants initiated post-secondary programs, only one reached successful completion. None of the young adults achieved the educational and occupational dreams they had in high school. Nevertheless, returning to school remains a prominent future goal for most participants. Despite significant challenges and unrealized educational aspirations, youth with child welfare experiences continue to place high value on education in inspiring hope and optimism for the future. Addressing barriers to educational achievement for youth with child welfare involvement remains an important focus to help educational aspirations become a reality.

Systematic Review of Effective Library Instruction for Business Students

The most successful library teaching strategies for post-secondary business programs have yet to be determined. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the effectiveness of library instruction (with a focus on pedagogy) in business undergraduate and graduate programs. The researchers searched seven databases, selected studies that met the inclusion criteria, and extracted data following PRISMA guidelines. To achieve the study’s primary objective, the researchers included any library educational intervention in a business program conducted by librarians or library staff. The quality of included studies was evaluated based on a modified instrument designed to critically appraise educational interventions. The instrument consists of nine questions that relate to content, context, outcomes, study design, and methods. Thirty-five studies met the inclusion criteria and data was extracted based on subject area, content coverage, mode of instruction (in-person vs virtual), faculty collaboration, assessment strategies, and library educational interventions used to teach business students. Common educational interventions included hands-on activities, live demonstrations, active learning, group work, and lectures. The most compelling strategies include active learning, providing engaging sessions (e.g., flipped classroom), and faculty collaboration. Since most of the studies did not state clear learning outcomes, it is difficult to ascertain what type of interventions were truly effective in improving library sessions.

A Model Rural Inclusive Postsecondary Program for Students With Intellectual Disability

Lions Connected (LC) is an inclusive postsecondary program approved by the U.S. Department of Education; thus meeting rigorous program standards and accountability. Equally important is that it gives eligible students from rural areas the opportunity to receive federal financial aid to attend college. The purpose of developing LC was to meet the needs and desires of the surrounding rural communities by providing postsecondary opportunities for students with intellectual disability (ID) to enhance their social, academic, and employment skills alongside peers without disabilities. This article describes the program in detail as well as program outcomes, including employment in rural home communities. LC students receive a true college experience while preparing to become contributing members in society regardless of where they live. By following LC’s program structure, there are multiple opportunities for supporting students with ID in rural settings and helping them garner a college experience and become successfully employed in their community and reach their full potential.

Exploring social networks, employment and self-determination outcomes of graduates from a postsecondary program for young adults with an intellectual disability

BACKGROUND: Data on graduates’ development and employment outcomes from postsecondary programs for young adults with an Intellectual Disability (ID) continue to increase and provide information on program efficacy and areas for growth. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the development of graduates’ social networks, employment outcomes, and self-determination a year after graduating from an inclusive postsecondary program. METHODS: The social networks, employment outcomes, and evidence of self-determination in a combined cohort of graduates (n = 6) were analyzed using social network analysis. RESULTS: All graduates except one were employed a year later. Half displayed smaller networks consisting of family members and new work ties. Only two graduates displayed large networks because of opportunities for socialization. In the absence of employment, students also fall back on familiar supports. Most parents were involved in graduates’ employment decisions, thereby curbing graduates’ expression of self-determination. CONCLUSIONS: Family supports are prominent in graduates’ networks and play a crucial role in employment choices. They act as constant protective and social-emotional supports ensuring graduates’ access to benefits and maintenance of well-being. Employment skills valued by employers and further opportunities to develop students’ social networks while in the PSE program needs to be a focus going forward.

Preparation, policy, and workplace challenges of dance teaching artists in P-12 schools: perspectives from the field

The primary aims of this qualitative interpretive inquiry were to gain better understanding of dance teaching artists’ preparation and preparedness, workplace challenges, and the role and impact of policy and regulations in P-12 schools. A secondary aim focused upon identifying school environments that support effective and purposeful dance teaching artistry. The collective knowledge and experiences of six expert informants provide important insights and critical questions about dance teaching artist status and marginalization, bureaucratic challenges, and obstacles in developing relevant postsecondary programs that value teaching, pedagogy and community engagement alongside artistic practice, technique, and performance. Findings suggest an adept teaching artist adapts to shifting environmental conditions of the school and its administration. A flexible teaching artist carefully devises and revises lesson plans, objectives, and goals in relation to each particular group of students. A receptive teaching artist skillfully hones their pedagogy and teaching methods in alignment with curriculum and curricular goals. A sensitive teaching artist translates and fulfills the needs of the school and the student communities they serve with a strong desire to collaborate with classroom teachers and dance specialist teachers.

Effects of Video Self-Modeling on the Barista Job Skills of a Student with Intellectual Disabilities in Post-Secondary Program of the Special School

목적 이 연구에서는 비디오 자기모델링 중재가 특수학교 전공과 지적장애 학생의 바리스타 직무기술 수행에 미치는 영향을 알아보았다. 방법 연구 대상은 특수학교 전공과 1학년인 20세의 지적장애 학생 1명이며, 실험설계로 행동간 중다간헐기초선설계를 적용하였다. 연구는 예비실험을 거쳐 기초선, 중재, 유지 단계로 진행되었다. 중재는 교실에서의 비디오 자기모델링 자료 시청과 바리스타 직무기술 연습으로 시행되었다. 중재 대상인 바리스타 직무기술은 아이스 아메리카노 만들기, 아이스 카페라떼 만들기, 핫 카푸치노 만들기였다. 자료수집은 카페진로 체험실에서 이루어졌다. 결과 비디오 자기모델링 중재를 통해 특수학교 전공과 지적장애 학생의 바리스타 직무기술의 독립적 과제 수행율이 향상되었다. 세 가지 바리스타 직무기술에 대한 비디오 자기 모델링 중재의 효과크기는 PND로는 매우 큰 효과로, Tau-U로는 중간효과로 나타났다. 또한 과제 수행의 소요시간이 감소되어 직무기술 숙련도의 향상이 나타났다. 중재 효과는 중재 종료 후에도 유지되었다. 결론 이 연구의 결과는 비디오 자기모델링 중재가 전공과 지적장애 학생의 바리스타 직무기술의 수행 향상에 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 시사한다.

Reframing my practices: reconsidering post-secondary World Language education

ABSTRACT As our post-secondary landscape evolves to address the needs of the next generation of learners and future educators, it is important to explore the potential conflict between the teaching methods employed by teacher educators and what we ask our pre-service teachers to enact. Amid the challenges facing many teacher preparation programs (including World Languages) are a changing student population, declining enrollments, limited budgets, teachershortages, and overall changes in post-secondary education. Theneed for curricular change in post-secondary programs is long-standing. Publishing accounts of our classroom practices contributes to the professional dialogue and knowledge base, modeling for our future educators the application of best practices in our profession. This self-study explores the classroom practices of one experienced World Language educator, using the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning and TELL project as frameworks, and contributes to a gap in the research on post-secondary World Language teaching and teacher development.

Work readiness in rehabilitation medicine: a qualitative exploration and framework

Background/aims The skills and attributes that facilitate the transition from student to professional (also known as work readiness) have not been fully explored in rehabilitation medicine. The aim of this study was to develop a model of work readiness for new rehabilitation medicine professionals that allows for a successful transition to the workplace. Methods A qualitative approach was used to explore the perspectives of 26 clinicians, regulators and employers about work readiness in rehabilitation disciplines. Transcripts were coded and analysed using content analysis methods. Results At the core of work readiness for rehabilitation medicine professionals were three complex endeavours that were framed as professional challenges. Each endeavour integrated one or more foundational skills and could improve context-bound applied skills. Conclusions Work readiness in rehabilitation requires active and ongoing commitment from students, post-secondary programmes and employers.