Barriers Secondary Special Education Teachers Face When Developing Transition Plans for Students with Disabilities

<p>The process of transitioning from high school to adulthood is an intimidating one for disabled students. It is also cumbersome for the individuals that work with these students. Transition planning and services for students with disabilities differ across schools across the United States. By the time they turn sixteen, students with disabilities must have a transition plan created within their individualized education program in accordance with federal and state laws. These mandates present challenges to educators as they develop plans for a disabled student’s postsecondary life. Success for disabled students should focus on their interests and strengths while considering their weaknesses. A transition plan should include goals relevant to a student's talents, interests, and capabilities to prepare them for postsecondary options including independent living, employment, and school. Through quantitative research, special education teachers were surveyed through Qualtrics and the responses were analyzed using SPSS. The analyzed data showed that there were no significant differences between teacher demographics, their knowledge of state and national resources and barriers encountered while developing transition plans. The data did show that special education teachers faced barriers occasionally when developing transition plans for students with disabilities. The transition planning abilities of secondary special education teachers could be enhanced by proper training on the resources available. If teachers receive excellent, targeted training on creating transition plans, they could feel more comfortable with the transition writing process and decrease the number of barriers they may face while developing transition plans for students with disabilities.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teacher Education

Year

2024

Author dc:creator

• Baima, Charles Joseph

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lauren Neal, Ph.D.
• Jennifer VanSlander, Ph.D.
• Adam Kilcrease, Ph.D.

• Education
• Special Education and Teaching

Language dc:language

english

Repository record dc:identifier

https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/552

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:csuepress.columbusstate.edu:theses_dissertations-1554