Research suggests youth with disabilities are less likely to experience positive outcomes compared to peers without disabilities. Identification of in-school predictors of postschool success can provide teachers (e.g., special education, general education, career technical education), administrators, district-level personnel, and vocational rehabilitation counselors with information to design, evaluate, and improve transition programs. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to examine secondary transition correlational literature to identify additional evidence to support existing predictors and identify new predictors of postschool success. Results provided additional evidence for 14 existing predictors and identified three new predictors. Limitations and implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Thesis advisor: David Scanlon / Improving reading comprehension for middle school students with disabilities and others who struggle with reading, referred to here as striving readers, is challenging. Formal reading instruction typically shifts from skills acquisition to application in middle and high school, providing inadequate support in the skills for comprehension (Chall, 1983; Klingner et al., 2007). Further, both students with disabilities and striving readers can have negative school experiences which impact their reader identities and cause them to become disengaged from learning. It is increasingly challenging for secondary teachers to provide interventions which explicitly teach and reinforce critical comprehension skills while sustaining student engagement. An experimental screenplay intervention designed by the researcher to increase visualization and promote reading comprehension was used. The intervention was based on research by Snyder (2005) identifying elements of a screenplay, similar to story grammar. Movies were used first as a novel way to engage learners; visual supports were gradually reduced as students transferred visualizing skills to texts of increasing complexity. The readers used plot diagrams to organize the elements graphically in support of their comprehension. Seven middle school students with high incidence disabilities and striving readers learned to identify seven elements of a screenplay in a 3-week online researcher-developed intervention. A mixed-methods case study design was used to identify reading-related outcomes and students’ experiences (attitudes and behaviors) of reading as they learned the intervention. Data were collected for reading comprehension, recognition of screenplay elements, and visualization skills. Reading behaviors, attitudes, identities, and motivation for reading were also assessed. Findings revealed whole-class mean score gains in passage and sentence level comprehension, pre-to-post. Students also learned the screenplay elements and were proficient in finding examples within a text. Further, the students reported greater details at post-test when reporting their visualizations and when describing elements. Case studies of three students representing three reading proficiency levels upon entrance to the study revealed distinct experiences for each. Implications for reading instruction are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Career development and career planning are important for the transition of college students to the workforce. College students with disabilities encounter more challenges regardless of the education and career processes. These career development challenges include societal attitudes toward persons with disabilities, inaccessible accommodations, lack of social support, and ambivalent identities. These attributions may cause college students with disabilities to have lower career self-efficacy and outcome expectations, which in turn may lessen one’s motivation to engage in academia and career development (Gibbons, Justina, Cihak, Wright, & Mynatt, 2015). Hence, this study examined the influences of disability identity, ethnic identity, perceptions of career barriers, and social supports in career decision self-efficacy and outcome expectations of college students with disabilities. This study utilized a cross-sectional survey design and included a valid sample of 312 college students with disabilities at two universities, one Midwestern and one Southeastern. The most important predictor was social support, which uniquely explained 8.5% of the variation in career decision self-efficacy, β = .327, t(302) = 5.730, p < .001, controlling for other variables in the same regression model. The other significant predictors were ethnicity identity (β = .232, t(302) = 4.162, p < .001), disability identity (β = .158, t(302) = 2.897, p = .004), and male gender (β = -.098, t(302) = -1.994, p = .047). Accounting for 57.2% of the variance, career outcome expectation was explained by all seven predictor variables, disability identity, ethnicity identity, social support, perceived career barriers, career self-efficacy, ethnicity and gender. The most important predictor was career decision self-efficacy which uniquely explained 24.1% of the variation in career outcome expectation, β = .595, t(302) = 13.054, p < .001, controlling for other variables in the same regression model. The other significant predictors were ethnicity identity (β = .167, t(302) = 3.721, p < .001), and perceived career barriers (β = -.104, t(302) = -2.411, p = .017), controlling for other variables respectively. A significant relationship was found between career decision self-efficacy, ethnicity identity, and perceived career barriers with career outcome expectation of college students with disabilities. Moreover, Hispanic college students with disabilities reported positive ethnicity identity compared to European students. African and Asian college students with disabilities perceived more career barriers than their European counterparts. Finally, college students with acquired disabilities reported higher career outcome expectations than those with congenital disabilities. The results of this study provide faculty, administrators, disability support specialists, and career counselors in postsecondary institutions with the ability to recognize the needs and expectations of college students with disabilities. Also, constructing effective career services, fostering multicultural competencies, and promoting an inclusive campus climate would benefit college students with disabilities’ academic retention and career transitions to competitive employment.

Students with psychological disabilities who enter the post-secondary environment can struggle without proper support services. Faculty and staff members typically interact with their students as much as or more than any other post-secondary personnel. This project study explored faculty and staff members' knowledge of supportive education programs and their feelings about engaging/helping these students. Guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory for faculty and Rogers' humanistic approach to education, which supports the need for faculty involvement and training, this study explored whether faculty and staff members feel effective in addressing these issues with students. A qualitative case study design was employed to explore faculty and staff perceptions about their preparation in supporting the educational goals of students with severe psychological problems. The data collected in this study came from 12 face-to-face interviews with faculty and staff members purposively sampled from a university located in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania. Data from the interviews were inductively analyzed and coded to identify common themes. The results from this project study indicated that many faculty members did not have any knowledge about supported education practices and the psychological problems that affect students. The findings informed the creation of a faculty/staff professional development that addresses effective ways to respond to the needs of students with psychological problems. Such training should promote a social change in their attitudes about students' psychological problems, facilitate the structure of their learning environment for students with these problems, and inspire support among one another.

Efforts to formally educate students with special needs have been ongoing for over 50 years in the United States. Teachers are on the front line of the work to include students with disabilities. Previous research indicates a correlation between the attitudes of teachers and successful inclusion of students with disabilities. Two-hundred and fifty-one full-time released-time seminary teachers for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Seminaries and Institutes of Religion (S&I, formerly the Church Education System or CES) in Utah responded to a questionnaire regarding their attitudes toward including students with disabilities in their classrooms. Selected personal and professional characteristics were correlated with these attitudes and perceptions. Results indicate that most teachers feel they understand the concept of inclusion, have had positive experiences teaching students with disabilities, and are willing to include students with all types of disabilities, even multiple disabilities, yet teachers also feel that they lack confidence in the skills to include students with disabilities successfully. Results also show that teachers are in need of and are willing to participate in professional development regarding best inclusionary practices. Many teachers reported that they were unaware of policies that deal with adapted programs for seminaries, and that they were not secure in their abilities to adapt curriculum for students with disabilities that are mainstreamed into their traditional classrooms.

In this study, a paraprofessional delivered video modeling intervention to teach soft skills was evaluated using a multiple probe across behaviors design. Three soft skills were targeted that were required for successful future employment of high school students with disabilities. The three dependent variables consisted of sending a work related email, leaving a voice message, and creating work related calendar entry. Five paraprofessionals and four high school students with disabilities participated in this study. We evaluated the degree to which the intervention was successful, the degree of procedural fidelity by the paraprofessionals, and the social validity of the study. The results supported the intervention. All four students showed improvements in their soft skills. A functional relation was established for two out of four student participants. The paraprofessionals maintained a high level of procedural fidelity. Paraprofessional and student participants reported high level of satisfaction with the goals, procedures, and outcomes of the study. Maintenance data collected demonstrated that participants maintained their skills following the conclusion of the video modeling intervention. There were limitations related to the implementation of the research design, partially due to constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic. / Special Education

This study researched the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the potential impact ASD on postsecondary human capital development in California Central Valley. The problem of the study was to determine the perceptions of parents, high school educators, and community college educators’ regarding awareness of and satisfaction with college transition support services for ASD students. The study also examined respondent’s opinions regarding delivery modes and importance of support services topics for ASD high students transitioning to community colleges. The participants in the study included parents, high school educators, and community college educators in California’s Tulare and Fresno Counties. The criteria for participation in the study were parents and educators of 18-21 year old ASD individuals with an intellectual capacity in the Asperger’s range based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and Intelligence Quotient Score in inclusive educational environments. The study’s questionnaire utilized the ThinkCollege Theoretical Framework that identifies academic access, career development, campus membership, and selfvocacy as key support service that assist students navigating the college transition. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze respondent’s perceptions. ANOVA was performed at the 0.05 confidence level to test for a statistically significant difference between each group’s perceived awareness and satisfaction. A total of 63 participants completed the Internet-based surveys out of 69 responses. The awareness and satisfaction data indicate a trend towards high school and community college educators both having similar perception of community college support services and delivery modes. All respondents believed that individual support services have the greatest impact on academic access, career development, and campus membership for ASD students. A key finding is that there is statistically significant evidence substantiating that parental perceptions are different from those of community college educators towards awareness and satisfaction with community college student support services. It is concluded that communicating expectations and removing silos could possibly improve or eliminate the awareness and satisfaction perception differences between parents and community college educators.

No description available.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore educator understanding of concepts in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), utilizing qualitative research methods to comprehensively examine educators’ understanding of IDEA using the six facets of understanding in the Understanding by Design framework. Educators must adhere to laws governing educating students with disabilities; therefore, it is essential to capture educators’ level of understanding related to IDEA. The twelve participants interviewed were educators currently licensed and qualified in Tennessee to serve in the roles of: special education supervisor, principal, general education teacher or special education teacher. Data collection strategies included individual interviews via phone. Responses were first organized by research questions and corresponding responses. Responses were then examined for key words and phrases that aligned with the six principles of IDEA. Then, emergent themes were identified and analyzed within the six facets of understanding framework. The credibility of the analysis was protected by use of the constant-comparative method, as well as coding and member checking. Analysis of the data revealed that participants understood the spirit of IDEA, but the level of understanding necessary to be able to apply IDEA concepts was dependent on participants’ specific job responsibilities. Furthermore, research indicated that educators’ personal college preparation experience failed to consistently provide an adequate foundation related to defining and applying IDEA concepts in learning environments for students with disabilities. Participants who possessed the most comprehensive understanding of IDEA were those who had familial ties to students with disabilities. Educators’ understanding of the proper application of IDEA came from on-the-job experiences, which would help to explain why understanding of IDEA was largely dependent upon educators’ specific job functions.

This “View From the Field” column is part of a series highlighting the important roles stakeholders, peers, families, community members, and school staff have in supporting the implementation of effective practices (i.e., evidence-based, research-based) for students with or at risk for disabilities. We describe how different stakeholders can successfully partner with school intervention teams to improve social-behavior, academic, and transition outcomes. We also offer strategies for how schools can develop and sustain partnerships with these stakeholders.