Assessing Secondary Special Educator Knowledge Related to Postsecondary Education Disability Laws for Purposes of Transition Planning for Disabled Students Who Are College Bound

Abstract

The IDEA mandates transition planning in Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for disabled students, who are now enrolling in postsecondary education programs at higher rates than ever before. Despite this, disabled students experience significantly worse post-school outcomes than their non-disabled peers. 

The purpose of this mixed-methods correlational study was to assess secondary special educators’ knowledge of postsecondary education disability laws as they relate to transition planning for disabled students who are college bound. The theoretical foundations for the study were Systems Theory and Transition Theory.

The results of the study support the relevance and accuracy of the Sejdic Disabled Student Transition Framework that was developed from the review of available literature. The quantitative data indicates that coursework, years of experience, and professional development do not have a statistically significant effect on secondary educators' knowledge of postsecondary education disability laws. A negative, statistically significant result for professional development was found when all variables were not held constant. Qualitative data results demonstrate that educators believe their transition knowledge and competencies are impacted by years of experience, professional development, and coursework.

This study confirms what other researchers have already determined: educators are underprepared with little or no relevant pre-service coursework and in-service professional development to support them in meeting their professional responsibilities of planning and implementing transition services for disabled students who are college bound. To complicate the situation, educators experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect don’t know what they don’t know, which limits their ability to self-assess their competency and advocate for what they need to prepare disabled students to transition to higher education successfully.