Effective Practices during Transition: Does Preparation Make a Difference Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D. University of Kansas Sung Jik Bae, Ph.D. University of Louisiana-Lafayette

Addressing Teacher Quality for Transition: What are the Issues? Limited knowledge of competency levels of secondary special educators Limited knowledge of implementation levels of secondary special educators Limited quality teacher preparation for transition Research Questions: 1.What are the levels of preparation & implementation of critical elements of transition services? 2.Are high qualified professionals more likely to engage in transition practices?

Participants Convenience sample: 1475 professionals who completed a demographic survey as part of their enrollment in online training through the Transition Coalition ( –682 identified themselves as educators –101 were not currently teaching Sample: 581 educators working directly with students with disabilities

Demographic Info.

Certification, Years Teaching & Transition Preparation Type of PreparationFREQ% Inservice trainings on transition topics college/university course in transition college/university courses in transition college/university courses that covered some transition content Attend Conference presentations Subscribe to Newsletters/articles/ books/online resources On the job training, help from colleagues Professional associations None416.8 Do others ask your Advice42871

Survey Items: Transition Practices Teaching Practice Do you feel prepared to perform this practice? How often do you perform this practice? Work with students and parents to identify specific post-school goals.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Identify educational experiences that correspond to the transition IEP.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Plan goals and activities that focus on post-school outcomes: · community living Yes NoOften Sometimes Never · recreation and leisure Yes NoOften Sometimes Never · community participation Yes NoOften Sometimes Never · employment Yes NoOften Sometimes Never · post-secondary education Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Coordinate linkages and referrals to adult service providers.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Prepare students to participate in the IEP process.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Teach self-determination such as decision making, goal-setting, or self-awareness. Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Develop students' career awareness.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Work with students and parents to identify job opportunities that match student interests and skills. Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Develop community work-experience programs.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Teach learning strategies such as note-taking, time management, and developing mnemonic devices. Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Teach independent living skills in the community.Yes NoOften Sometimes Never Provide formal and informal assessment information to help determine students' skills, preferences and interests related to transition issues. Yes NoOften Sometimes Never

Transition Practices: Descriptive Statistics Transition Practice Prepared to Perform this Practice? NO YES How often do you Perform this Practice? Never Sometimes Often Work with Students and parents to identify specific post-school goals70%31%22%30%48% Identify educational experiences that correspond to the transition IEP.26%74%21%29%50% Plan goals and activities that focus on post-school outcomes: Community Living40%57%33%35%32% Recreation and Leisure36%64530%49%30% Community Participation36%63%27%37%36% Employment34%66%25%29%46% Postsecondary Education35%65%28%35%37% Coordinate linkages and referrals to adult service providers50% 38%31% Prepare students to participate in the IEP process23%77%22%40%38% Teach self-determination such as decision making, goal-setting, or self- awareness. 22%78%15%35%50% Develop students' career awareness. 25%75%19%36%45% Work with students and parents to identify job opportunities that match student interests and skills 375%63%28%38%34% Develop community work-experience programs. 58%42%49%26%24% Teach learning strategies such as note-taking, time management, and developing mnemonic devices 21%78%21%39%41% Teach independent living skills in the community. 45%54%41%35%24% Provide formal and informal assessment information to help determine students' skills, preferences and interests related to transition issues %26%38%37%

Factor Analysis of Survey Items Are certain items on the survey related? Varimax rotation (assumed all factors not related) 2 factors emerged: –Factor 1 (community-based transition practices) accounted for 42% of variance –Factor 2 (school-based transition practices) accounted for 18% of variance

Comparisons Across Educator Groups Differences between Educators Who indicate High vs. Low Levels of Transition Preparation Levene's Test for Equality of Variancest-test for Equality of Means FSig.tdfSig. (2-tailed) Mean Differen ce Diploma Certification Teach Year PRASUM Differences between Educators who indicate High vs. Low Levels of Implementing Transition Practices Levene's Test for Equality of Variancest-test for Equality of Means FSig.tdfSig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Diploma Certification Teach Year PRESUM Educators who feel highly prepared have obtained more advanced degrees, are certified in the areas they are teaching in, and have taught for many years. Educators who indicate high levels of implementing transition practices have obtained more advanced degrees, are certified in the areas they are teaching in, and have taught for many years.

Comparing Elementary Teachers with Secondary Teachers Sum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig. DiplomaBetween Groups CertificationBetween Groups Teach YearBetween Groups PRESUMBetween Groups PRASUMBetween Groups Secondary Educators are more likely to have an advanced degree, be certified in the field in which they are teaching, have more years of experience, and feel more prepared and are more likely to implement transition practices Dependent Variable(I) Agelevel (J) Agelevel Mean Difference (I- J) Std. Error Sig. DiplomaSecondaryElementary.25(*) CertificationSecondaryElementary1.13(*) Teach YearSecondaryElementary.84(*) PRESUMSecondaryElementary5.7748(*) PRASUMSecondaryElementary (*) Post-hoc comparisons

What Variables Predict Effective Practices? For the Community-based Practices, the regression analysis indicated: – 4 variables significantly contributed (level of preparation; secondary grades; certification status & years teaching) For the School-based Practices, the regression analysis indicated: –3 variables predict 19% of the variance (level of preparation; secondary grades; diploma)

Findings & Conclusions High quality teachers possess significantly more advanced degrees, are certified in their field in which they are teaching, and have many years teaching experience. These teachers indicated being well prepared for the majority of transition practices, and perform these practices at a higher rate than less qualified teachers. Overall, teachers felt less prepared in the transition practices than their level of performance. This might mean that teachers are practicing without the skills and preparation to effectively implement transition practices.