Postsecondary Transition Research Articles

Narrative Inquiry Into Postsecondary Transition Outcomes for Young Adults With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

Abstract Date Presented 04/22/2023 Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) struggle with community integration, yet little qualitative data explore their experiences. This mixed-media narrative inquiry explored postsecondary transition outcomes in comic books via critical disability theory. The seven narratives revealed that transition began earlier than anticipated, bullying and paternalism were endemic, sexuality was ignored, and poor team communication impaired adult role assumption. Ultimately, narratives empowered collaborators to guide their own futures. Primary Author and Speaker: Eric Sarrett

Transition Tasks: Individualized Education Program Involvement for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

A transition-age youth with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) has the right to a free, appropriate public education that includes postsecondary transition planning and services. Because students with emotional-behavioral disorders (EBD) experience adverse outcomes during and after high school, they may benefit from a transition-focused IEP. With the support of multiple practitioners, these students can be more involved in their education program. This article demonstrates how to use transition tasks to promote a student with EBD’s involvement in their IEP in four areas: assessment tasks, evaluation tasks, IEP meeting preparation, and IEP meeting participation.

Individualized Education Programs and Transition Planning for Adolescents With Autism.

The study objectives were to examine the contents of individualized education programs (IEPs) of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including postsecondary transition goals, services, and changes in special education classification over time. This study involved a longitudinal population-based surveillance cohort from the Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network from 2002 to 2018 in 3 catchment areas in the United States. The sample included 322 adolescents who were born in 2002, identified with ASD, and had an IEP available for review at ages 15-16 years. We found that 297 (92%) adolescents with ASD had an IEP including a transition plan. Those without intellectual disability (ID) were more likely to have postsecondary education and employment goals and have those goals be to pursue higher education or competitive employment compared with those with ID. Forty-one percent of adolescents with ASD had a postsecondary living arrangement goal. Although 28% of adolescents with ASD received school-based mental health services, none of these adolescents were Black; additionally, 15% of those with ID received mental health services compared with 34% without ID. The percentage of adolescents with ASD served under an autism classification increased from 44% at age 8 years to 62% by age 16. We identified gaps and disparities in school-based postsecondary transition planning. Working with education partners, families, and adolescents will be important to identify what challenges contribute to these findings and what supports are needed to improve the equity and quality of the transition planning process for adolescents with ASD so they are prepared for adulthood.

Intersectional Research as a Methodology for Shaping Transition Research in Support of Equitable Postschool Outcomes

Disparities in postschool outcomes between student groups associated with intersecting historical marginalizations such as ableism, racism, classism, and linguicism remain stark. Critical research methods have contributed to the development of equity-focused research. In this conceptual paper, we examine intersectional research, one critical methodology focused on equity. In a recent study of postsecondary transitions of multilingual students with disabilities in the northeastern United States, we found this methodology to be productive in examining marginalization and equitable transition outcomes. First, we define intersectionality and provide a rationale for its use. We then share foundational claims of intersectional research, and we provide illustrative examples from our study. The discussion identifies implementation strategies. Last, we share implications such as tensions, benefits, and insights from our application and the extant literature.

The Promise of Persistence: Expanding the Framework for High School Completion

The research on students who do not graduate from high school has traditionally focused on students who drop out before their expected graduation date. This ignores the experiences of persisters or persisting students—those who remain enrolled in high school on or beyond their expected graduation date, but have yet to earn a diploma. Where data are available persisting students are estimated to be equal to or greater in number than dropouts. Authors argue that persisting students warrant greater attention in research, policy, and practice efforts meant to better understand and promote high school completion and the postsecondary transition. To this end, this article summarizes the existing literature on persisting students, with attention to how they are defined, their sociodemographic and academic characteristics, and the schools they attend. The article also lays out a research agenda and policy implications, highlighting the importance of better understanding this group and meeting their needs more effectively with the twin goals of (1) adding nuance to our understanding of persisting students and (2) improving the precision in educational research more broadly.

Barriers and facilitators of access to higher education in a weakly institutionalised context: perceptions of disabled students

This research investigates the barriers and facilitators of access to higher education for disabled students in Kazakhstan, based on 23 biographical-narrative interviews with undergraduate students. Despite the broad regulatory framework, support institutions for disabled persons are not sufficiently enforced and are not internalised in regular practice in Kazakhstan. Students with disabilities are unaware of actual barriers, universities’ support services and infrastructural capacity. They make a loosely informed choice of the first safe option, as the territorial proximity and opportunity to receive a state grant are the principal priorities. In the context of weakly institutionalised post-secondary transition, interpersonal relationships and self-determination are the key facilitators. Role models of significant others and assistance of relatives and peers act as a substitute for formal supportive institutions at each transition point. We assume that reducing territorial barriers and proactive informing can be the most efficient for improving accessibility.

Parent Expectations for Postsecondary Transition among Youth with ASD: Exploring the Role of Family Mental Health

Parent Expectations for Postsecondary Transition among Youth with ASD: Exploring the Role of Family Mental Health

The Role of School Counselors in Preparing Students for the Developmental Transition from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

ABSTRACT The counseling field provides limited insight into how school counselors can best attend to students’ developmental trajectories amid the transition from high school to college and postsecondary careers. Yet, thoughtful preparation and support for such transitions can have positive impacts on students’ wellness and success into adulthood. While college and career readiness is embedded into school counselors’ training, little research explicitly examines how school counselors can prepare students for emerging adulthood. Emerging adulthood (ages 18–29) is the developmental stage that students enter following high school; it is comprised of five distinct features: self-focus, instability, identity explorations, feeling in-between, and a sense of possibilities. School counselors are well-positioned to prepare students for such developmental and post-secondary transitions. This article describes the five features of emerging adulthood and provides practical implications for how school counselors can use the ASCA National Model framework to prepare students for emerging adulthood to enhance postsecondary success.

Different ways to support and thwart autonomy: Parenting profiles and adolescents' career decision-making.

Grounded in self-determination theory, this study aimed to (a) identify profiles of parental autonomy support and control and (b) examine how these profiles predict indicators of adolescents' career development (i.e., autonomy and competence in career exploration and indecision). To this end, we used three annual waves of data covering the postsecondary transition: the last 2 years of secondary school (T1 and T2) and 1 year after graduation (T3). The sample included 637 French-Canadian adolescents (54% girls; Mage at T1 = 14). Latent profile analyses were conducted to identify parenting profiles at T1 and T2, which were then associated with the indicators of career development at T2 and T3, respectively, while controlling for their autoregressive effects and sociodemographic information. Four comparable profiles were identified at both waves (i.e., Autonomy Supported, Generally Controlled, Mixed, and Guilt Induced), with a fifth profile (i.e., High Expectations) emerging only at T2. As expected, Autonomy Supported adolescents reported the highest levels of autonomy and competence and the lowest levels of indecision at both T2 and T3. The expected maladaptive nature of the Generally Controlled profile, however, was found only at T3, when this profile of adolescents became clearly differentiated from the autonomy supported profile on their career development outcomes. Regardless of the saliency of one specific controlling strategy, parental control hampered adolescents' career development, undermining autonomy and competence in career decision-making. These findings reiterate the benefits of autonomy support and the costs of parental control in adolescents' career development particularly in the long run. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Qualitative exploration of the physical activity engagement among college students with intellectual disabilities

Higher education institutions today have offered a range of postsecondary transition programs for adults with .intellectual disabilities (ID). Applying the social-ecological framework, this study was aimed to analyze qualitative data about the experiences and perceptions of physical activity (PA) among eight college students with ID at a post-secondary transition program in the United States. The phenomenological approach was utilized to describe participants’ lifeworld experience of PA. Results indicated that the most PA opportunities on campus merely derived from the availability of adapted programs. Only one participant met the minimum requirement of engaging moderate-intensity exercise weekly. Based on the analysis using the social-ecological framework, the results include twelve themes at the intrapersonal level (self-efficacy, personality, emotion, past experiences, knowledge, and time), interpersonal level (family support and friend support), and institutional level (specifically, university recreation center, available adapted programs, adverse weather, and COVID effect) that influenced their PA participation. The current transition program seemed to promote sedentary behaviors during school hours. Strategies to enhance PA engagement for this population should include increasing students and parents’ knowledge of PA and health, providing adequate social support from college mentors and more adapted PA opportunities and alternative options on campus. These recommendations could boost PA self-efficacy and overcome barriers at multiple levels in students with ID.

<p>relationship of deprivation and gender to perception of barriers, optimism and attachment during the postsecondary transition</p>

Introduction. High school students’ self-reports about their perception of barriers, optimism and attachments in relation to the postsecondary transition were examined.Method. Factor analysis of an inventory administered to 1044 high school students (573 males and 471 females) who attended six urban schools identified three factors.Results. ANOVA indicated that students living in areas of higher deprivation reported perception of more career barriers and fewer career scaffolding attachments. Males were more optimistic about their career prospects but reported fewer career scaffolding attachments. There was an interaction between deprivation and gender with regard to career optimism.Discussion and Conclusion. These results contribute to an explanation of why failure to obtain a positive postsecondary destination is more prevalent in young people living in areas of greater social deprivation, and in males rather than females. The implications for practice, policy and future research are discussed.

Postsecondary transition barriers for students with disabilities in two neighboring school regions in Botswana

Successful delivery of transition services for students with disabilities remains a significant challenge in the developed and developing countries like Botswana as students continue to experience poor post-school outcomes. This study examined teachers’ perceptions about barriers concerning the effective implementation of transition practices and principles in Botswana senior secondary schools. The researchers adopted a quantitative research approach using paper surveys to collect data from 258 participants. Teachers reported several challenges in the transition process and showed significant differences on transition barriers by teacher position and school region. Challenges noted among others included inadequate training of teachers and shortage of resources to support transition. Recommendations for practice include the formulation of a transition legal framework and provision of clear guidelines in the delivery of transition services.

The Soaring Eagle Academy: the Inception of a Comprehensive Post-Secondary Transition Program for Individuals with Intellectual Disability in Southwest Florida

Abstract Higher education institutions committed to values of diversity, inclusion, and equity offer programs and practices that support individuals of diverse populations, including those with disabilities. Passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in the United States expanded access to individuals with intellectual disabilities (id) wishing to pursue higher education in Comprehensive Transition Programs (ctp s). Despite previous publications addressing the benefits of establishing such programs, little has been found regarding steps to develop these programs. Thus, this paper describes the case of the inception of the Soaring Eagle Academy (sea), a ctp for students with id in a Southwest Florida university, United States. Multiple data sources were collected and analyzed with content analysis. The findings emphasized the importance of having a collaborative team empowered and supported by the university administration to create a life-changing program that would impact students with id, their families, the campus culture, and the community. Recommendations for future research are included.

Predictors of employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities participating in a postsecondary transition program in the United States.

Previous research has shown that post-secondary collegiate vocational educational programs often have positive effects on employment outcomes for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Using secondary data of a program in the United States collected over several years, we examined which intervention components of a postsecondary education transition program predicted subsequent employment for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The sample consisted of 56 individuals that participated in a transition-services collegiate program; Crossing Points, University of Alabama. Results were able to robustly indicate that acquiring job-specific skills was a much better predictor than global measures of intellectual or adaptive behaviour. Additionally, survival curve analyses as an innovative approach to this population showed that there was a positive relation between the number of job-specific training sessions and eventual community employment. Results are discussed in relation to a historical parallel movement to expand inclusion of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the least restrictive educational setting for primary and secondary public education years. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggest positive findings with job-skills training both specific and general.

Young people's health and well-being during the school-to-work transition: a prospective cohort study comparing post-secondary pathways.

BackgroundAt the end of secondary education, young people can either start vocational training, enter university, directly transition to employment or become unemployed. Research assumes that post-secondary pathways have immediate and/or long-term impacts on health and well-being, but empirical investigations on this are scarce and restricted to few countries. Therefore, this study traced the development of health and well-being throughout the highly institutionalised school-to-work transition (STWT) in Germany.MethodsWe used longitudinal data of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), a representative sample of 11,098 school-leavers (50.5% girls) repeatedly interviewed between 2011 and 2020. We estimated the effect of post-secondary transitions on self-rated health and subjective well-being by applying fixed-effects (FE) regression, eliminating bias resulting from time-constant confounding and self-selection into different pathways. A multiple-sample strategy was used to account for the increasing diversity of STWTs patterns. Models were controlled for age, as well as household and residential changes to minimise temporal heterogeneity.ResultsFindings indicate that leaving school was good for health and well-being. Compared with participants who did not find a training position after school, direct transitions to vocational training or university were linked to higher absolute levels of health and well-being, but also to a lower relative decline over time. Furthermore, upward transitions (e.g. to programs leading to better education or from unemployment to employment) were associated with improvements in health and well-being, while downward transitions were followed by deteriorations.ConclusionFindings suggest that school-leave is a sensitive period and that post-secondary pathways provide young people with different abilities to maintain health and well-being. Youth health interventions might benefit when setting a stronger focus on unsuccessful school-leavers.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14227-0.

Literary Braille Instruction: A Review of University Personnel Preparation Programs

Introduction: Braille literacy for students who are visually impaired (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) can be a critical component for school and postsecondary transition success. This survey study was a modified replication of previous studies that examined the instruction of literary braille in university preparation programs for professionals who work with students with visual impairments. Methods: Nineteen university instructors of literary braille responded to a survey about instructional formats, books, and tools, as well as assessment issues, such as test formats, scoring, and requirements for demonstrating proficiency. Results: Survey responses indicated that some instructional strategies at the university level have remained the same over the last 20 years, but there are also some changes. Most notably, updated books and resources are being used and instructors represent the same demographic group, Caucasian females over 45 years old. But, the level of experience has substantially dropped and there has been a shift to increased online learning. All programs indicated focusing instruction on Unified English Braille (UEB) code. Discussion: Prior concerns about the challenges of teaching UEB have been somewhat satisfied. Proficiency exams are now required by programs, which could contribute to better prepare teachers for students with visual impairments. Implications for Practitioners: The shift to online learning affects practice. The use of braille simulation software might alter the way practitioners think about erasures. In preparing for distance learning, instructors must consider how to make courses accessible, rigorous, and of high quality. Although university braille proficiency exams should continue to be used to evaluate the skills of future professionals, educators might advocate for tests at the state or province level prior to licensure and common standards for minimal competency.

Testing Reciprocal Associations between Parenting and Youth’s Motivational Resources of Career Decision-Making Agency during the Postsecondary Transition

Parents are central figures in youth's career decision-making processes. One of their key roles is to foster youth's career decision-making agency by supporting their motivational resources-of autonomy and competence. While the findings on parent-driven effects (how parenting behaviors predict youth's agency) are well documented, little is known about the opposite direction-child-driven effects (how youth's agency predicts parenting behaviors)-and the bidirectionality, particularly during postsecondary transitions. To address this gap, the current study examined (1) reciprocal linkages between mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviors (i.e., need support and control) and youth's agency (i.e., autonomy and competence) and (2) whether such linkages are moderated by the parent's gender and timing. Participants were 642 French-Canadian youths (54% girls; Mage = 14.2) who annually reported on parenting behaviors and career decision-making agency for 5 years, from Secondary 3 to 2 years postsecondary. For analysis, random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were estimated to disentangle the between- and within-family processes. The results showed that youth's career decision-making competence develops in reciprocal transactions with parental need support in an upward spiral, while autonomy development is primarily driven by need support. Limited evidence was found for the moderating effects of parents' gender and youth's transition periods. Preregistration: the present study was preregistered (the study design, hypotheses, and target analyses). The preregistration can be found in https://osf.io/c5hak . Any deviations from the preregistration can be found in the Online Supplemental Materials.

Postsecondary Transition Experiences of Young Women Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Saudi Arabia

This study explored the postsecondary transition experiences of young women who were deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) at a higher education institution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 17 undergraduate women who were DHH and enrolled in a higher education institution in the KSA. The data were analyzed thematically and inductively using qualitative analyses software. Eight themes emerged from the data analysis. These themes reflected a wide range of transition experiences among students who were DHH, including their previous experiences in high school, their current experiences in higher education, and preparation to make the transition from college to work. Implications for future research and practice are discussed and include further exploration about the impacts of postsecondary education programs in supporting positive outcomes and working to close the gaps between policy and practice.

Mind the gap! Cognitive-motivational determinants of career decision-making in postsecondary school transitions

ABSTRACT Using self-determination and schema therapy theories, we examine the cognitive-motivational processes underlying the regulation of career decisions and the experience of well/ill-being during the key school-to-work transition among Portuguese high school students. We obtained two pathways of transition: A “Bright” pathway, where need satisfaction associates with positive and flexible schematic processing to predict autonomous regulation of career decisions and experienced well-being, and a “Dark” pathway, where need frustration relates to schematic processing of social information to predict unique variance on controlled career decisions, low well-being and ill-being. Schematic processing of social information explained unique variance in ill-being over and above need satisfaction and need frustration. Overall, the findings support the cognitive-motivational determination of career decision making.

Transforming Educators in the United States and South Africa: An International Collaboration to Enhance Culturally Responsive Inclusive Practices

Abstract This qualitative exploratory case study addresses constructs of educational inequity on a global scale through an iterative analysis of the cultural experiences of 61educators from South Africa and the United States. The project provided an online and in-person network for educators to discuss cross-cultural challenges, educational system assets, and inclusive strategies for supporting culturally and linguistically diverse learners. A shared professional development process, designed from an adapted Changemaking process, increased the knowledge, understanding, and application of innovative, culturally responsive inclusive practices of new teachers while also serving as an opportunity for veteran teachers to receive additional teacher training. Educators exchanged ideas on increasing positive classroom management, motivating learners using empathy, collaborating effectively, linking learning and postsecondary transition experiences, and improving partnership with families. This global and cultural exchange exposed them to unique and diverse educational perspectives, a critical aspect in supporting all learners within the K-12 educational system. Results of this project indicate that using the adapted Changemaking process increased educators' awareness of culturally responsive inclusive practices, allowed participants to make comparisons between global contexts, developed empathy, and inspired collaborative engagement and leadership within their individual educational settings.