Date of Award
5-2023
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Styleguide
apa
Degree Name
Special Education: M.S.
Department
Special Education
College
School of Education
First Advisor
Brian J Valentini
Second Advisor
Marcy J Young Illies
Third Advisor
Bradely J Kaffar
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Special Education, Transition, Administrator
Abstract
Special Education in the United States of America exists because of parent and societal advocacy groups, litigation, and legislation. Because parents and other advocacy groups began to demand better treatment and educational opportunities for children with disabilities, lawsuits have brought about court decisions that have become the fabric of special education law today. Special education law has evolved over the last 100 years with the most poignant gains and progressions in special education appearing over the last half century. A subsection of special education law requires the inclusion of transition services for students with disabilities. There is a wealth of research on the historical development of transition services and its inclusion in special education law since the onset of special education services in the United States. There is also a large body of research that has explored evidence-based best practices for providing transition services to children with disabilities. Transition services in this context can be understood as a results-oriented process based on student interests and needs that establishes a plan with goals for greater success with post-secondary outcomes such as employment or education. However, research is limited in the implementation of transition services, the quality of those services, or how the perspectives of school leaders and administrators affect the use of transition services in the classroom. Exploring barriers for planning and providing transition services would provide special educators and administrators with knowledge that they could use to counteract the lack of transition services in their own education programs.
Recommended Citation
Jex, Steven, "An Exploration of the Connection Between School Administrators’ Focus on Transition Planning and Staff Preparedness and the Use of Evidence-Based Transition Services" (2023). Culminating Projects in Special Education. 153.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/sped_etds/153
Comments/Acknowledgements
This thesis would not have been possible without the tireless support of my dear wife, Nancy. Thank you for sacrificing so much so that I could have the opportunity to learn, grow, and progress. Secondly, I thank Father in Heaven for the increased capacity to manage my time and resources to conduct this study. To Dr. Valentini, Young Illies, and Kaffar, this research would not have concluded without your area expertise, mentorship, and guidance. Thank you for your patience, instruction, and leadership.