Andrew S. Halpern

Transition: A Look at the Foundations:

This essay critically examines the model of transition that has been proposed by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. A summary of a recent study of secondary special education is also presented, focusing upon needed areas of improvement. Recommendations are offered for modifying the basic model of transition and for improving high school programs as a foundation of transition.

Quality of Life as a Conceptual Framework for Evaluating Transition Outcomes

When the transition movement began as a federal initiative in 1984, it was conceptualized as “an outcome-oriented process leading to employment.” Although many educators viewed this narrow focus on employment as too constrictive, an alternative framework for conceptualizing transition outcomes has been slow to develop. This article explores a broader framework, quality of life, organized around three topics: (1) theoretical issues that pertain to the definition and conceptualization of quality of life; (2) research findings that provide support for quality of life as an outcome framework for evaluating transition programs and services; and (3) a few suggestions about issues we should address as we move through the 1990s.

The Transition of Youth with Disabilities to Adult Life: A Position Statement of the Division on Career Development and Transition, The Council for Exceptional Children:

IN 1987, the Division on Career Development of the Council for Exceptional Children published its first position paper on the topic of transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities. This statement marked the culmination of three years of effort, under the leadership of Jane Razeghi, Charles Kokaska, Kathleen Gruenhagen, and George Fair. Since that time, we have witnessed substantial growth and development in the concept of transition, its legislative foundation, and service delivery programs that support the concept. This activity has been encouraged at the federal level through a vast array of ad hoc projects focusing on one or more particular dimensions of transition, and more recently, through a network of statewide systems change projects which at the time of this writing were being implemented in 30 states throughout the country. Perhaps symbolic of this substantial effort, the Division on Career Development has also changed its name to the Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT). The purpose of this new position paper is to regain our bearings on where we have moved during the past seven years under the banner of &dquo;transition&dquo;, and also to lay a course for continuing to work in this area as we move into the 21st century. No attempt will be made to review the voluminous literature that has emerged in this field; DCDT will only attempt to identify and describe

Predicting Participation in Postsecondary Education for School Leavers with Disabilities

This study examined predictors of participation in postsecondary education for school leavers with disabilities, using instruments, procedures, and logistic regression analyses that were used in an original study. Both studies found six predictors to be associated with participation in postsecondary education: (a) high scores on a functional achievement inventory, (b) completing instruction successfully in certain relevant curricular areas, (c) participating in transition planning (d) parent satisfaction and (e) student satisfaction with instruction received by the student, and (f) parent perception that the student no longer needed help in certain critical skill areas.

Transition: Old Wine in New Bottles

The transition movement of the 1980s was preceded by two similar movements: (a) the career education movement in the 1970s and (b) the work/study movement in the 1960s. These three movements are described and compared to provide an historical context for understanding current problems and issues regarding transition. Some broad social issues, such as educational reform, are then examined to illustrate the potential influence of such issues on the future development of policy that will affect the transition movement.

A Statewide Examination of Secondary Special Education for Students with Mild Disabilities: Implications for the High School Curriculum:

This article reports the partial findings of a statewide survey of high school special education programs for students with mild disabilities. The focus of this article is on the curriculum. Three sources of information were tapped for this study: (a) special education administrators, (b) high school special education teachers, and (c) parents of high school students with mild disabilities. The return rates were very high: 91%, 89%, and 45% of the three groups, respectively. Four basic topics concerning the curriculum were investigated: (a) its focus and content, (b) discrepancies between availability and utilization, (c) barriers to mainstreaming, and (d) conditions required for improvement. Both data and recommendations with respect to these topics are presented.

Vocational and Transition Services Needed and Received by Students with Disabilities during Their Last Year of High School.

THE ULTIMATE GOAL of special education-successful transition from school to the community-has only been marginally achieved throughout our country. The numerous follow-up studies conducted throughout the decade of the 1980s have depicted a consistently discouraging picture of the post-school status of school leavers with disabilities. These studies have also documented that certain subgroups of young adults with disabilities are often at even greater risk of failure, including for example: females (Haring & Lovett, 1990a; Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985; Scuccimarra & Speece, 1990; Sitlington & Frank, 1990), and young adults with mental retardation (Edgar, 1987; Frank, Sitlington, Cooper, & Cool, 1990; Haring & Lovett, 1990b). To a much lesser extent, this research has also suggested that school programs can influence positively the post-school outcomes, especially vocational outcomes, of students with disabilities. There is some

An Empirical Analysis of the Dimensions of Community Adjustment for Adults with Mental Retardation in Semi-Independent Living Programs

This study examines the empirical validity of a multi-dimensional model of community adjustment, utilizing a sample of adults with disabilities from semi-independent living programs in 4 western states. The findings confirm a proposed 4 dimensional model, including occupation, residential environment, social support/safety, and client satisfaction as largely independent dimensions of community adjustment These findings are discussed with respect to the current Federal model of transition in the United States, looking particularly at the implications for program planning and program evaluation.

Quality of Life for Students with Disabilities in Transition from School to Adulthood

This paper examines quality-of-life concerns that pertain to secondary level students with disabilities who participate in high school programs in the United States. More specifically, we examine issues and programs that pertain to the “transition period” during which students leave school and begin to assume adult roles in their communities. The paper begins with an overview of major programs that have addressed this area over the past 25 years. We then present some contrasting definitions of quality of life, in order to provide a theoretical context for examining issues and concerns, ending with our recommendations for a taxonomy that can be used for operationally defining quality of life. Research findings from this perspective are presented next, followed by a discussion of ways in which quality-of-life information can beused to influence program and policy and policy decisions at both personal and institutional levels of discourse. We cite and describe several examples of such usage from our own experiences. The paper closes with some recommendations concerning what we must do in the future to improve quality of life for this population.

Mobilizing Local Communities to Improve Transition Services.

has been recognized and discussed by special educators for many years (Benz & Halpern, 1987; Halpern, 1985; Heal, Copher, & Rusch, 1990; Will, 1984). The establishment of school-family-community partnerships as a strategy for improving school programs and community resources is an essential component of efforts to improve the school-to-work transition process for the general population of students and school leavers (U.S. Department of Education, 1993), including those who are at-risk of school and community failure (Liontos, 1992). Mobilizing community resources through partnership building strategies is likewise the focus of many of the State Transition Systems Change Projects that