Age and developmental stage in individualized transition plans for special education students

Age of child and the ITP

Transition plan for special ed students

How the age of the child influences the success of the ITP

The integration of students with special needs into the general student population is not without its challenges. The advances made in policy and programs for integration have made the process easier for both the student and the parent. The life within the school system caters to the needs of the student, and there is greater sensitivity to those needs by teachers and administrators. While all students experience challenges transitioning from high school student life to post high school. The issues of special education students make this transition different and in some regards more difficult. This research will address this issue and identify measures that can be employed to reduce the dissonance students may experience because of the transition.

Literature Review

The transitioning process for a special needs child from high school to post high school is designed to provide the student with personalized skills and services. These skills and services assist in the individual making the transition successfully. This success is described as the individual being able to engage in meaningful employment or participation in the community that contributes to a high quality of life (the special education process, 2010 p.11).

There is an increasing need to identify variables that can be used to improve the delivery and success of the special needs program. This need was emphasized by Janus, Lefort, Cameron, & Kopechanski, (2007) who using multiple methods of data collection and analysis. The data collection included peer-reviewed articles, government papers, and in-depth interviews with professionals. The researchers determined that administrative issues and advocacy services were a common problem. While the focus was on the transitioning of kindergarteners with learning disabilities, the findings can find wide generalization, as the issues are relevant to all populations of students with learning disabilities. The researchers also noted that it was increasingly important to unearth factors that have an impact on the transition process that are not easily visible, but still very important.

The successful transition of students has also been linked to greater self-deterministic behaviors (Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2003, cited in (Carter, Lane, Pierson, & Stang, 2008). Therefore, opportunities for students to develop self-deterministic behaviors are important in a discussion on transition. Carter, Lane, Pierson, & Stang (2008) found that special educators attached great importance to providing students with skills related to self-determinism and reported that they frequently address this need in their classes. The mean values for special educators were significantly higher for all measures of self-determination, than for academic only teachers. The researchers examined 340 general and special education providers in the study. The majority of the respondents were females (57.2%) and White (79.3%).

Li, Bassette & Hutchinson (2009) who studied 343 secondary educators in the United States, support the findings of Carter, Lane, Pierson, & Stang (2008). The data from the quantitative study were analyzed using MANOVA and post hoc discriminant analysis. The researchers determined that special educators were highly involved in the transition planning process for special needs students. The provision of in-service training improved the probability of a special educator getting involved in transition planning. The study concluded that the lacunae between knowledge and involvement have a significant effect on the provision of services to students in the special education program.

Guy, Sitlington, Larsen, & Frank, (2009) found that the employment study options offered at high schools were very limited. The courses were mainly offered in the classroom setting, as 73.5% of the courses offered were classroom based. Additionally, many of the offerings had limited immediate connection to the actual tasks in the real world. This highly academic approach to the preparation of students for preparation for work alludes to factors that will influence the success of any transition program. The study employed a stratified random sample design to select the school districts that would be engaged as part of the sample. As a result, 51 high schools were selected and the programs at those schools evaluated using the Course Description Form developed for this purpose.

The experiences of male and female individuals with special needs are different. Female students with special needs are more prone to specific types of challenges. Powers, Geenen, Gilkashiwabara, & Powers, (2008) studied the effect of gender on transition goals and experiences. Using a sample of 146 participants, the researchers found that females have unique experiences relating to four specific areas the nature of transition goals provided; the elements that shape the goals, the avenues of assistance and hindrances to transition and finally contextual issues, relating to language and ethnic differences. The transition goals articulated by the parents were often different from the girls with the parents have "more realistic" goals. The data were collected using qualitative interviews and focus groups and analyzed with the use of the software program Ethnograph v 5.08.

There is also variation within the transition process itself that can influence the process. The availability of these resources can also have an immediate effect on the transition process making it more taxing and difficult for both parent and student. Abbot & Heslop (2009) found that the transition process could be compromised by the failure or faulty nature of elements of the process. The transition process is multi-dimensional and weaknesses in timing and delivery of process services can impair the entire process. Additionally, the professionals noted that transition planning could be random and inconsistent at times. The focus here was on the timing of the planning, as planning too early could be counter-productive since service providers could not be related to until it was close to the exit of the individual. The research was conducted using data collected from their research on 15 young persons at residential schools, their families, and supporting professionals. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews; the data were recorded on tape and then subsequently transcribed, and analyzed with MAXqda. While the research was conducted using a unique population it has general applicability for the exploration of the role of timing in transition success.

Conclusion

The research on the challenges of transitioning special education students unearths multiple variables that have explanatory power. It should be noted however, that there is an observable preference for the use of a qualitative methodology. This may be so because many of the salient elements are to be thoroughly explored prior to identifying suitable measures for the construction of successful quantitative approaches. Additionally, it is apparent that the nature of the phenomenon makes it amiable to a qualitative approach. The literature did identify notable exceptions to the qualitative approach that were useful interrogators of the theoretical basis for practice.

Throughout the literature presented in this work, there is a tacit acceptance of the transition age. The researchers have not challenged this position though many of them did allude to the variation that exists within the population of special education students. This variation is a factor in many of the challenges that special education students experience, so that the past failure to give attention to this factor presents an opportunity for present research to fill this void.

As a proxy for age, Abbot & Heslop (2009) identified timing as an essential factor in the success of the transition program. While in their research timing was connected to multiple concepts, within the framework alluded to there, support for consideration of the age of the student as an element of timing. There is no doubt however that this should receive further exploration because of the role of timing as identified in the work.

The need to provide further explication of the transition of special education students cannot be overemphasized. The fusion of special needs student and "regular" students is a challenge that is exacerbated by many practices in the school system. As schools increasing stress the academic, the other elements may become deemphasized, to the hazard of the special education student. Research needs to identify not only the possible hazards but also solutions that can adequately correct for any systemic weaknesses.