This qualitative research study aims to facilitate a better understanding of the process of transition from secondary school to community college for students identified with autism. Previous research indicates that though most students identified with autism report that they have strong intentions of pursuing a postsecondary education, comparatively few achieve this goal. Prior research on transition has focused on strategies utilized by secondary schools to facilitate success for students identified with autism or postsecondary institutional approaches utilized once a student has arrived at the school. This bifurcated approach has resulted in a gap in the research in that virtually no studies have considered transition from a unified perspective, nor has any serious attention been given to the summer “gap” that exists between secondary school and community college. Through a grounded theory exploration, the experiences and perspectives of college-bound students identified with autism, their parents/caregivers, high school and community college faculty and other stakeholders resulted in the emergence of foundational elements central to understanding what critical factors influence these students and how these students and stakeholders experience this transition. Furthermore, these foundational elements provide, within the confines of this study, a preliminary model of transition for students identified with autism.
","abstract_html":"<p>This qualitative research study aims to facilitate a better understanding of the process of transition from secondary school to community college for students identified with autism. Previous research indicates that though most students identified with autism report that they have strong intentions of pursuing a postsecondary education, comparatively few achieve this goal. Prior research on transition has focused on strategies utilized by secondary schools to facilitate success for students identified with autism or postsecondary institutional approaches utilized once a student has arrived at the school. This bifurcated approach has resulted in a gap in the research in that virtually no studies have considered transition from a unified perspective, nor has any serious attention been given to the summer “gap” that exists between secondary school and community college. Through a grounded theory exploration, the experiences and perspectives of college-bound students identified with autism, their parents/caregivers, high school and community college faculty and other stakeholders resulted in the emergence of foundational elements central to understanding what critical factors influence these students and how these students and stakeholders experience this transition. Furthermore, these foundational elements provide, within the confines of this study, a preliminary model of transition for students identified with autism.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Highlen, Douglas"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Scot Danforth, PhD","Meghan Cosier, PhD","Phil Ferguson, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:00Z","subjects":["Autism","Transition","Grounded Theory","Secondary School","College","Disability and Equity in Education","Higher Education and Teaching","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/6","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Scot Danforth, PhD","Meghan Cosier, PhD","Phil Ferguson, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Highlen, Douglas"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autism","Transition","Grounded Theory","Secondary School","College","Disability and Equity in Education","Higher Education and Teaching","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/6"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This qualitative research study aims to facilitate a better understanding of the process of transition from secondary school to community college for students identified with autism. Previous research indicates that though most students identified with autism report that they have strong intentions of pursuing a postsecondary education, comparatively few achieve this goal. Prior research on transition has focused on strategies utilized by secondary schools to facilitate success for students identified with autism or postsecondary institutional approaches utilized once a student has arrived at the school. This bifurcated approach has resulted in a gap in the research in that virtually no studies have considered transition from a unified perspective, nor has any serious attention been given to the summer “gap” that exists between secondary school and community college. Through a grounded theory exploration, the experiences and perspectives of college-bound students identified with autism, their parents/caregivers, high school and community college faculty and other stakeholders resulted in the emergence of foundational elements central to understanding what critical factors influence these students and how these students and stakeholders experience this transition. Furthermore, these foundational elements provide, within the confines of this study, a preliminary model of transition for students identified with autism.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/6"],"dc:source":["Highlen, D. (2019). Minding the gap: A grounded theory exploration of transition from secondary school to community college for students identified with autism [Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University]. Chapman University Digital Commons. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000084"],"dc:subject":["Autism","Transition","Grounded Theory","Secondary School","College","Disability and Equity in Education","Higher Education and Teaching","Secondary Education","Secondary Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Minding the Gap: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Transition from Secondary School to Community College for Students Identified with Autism"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:00Z"}