Date of Degree

2025

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Department

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations (LEPF)

Director

Kelly Summers

Co-Director

Alexios Rosario-Moore

Committee Members

Benjamin Creed

Keywords

Special Education Leadership, State-Approved Director of Special Education, Secondary Transition, Work-Based Learning Experiences (WBLEs), School-to-Work Outcomes, Employability Beliefs, Competitive Integrated Employment, Educational Leadership, Evidence- Based Practices, Qualitative Case Study

Abstract

LEADING TRANSITION: HOW SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTORS MAKE MEANING OF THEIR LEADERSHIP IN ADVANCING PATHWAYS TO EMPLOYMENT

Dede Gill, Ed.D.

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations

Northern Illinois University, 2025 Kelly Summers, Co-Director Alexios Rosario-Moore, Co-Director

Despite decades of legislative reform and an expanding body of research on effective transition practices, students with disabilities continue to experience disproportionately poor post-school employment outcomes when compared to their non-disabled peers. Nationally, individuals with disabilities are employed at approximately half the rate of those without disabilities, and their poverty rates remain substantially higher. These outcomes persist even as federal and state mandates such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act have emphasized the importance of coordinated transition services, interagency collaboration, and competitive integrated employment. Within this context, district-level leadership is pivotal. In Illinois, state-approved directors of special education hold unique legal and administrative responsibility for designing, overseeing, and improving secondary transition programming that supports school-to-work outcomes for students with disabilities. Yet, little research has examined how these directors understand their roles, enact leadership practices, or form beliefs about employability that shape their decision-making processes.

This qualitative study explored how Illinois state-approved directors of special education describe their leadership roles, practices, beliefs, and decision-making related to how they shape secondary transition programming for students with disabilities. The study sought to highlight how these leaders shape programs that determine access to evidence-based practices known to improve employment outcomes, such as work-based learning experiences (WBLEs), interagency collaboration, and self-determination instruction. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 state-approved directors of special education across Illinois, representing diverse district contexts. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed thematically using a multi-cycle coding process. Seven overarching themes emerged across four research questions: (a) steering district systems toward employment, including building employer pathways that yield authentic work; (b) leading through adaptive service to fit district context; (c) developing educator capacity to deliver transition services; (d) presuming universal employability when the right match and supports are in place; (e) acknowledging systemic constraints that shape employment opportunities; (f) basing decisions on data and student needs; and (g) refining programs through ongoing outcome monitoring. Collectively, these themes highlight the pivotal role of leadership beliefs and adaptive decision-making in shaping equitable transition programming. Directors emphasized the importance of modeling high expectations for employability, fostering partnerships with local employers and agencies, and aligning resources to create sustainable systems of support. Findings suggest that state-approved directors of special education act as both compliance managers and change leaders, navigating between regulatory obligations and visionary leadership that promotes inclusive, employment-focused outcomes. The study

reinforces the need for leadership preparation programs and professional development that strengthen directors’ capacity to lead educators to use evidence-based practices, data to inform continuous improvement, and cultivate organizational cultures grounded in equity and high expectations for all learners. This research contributes to the limited, but growing, body of literature on special education leadership, extending our understanding of how directors operationalize transition mandates and influence employment outcomes for students with disabilities. Implications include the development of statewide frameworks for professional learning, alignment of director endorsement standards with transition leadership competencies, and strategic investment in systems that sustain work-based learning opportunities. Ultimately, this study affirms that leadership matters, particularly when it translates vision into structures that ensure every student, regardless of disability, has access to meaningful pathways from school-to-work.

Keywords: Special Education Leadership; State-Approved Director of Special Education; Secondary Transition; Work-Based Learning Experiences (WBLEs); School-to-Work Outcomes; Employability Beliefs; Competitive Integrated Employment; Educational Leadership; Evidence- Based Practices; Qualitative Case Study

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.

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