Publication Date

2018

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Summers, Kelly H.

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations

LCSH

Special education; Teachers--Training of

Abstract

Using a self-report quantitative survey with additional open-ended questions, this study examined the transition experiences of 836 parents of children with Intellectual and / or Developmental Disabilities currently enrolled in a post-high school program for students ages 18-21 in the Chicago metropolitan region. More specifically, this study examined the influence that a highly qualified special education Transition Specialist had on positively influencing in-school experiences that in turn would expectedly result in positive post-school outcomes for children. The independent variable in the study was presence or absence of an LSB-II transition specialist at IEP meetings. The dependent variables in the study consisted of a) Student focused planning; b) Family engagement; c) Student development; d) Interagency collaboration; e) Vision for successful post-school outcomes based on federally required areas; f) IEP team member transition knowledge; and g) Confidence that the transition planning process will result in successful post-school outcomes for their child with I/DD, to compare experiences. Results from the quantitative portion of the survey evidenced no difference in parent transition planning experiences using the independent variable of the LBS-II presence. However, qualitative data from the open-ended survey questions suggests that parent knowledge of key transition practices, proven to influence post-school outcomes, are evident in richer detail when then LBS-II is involved in the planning. Secondary analyses conducted identified a significant discrepancy between parents' perception of the frequency of transition compliance mandates and their perceived importance of each mandate. Finally, results raise awareness that educational environment is a contributing factor to opportunities for student development.

Comments

Committee members: Johnston-Rodriguez, Sarah; Sibley, Scott; Tonks, Stephen.||Advisor: Summers, Kelly H.||Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

190 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses 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.

Media Type

Text

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