Rationale

The goal of this application project webpage is to develop an online resource list of transition materials for teaching staff. 

Transition as defined by IDEA is "a coordinated set of activities designed to be within a results-oriented process, focused on improving the academic achievement and functional performance to facilitate movement from school to post-school activities...(2004)." This webpage hopes to provide a range of links and downloadable teaching materials curated from the world wide web that may help teachers and staff providing transition services.

Need for Knowledge Sharing.

Despite the IDEA mandate, there still exists a gap between post high school outcomes of students with disabilities and outcome for students without disabilities (Cobb, et. al., 2013). One of the reasons for the gap is the lack of knowledge and training resources by teachers to implement a successful transition programming service (Behan, 2017). 

Today more and more practitioners are turning to online resources for information on classroom and research materials (Hitt, et al., 2022). There are many websites available from trustworthy organizations both private and government that provide access to many kinds of special education resources. And clearly, the materials found in this webpage come from trustworthy sources. What this webpage offers is a venue for practitioners to share materials and resources that has worked for them. 

Focus on Job Skills Training

One of the most important goal of transition services is employment skills training. Although employment training remains a major focus in transition planning in schools, this area continues to result in poor post-school outcomes. In 2011, according to the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), a comprehensive study to describe experiences of young adults in transition, it is reported that students with disabilities are less likely to be employed (or underemployed) than those students without disabilities. (Newman, et al.) In 2021, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is 10.1 % which is twice as high as for persons without disabilities at 5.1% (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). The implication of this disparity is for transition programs to provide more effective instructional practices related to employment training to students with disabilities. Hence, majority of the training materials you will find in this project webpage is on employment training.

References:

Behan, D. (2017) Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Special Education. McGraw-Hill Education.

Cobb, R. B., Lipscomb, S., Wolgemuth, J., Schulte, T., Veliquette, A., Alwell, M., Batchelder, K.,                         Bernard, R., Hernandez, P., Holmquist-Johnson, H., Orsi, R., Sample McMeeking, L., Wang, J.,              and Weinberg, A. (2013). Improving Post-High School Outcomes for Transition-Age Students                 with Disabilities: An Evidence Review (NCEE 2013-4011). Washington, DC: National Center                 for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. 

Hitt, Kwiatek, S., Voggt, A., Chang, W., Gadd, S., & Test, D. W. (2022). Are Online Resources for                    Evidence-Based Practices Useful? The Journal of Special Education, 55(4), 191–200.                             https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466920982958

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Transition Services, Sec. 300.43 (2004).

Newman, L., Wagner, M., Knokey, A.-M., Marder, C., Nagle, K., Shaver, D., Wei, X., with Cameto, R., Contreras, E., Ferguson, K., Greene, S., and Schwarting, M. (2011). The Post-High School Outcomes of Young Adults With Disabilities up to 8 Years After High School. A Report From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2011-3005). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economic News Release - Persons with a Disability: Labor Characteristics Summary 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.nr0.htm