Postsecondary Goals Research Articles

Perceptions of culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional students regarding their individual transition plans

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional (CLDE) students represent a vulnerable demographic often underserved in high school transition services. These students, who have diverse backgrounds and learning exceptionalities, face significant disparities in post-secondary outcomes. Specifically, CLDE students with Learning Disabilities (LD) exhibit lower rates of employment, post-secondary education attendance, and independent living outcomes. In alternative schools, students of color and those from low-income backgrounds are disproportionately represented and often encounter structural inequities that hinder their educational success. These settings may perpetuate marginalization, particularly in special education services and transition planning. This study explored the perceptions of secondary CLDE students with LD regarding their transition planning process, comparing their views with the actual ITP documents to assess alignment and effectiveness. Survey responses and student interviews revealed that most secondary CLDE students with LD at an alternative high school had positive perceptions of their Individualized Transition Plan (ITP) process, feeling involved and supported. The ITP, a critical component of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), is intended to guide students’ post-secondary goals. However, research indicates that ITPs for CLDE students are frequently generic and culturally exclusive, resulting in insufficient preparation for future success.

Examining English Learners' Opportunity to Learn from High School to Community College: A Qualitative Case Study

AbstractStudents classified as English learners (ELs) in high school are more likely to start their postsecondary education in community colleges (CCs). Many high school EL graduates enter a CC, hoping to make good academic progress and later transfer to a 4‐year college. However, past research has found that such students often struggle in CCs and rarely earn a postsecondary credential or transfer to a 4‐year college. ELs' high school academic preparation and their subsequent college access—or lack thereof—are closely related. Yet, there is little research connecting ELs' academic preparation in high school and their subsequent ongoing trajectories once they are enrolled in CC. Drawing on the concepts of opportunity to learn (OTL) and opportunity sequences, this qualitative case study examines six high school ELs' academic trajectories from high school through CC. Our analysis shows a negative opportunity sequence in which ELs' limited OTL in high school lands them in remedial education at a local CC, which in turn delays their exposure to disciplinary courses in their majors. The students' struggles with their first disciplinary courses subsequently hinder their CC persistence and timely transfer to a 4‐year college, forcing them to reset their postsecondary goals.

Impact and Policy Implications of Transition Education Practices on IDEA Indicator 13 Scores and Indicator 14 Outcomes

Federal special education policies require state departments of education to collect data to measure progress in attaining state performance plan goals, with Indicators 13 and 14 measuring the Individual Education Program (IEP) transition process and post-high school student outcomes. Research suggests that higher transition indicator scores result in better post-school outcomes, but no research has yet demonstrated the impact transition education practices have upon indicator scores. This study identified transition education practices that impacted one state’s transition Indicators 13 (transition IEP process compliance scores) and 14 (post-high school outcomes). Eighty-three secondary special educators from 36 districts identified the extent their students engaged in various evidence-based transition practices. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified five transition education themes. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed few statistically significant results and several meaningful effect sizes indicating specific transition education practices that impacted Indicator 14 outcomes. Districts with students actively involved in IEP meetings had higher Indicator 13 scores and 14 outcomes. Districts with high to moderate number of students with paid jobs and money management experience had higher Indicator 14 outcomes. Districts that taught students to set postsecondary goals had higher Indicator 14 outcomes. Other results are described and policy implications discussed.

How Can Schools Retain Secondary Emotional Support Teachers? Ask Them

<i>The population of certified special education teachers working and remaining in secondary emotional support classrooms continues to dwindle across the nation. This causes more and more students with Emotional Disturbance to work with a frequent turnover of educators or emergency-certified educators with possibly no prior experience. High school students who receive emotional support services are a vulnerable population that requires a supportive and well-trained special education teacher to help them make academic, emotional, and behavioral progress in the school setting and in achieving their post-secondary goals. This qualitative study explored five veteran schoolteachers’ experiences to identify the factors that have helped them remain in their careers and which ones discourage them from staying. The individual and focus group interviews identified several job-related factors that are consistent with previous literature (diverse student needs), evolution in some (administrator and colleague support), and different or newly identified factors (willingness to take risks, advocating for secondary student’s needs, educator’s personality) that require additional exploration.</i>

Launching! to Adulthood: A Group Counseling Initiative for Young Adults With Neurodevelopmental Differences Transitioning to Adulthood and Their Family members.

Group therapy may help young adults with neurodevelopmental differences (NDDs; such as autism spectrum disorder [ASD] or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) socialize and manage mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression during the transition to adulthood (18-25 years old). Family members may also benefit from group therapy during this transition period. Despite this need, few group therapy programs in a virtual/telehealth format have been developed to help young adults with NDDs and their families during the transition to adulthood. The present study sought to provide initial feasibility and acceptability data for a parallel young adult and family member group treatment program for young adults with NDDs transitioning to adulthood. Launching! to adulthood is an 8-week program utilizing evidence-based interventions to reduce distress and support the transition to independence for young adults with NDDs and their family members. Measures of well-being were collected pre- and post-intervention. Brief qualitative interviews were conducted post-intervention. From our pilot study, we found that the Launching! program was acceptable and feasible for both family members and young adults, with high ratings of satisfaction. Three themes were shared by young adults and family members, including gaining group connection and support from others in a similar life circumstance, learning the importance of self-care, and gaining new skills. Barriers to attendance included work conflicts and internet difficulties. This pilot trial of the Launching! program is novel in that few existing therapies have addressed challenges of the transition to adulthood for individuals with NDDs. Launching! has the potential to help young adults with NDDs prepare for postsecondary goals and may be utilized by businesses to support employees with NDDs.

Fostering Higher Education: Preliminary findings from a small randomized pilot study

Many youth with foster care experience have goals of completing a postsecondary program. While the past two decades have seen a great deal of growth in services, supports, and policies to help youth achieve these goals, the evidence base for postsecondary support programs remains limited, and the child welfare system continues to struggle to find ways to meaningfully support youth with foster care experience in meeting their goals. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the evidence base of what works to support youth with foster care experience in achieving their postsecondary goals by reporting on the first full-length evaluation of Fostering Higher Education (FHE), a postsecondary access and retention intervention designed specifically for this population. This was an underpowered study focused on implementation feasibility conducted with 25 youth in SW Washington State. Analyses of intervention implementation data found implementation to be feasible, but reaching desired exposure levels was complicated by challenges such as the chaotic circumstances many youth were living in combined with the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Preliminary assessments of the impact of FHE were encouraging, with participants in the FHE condition experiencing a greater reduction in perceived barriers to education and increased participation in postsecondary preparation activities compared to the control group. FHE offers a promising approach to postsecondary support services for youth with foster care experience. Future research aims to continue to assess the effectiveness of and approaches to strengthen this program.

Comparing Northwest Evaluation Association’s Benchmark Assessment Scores to College Board’s ACCUPLACER Scores: Is There A Correlation?

The research examined the relationship between the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA) benchmark assessment (Measure of Academic Progress [MAP]) scores and the score a student receives on the College Board's ACCUPLACER Reading and Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics test and differences between test scores. The correlation between the two scores could help predict which of their students would score as college-ready on the ACCUPLACER test by their NWEA scores. The school started administering the ACCUPLACER tests to classify students as college ready in 2022-2023. Students previously at Maine Virtual Academy had NWEA scores, and the question addressed is how the NWEA scores correlated to ACCUPLACER scores. This is important when considering what interventions are necessary to prepare students for their postsecondary goals, whether their plans include college or a career. The data analysis of 99 high school students in grades 11 and 12 revealed a significant statistical correlation between the NWEA scores and the ACCUPLACER scores in both Reading and Math. The NWEA scores of a student can be used to predict their college readiness. Keywords: NWEA, ACCUPLACER, college-readiness DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-6-14 Publication date: February 28 th 2023

Educational Stakeholder Sensemaking on Preparing CTE Students for Sub-Baccalaureate Pathways

Careful implementation of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs is necessary in order for programs to achieve the policy goal of college and career readiness, which involves expanding student opportunities for career-relevant learning without limiting their academic preparation for postsecondary degrees. As programs become more widespread, little work has examined how practitioners actually implementing CTE make sense of programs’ intended outcomes. Through interviews and observations with 52 education leaders and their partners in workforce development, I found that education stakeholders believed CTE was important for providing students with the option to pursue financially low-risk pathways toward middle-skill careers that didn’t require bachelor’s degrees. Yet in their efforts to valorize sub-baccalaureate (sub-BA) pathways, they sometimes exaggerated the long-term returns to sub-BA credentials, leaving students with inaccurate information on which to base their postsecondary goals.

Incentives and Existing Stratification: Social Capital, College Planning, and a Promise Scholarship Program

Background: Promise programs have grown exponentially. Yet, we are still learning how systemic barriers affect promise program students’ abilities to meet promise program requirements and their postsecondary goals. Objective: The Degree Project (TDP) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the nation’s first randomized control trial of a promise scholarship. Thirty-six high schools were assigned to control or treatment group and the TDP scholarship was available to any of the 2,587 ninth-grade students in the 18 treatment schools. As students experienced senior year, our aim was to understand more about the mechanisms in a promise context, such as the extent to which promise students in their senior year of high school would share any particular norms and resources received and used toward postsecondary planning and preparation that non-TDP students would not. Research Design: In fall 2011, a randomized group of ninth graders (class of 2015) were notified of TDP’s US$12,000 promise scholarship and their promise scholarship eligibility if merit requirements (e.g., 2.5 grade point average [GPA], 90% attendance) were met; a control group of ninth graders were not eligible. As the class of 2015 reached their senior year of high school, we interviewed a subset of TDP and non-TDP students to explore their perceptions of their senior year experiences. Using social capital theory, promise program research, and college access literature, we explored their perceptions, including the extent to which between-school and within-school inequities shaped the norms and resources received and used toward scholarship eligibility and their postsecondary goals. Findings: Study findings unpack how TDP students and non-TDP students navigate schools that are rife with both historical and contemporary inequitable arrangements that influence senior year course-taking, supplemental programming, and postsecondary advising—even for those students who were promised money for college in ninth grade. Study findings also unpack how TDP students’ access to supportive mechanisms and networks of support were uneven, even within the same school, which particularly affected students who needed the most support to meet their postsecondary aims and TDP scholarship requirements. Conclusion: Although the TDP scholarship was made available to students in their ninth-grade year, mechanisms and networks of support were not universally available and timely enough to disrupt the layers of inequalities within TDP schools and between high schools. Recommendations include disrupting existing inequitable arrangements and offering a more layered, systematic approach to introducing college-related information (personalized, hands-on guidance and support beyond scholarship messaging).

Broadened Possibilities: Undocumented Community College Student Course Enrollment After the California DREAM Act

Some states have enacted inclusive policies that reduce constraints and uncertainty for undocumented students, potentially changing their academic decisions and postsecondary goals. We explore shifts in continuing undocumented community college students’ course-taking before and after the California DREAM Act, which provided access to state financial aid. We use difference-in-differences comparisons with permanent residents, refugees, and U.S. citizens who were unaffected by these policies to examine policy impacts. After its implementation, continuing students increased their enrollment intensity, primarily in degree-applicable and transferable courses, and decreased coursework in career/technical education. This suggests state financial aid may have broadened postsecondary possibilities and made transfer to a 4-year institution a more viable option for undocumented students. At the same time, access to aid did not increase undocumented students’ credit loads to the level of their peers, underscoring the reality that other constraints continue to shape undocumented students’ participation in higher education.

Individualized education program quality for transition age students with autism

BackgroundStudents with ASD have some of the worst postsecondary outcomes when compared to other students with disabilities indicating transition planning may not be working effectively. One source of support for postsecondary planning is development of the transition Individualized Education Program (IEP). However, little research is available to describe the current contents of transition IEPs for students with ASD. This study aimed to describe IEP and postsecondary planning quality for students with autism in their final year of high school. MethodIEPs for 20 students with autism (Mage = 18.2 years; SD = 1.1) from two mid-southern states were analyzed. Descriptive analyses were used to identify strengths and weaknesses of IEPs and postsecondary goals based on federal law requirements and best practice recommendations. ResultsIEPs contained an average of 3.1 IEP goals and 1.6 postsecondary goals. IEP goals were most frequently related to academic, learning/work, or communication skills. All IEPs contained an employment postsecondary goal while less than half of the IEPs included an independent living postsecondary goal. Key findings include lack of goals related to social skills and the lack of alignment between present levels of performance, IEP goals, and postsecondary goals. ConclusionsIEPs for students with ASD in their final year of school do not consistently meet standards outlined by federal law or best practice recommendations necessary for successful transition from high school.

Dreaming of College Versus Going to College: Expectations and Enrollment Among Autistic Students

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Transitional Study 2 to examine relationships between expectations about college education and enrollment patterns among students on the autism spectrum. Results reveal that although more than half of the students reported that they were likely to attend college, among their Individualized Education Programs, only 44% listed postsecondary education as a primary transition goal, and just a third of parents reported expecting that their children would pursue a college education. Furthermore, parental expectations were predicted by cognitive ability, home language, access to the general education curriculum, psychological services, and occupational therapy, while actual enrollment patterns were predicted by a different set of variables: cognitive ability, self-care skills, household responsibilities, conversational skills, access to the general education curriculum, occupational therapy, assistive technology, parent–teacher meetings for postsecondary goal planning, and proportion of White students in school. The predictive patterns suggest practical implications for college-bound students on the spectrum.

#Black Boy Joy: The College Aspirations of Rural Black Male Students

Too often research on Black boys emanate from deficit orientations and take a problem centered approach which overemphasizes stereotypes or pathologizes Black male students, overlooking their aspirations and successes. Utilizing the High School Longitudinal Survey of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we examine the postsecondary goals of Black male ninth graders as well as the relationships among their educational aspirations, college knowledge, and supportive school personnel using Community Cultural Wealth as the conceptual framework. We found that the educational aspirations of Black male ninth graders are high; however, their knowledge of college falls short of their educational aspirations and their relationships with teachers and school counselors. We discuss the strengths, attributes, and systems of support that are useful to rural Black male students as they transition through secondary education to post-secondary settings and call for a paradigmatic shift using family-school-community partnerships based on the findings

The role of psychological factors and institutional channels in predicting the attainment of postsecondary goals.

Developmental systems theory and life span development describe the role of individual-context interactions in individual development but have not directly addressed how individuals pursue achievement goals in institutional contexts. We developed a theory informed by these perspectives that explains how institutional contexts affect emerging adults' success in transitioning to and progressing through college. We theorize that institutional contexts increase individuals' probability of attaining specific goals when they provide stronger channels that offer more versus fewer structural supports for these goals. Moreover, we theorize, these institutional channels influence which individual differences, including belonging certainty, growth mindset of intelligence, and grit, will be useful in goal pursuit, above and beyond individuals' academic preparation and demographic factors. We examined postsecondary goal pursuit over a 6-year period among 1,850 students who attended one of four district high schools in Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. On average, they began the study at 17.91 years of age; 48% were male, 43% belonged to a historically marginalized ethnicity, and 56% had free or reduced lunch status. We found that channel strength and psychological factors interacted in ways predicted by our theory. Higher belonging certainty and growth mindset in Grade 12, which encourage a focus on process and progress, predicted better outcomes in weaker postsecondary channels, especially college enrollment and on-track progress. Higher grit, which encourages a commitment to goal attainment, predicted better outcomes in stronger postsecondary channels, especially on-time graduation. The study locates the importance of psychological factors in predicting goal attainment in different-strength institutional channels during emerging adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Strategies to Overcome Enrollment Barriers

The importance of postsecondary education for economic vitality and individual opportunity has received increased focus with over 40 states embracing postsecondary attainment goals for their populations in alignment with Lumina Foundation’s goal that 60% of individuals ages 25-64 have a recognized credential by 2025. Credentials that both meet the needs of an aging society and move the country towards achieving attainment goals are widely available at community colleges. Community colleges are not only important sources of training and education for adult learners, they also work closely with employers to meet their workforce needs. However, adult learners face many barriers to college enrollment, including poor pre-enrollment advising and lack of understanding of financial aid options. Examples of successful strategies to facilitate enrollment will be discussed, including navigators who serve as holistic advisors and work with students from pre-enrollment to graduation, and also guide the prospective student through the financial aid process. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Community College Interest Group.

Supplemental Material for The Role of Psychological Factors and Institutional Channels in Predicting the Attainment of Postsecondary Goals

Supplemental Material for The Role of Psychological Factors and Institutional Channels in Predicting the Attainment of Postsecondary Goals

Summary of performance: bridging the transition from high school to Post-Secondary education for students with SLD

Transition for students with disabilities has been the focus of educational policies for several decades. Still, students with disabilities, including those with a specific learning disability (SLD), continue to experience difficulties transitioning to post-school environments, particularly post-secondary education (PSE). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) requires schools to provide a Summary of Performance (SOP) to students receiving special education services during their final year of high school. Although the SOP must include recommendations for helping students meet their post-secondary goals there is little guidance leading to inconsistencies across states. The purpose of this article is to review the SOP, provide recommendations for implementation based on available research, and provide resources for educators to help prepare students with SLD for transition to PSE.

A capabilities approach to female graduates’ post-secondary academic and career-related goal pursuit in Siem Reap Cambodia

This research uses Sen’s capabilities approach to examine two central questions: “how do female graduates, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, achieve their academic and career-related post-secondary goals?” and “how do personal, social and environmental factors contribute to or inhibit their post-secondary goal achievement?” Individual interviews with fifteen female secondary school graduates around Siem Reap, Cambodia revealed that interactions of environmental, social and personal factors are powerful forces in goal attainment, and that creative navigation of these factors, which supports Sen’s concept of instrumental agency, forms the foundation of academic and career-related post-secondary goal achievement for female graduates. Of particular importance is female graduates’ engagement of a number of external supporting factors, guiding the identification of multiple paths to their post-secondary career and academic pursuits. The findings contribute to the body of literature in girls’ resilience, education and well-being, which supports national development in Cambodia and indicates a need for a holistic approach to supporting post-secondary pursuits.

EXPERIENCES AND BARRIERS TO SUCCESS FOR MID- AND LATER-LIFE COLLEGE STUDENTS: APPLYING A GERONTOLOGICAL LENS

Adult students have emerged as a key population of interest within higher education as states and institutions strategize to meet postsecondary attainment goals. However, much of the previous research on non-traditional age college students has collapsed all students age 25 and older into a single category, glossing over important age and life stage differences. Using a gerontological lens, this paper examines experiences and barriers encountered by mid-and later-life (MLL) students (age 40 and older) attending community colleges. We report qualitative findings from a mixed-methods study of MLL students in Ohio community colleges, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. Based on thematic analysis of interviews and focus groups with students, faculty, staff, and administrators at 23 colleges, we identify multiple dimensions of age and aging that each play a meaningful role in shaping MLL students’ community college experiences and outcomes. Additionally, we provide an in-depth profile of MLL students—including their educational and work trajectories, reasons for enrolling, and experiences in community colleges—that can help colleges better recruit and serve this segment of the adult student population. MLL students face both unique and common barriers that colleges can address at the classroom, program, and institution levels. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

A Preliminary Study of Parent Activation, Parent-Teacher Alliance, Transition Planning Quality, and IEP and Postsecondary Goal Attainment of Students with ASD.

The school, student and family factors underlying poor postsecondary outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. The potential impact of school [e.g., transition planning quality (TPQ)], family (e.g., parent activation), and student factors (e.g., adaptive functioning) and their interaction (e.g., parent-teacher alliance) on student outcomes were examined. Student IQ and adaptive behavior, TPQ, and alliance correlated with IEP progress, with postsecondary goal attainment generally and with student participation in training/education, specifically. However, only parent activation and student externalizing behavior correlated with employment. Families and students, rather than school personnel, were the primary persons in charge and in control of the implementation of postsecondary plans and required help across multiple coaching sessions to implement plans fully.