This study follows the experiences of adult learners one year after completing a transition program. Transition programs seek to prepare students to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. These programs typically offer remediation and academic skill building and help adult learners to navigate matriculation and financial aid processes.…

Completing a program of study and earning a credential is a mark of student perseverance and success. Student completion rates can tell us how well colleges and universities support students in completing an educational program. A research study by the US Department of Education reported students who completed non-degree certificate programs had…

College options for students with intellectual disabilities continue to grow. However, there is a gap among students and families about available college opportunities. This study provides evidence of a weeklong summer academy that bridges the gap between high school and college. Results showed the summer academy increased participants' awareness…

Transitioning adult education students to post-secondary programs and community college requires deliberate intervention and support services. This dissertation study was part of a larger action research study aimed at increasing transitions to college for non-traditional adult students by providing support and resources to adult education…

Participation in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs has been proposed as a valuable strategy for supporting transition to independence among students with disabilities. We exploit a discontinuity created by admissions thresholds from a statewide system of CTE high schools. Our findings suggest attending CTE high schools has large positive…

Parents of youth with disabilities require knowledge to support their children in secondary school. In the 21st century, online asynchronous training is one way to provide knowledge to parents in learning secondary transition concepts. We explored the use of an asynchronous online intervention on three parents' knowledge of the secondary…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn from the perspectives of adult secondary learners (ASLs) and transition navigators (TNs) regarding how K--12 adult education programs serve ASLs as they prepare to transition to community college. In this study, ASLs are defined as adult students working towards their high school diploma or…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to clarify how high incident learning disabled (HILD) college students describe the ways that their high school's transition services provided knowledge, skill-building, accommodations, and course alternatives to them to support their transition to post-secondary. The theoretical foundations…

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a history of being isolated, marginalized, and excluded from employment that is competitive and integrated. Policy makers, disability advocates, and self-advocates have made efforts to center inclusive education and employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual…

The purpose of this scoping review was to examine research evidence supporting the use of postsecondary education programs as a facilitator of competitive integrated employment for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Despite previous calls for change, most individuals with intellectual disability remain unemployed or segregated in…

Background: The principal destinations for school leavers with intellectual disabilities from special schools in Ireland are further education (FE) through providers such as the National Learning Network or training and employment (TE) within adult day services and rehabilitation centres. In 2015, a number of inherent barriers to participation in…

This study evaluated how students enrolled in a comprehensive post-secondary transition program learned how to use text-to-speech (TTS) software to read higher-level written text. Using a pre- and post-test research design, researchers examined whether direct instruction effectively taught students to use a TTS program. We used third and…

Highly qualified and well-prepared transition professionals are arguably the most important piece to improve postsecondary outcomes for youth with diverse needs. A dearth of dynamic field placements for preservice teachers to connect coursework to practice has been identified as a gap in teacher training. This need could be potentially filled by…

Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) often experience a combination of both intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits which negatively impact their ability to obtain and maintain competitive employment. Fortunately, research has shown that assistive technology, and particularly video prompting, helps support employment for…

Starting with the high school graduating Class of 2009, Success Boston has provided transition coaching to Boston Public Schools (BPS) high school graduates, many of whom are from groups traditionally underrepresented in college. In the first few years of Success Boston Coaching (SBC), the program served approximately 300 students per year. In…