Susan Brody Hasazi

Factors Associated with the Employment Status of Handicapped Youth Exiting High School from 1979 to 1983

Factors associated with the employment status of handicapped youth were investigated in a sample of 462 youths from nine Vermont school districts. All students from these districts who exited high school between 1979 and 1983, and who had been receiving special education services, were identified. Interviews were conducted with 301 youths to solicit current employment status, employment and training history, and use of social services. Additional information regarding educational history, age, and community demographics was obtained through individual student records. Employment outcomes were related to secondary vocational and training experiences, controlling for geographic location, gender, and level of functioning. Results indicated that over half the sample were employed; that most of the youths found jobs through the “self-family-friend network”; that part-time or summer work during high school were predictors of percentage of time employed since high school and current wages. These findings were discussed in terms of their implications for researchers, service providers, and policy makers.

Implementing the IDEA Transition Mandates

A policy study initiated in 1996 investigated implementation of the transition mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in nine sites across the United States. Five sites were identified as model sites because they had a national reputation for effective implementation of transition policies and practices, while four were identified as representative sites demonstrating progress in the face of challenges typically associated with local level implementation. Visits to each site included in-depth interviews, observations, and document reviews. Following the visits, procedures associated with qualitative inquiry were used to prepare individual summary reports and conduct a cross-case analysis. Results of the cross-case analysis are presented, including factors supporting and posing challenges to implementation.

Employment of Youth with and without Handicaps Following High School: Outcomes and Correlates

Factors associated with the employment status of students with and without handicaps were investigated in a sample of 133 youths from nine Vermont school districts. Students with handicaps who exited high school in 1984-85, and who had been receiving special education services, were identified and compared to non-college-bound, vocationally oriented students without handicaps. Two sets of interviews were conducted, one in 1986 and one in 1987. During these interviews, information was obtained on current employment status, employment and training history, social service utilization, and residential status. Additional information regarding educational history, age, and community demographics was obtained through individual student records. Employment, educational, and residential experiences were compared across both groups of former students. Results indicated that students without handicaps had more favorable post-high-school employment outcomes than students with handicaps. Across groups, males were more likely to be employed than females and employment was positively associated with paid work experiences during high school. Vocational class experience was positively associated with later employment for handicapped but not for nonhandicapped students. Although some changes in employment status over the 2-year period did occur, the majority of former students remained in the same employment status (full time, part time, or unemployed) for both years. The results of the study help to put the employment status of youth with handicaps into context and suggest both similarities and differences between students with and without handicaps in employment correlates.

A Qualitative Policy Study of the Least Restrictive Environment Provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

A multistate, qualitative policy study, conducted from 1989 to 1992, investigated how 6 states and 12 local school districts implemented the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Eight sites were relatively high users of separate facilities for educating students with disabilities, and 10 were low users. Six factors, including financing and the state-local context, influenced the implementation of LRE. Although the LRE policy has influenced the way that states and districts educate students with disabilities, the federal law and regulations have little control over how leaders view the policy, the structure and political realities present, and the recursive nature of policy systems at all levels.

Transition Policies, Practices, and Promises: Lessons from Three States

A policy study conducted from 1992 to 1994 investigated how three states have implemented transition services for youth with disabilities. The three states were identified as exemplary in their achievements related to designing and implementing transition policies and services. A research team reviewed relevant documents and conducted approximately 74 interviews with key policymakers and implementors. Qualitative data analysis procedures were used to develop a case study report for each site; a cross-case analysis compared policies and practices across the three states. The analysis found seven themes which were identified as contributing to the successful initiation and continuation of transition policies, practices, and services.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Shifting Policy Landscapes in Special and General Education Reform

A longitudinal policy analysis was undertaken in four schools to explore the degree to which positive outcomes associated with a 1990 state policy on education reform had been sustained in the context of subsequent policies emphasizing standards-based reform and school accountability. The shifting policy context supported the sustainability of initial positive outcomes such as increased use of educational support systems and teams, but was associated with increases in referrals to special education and the use of more restrictive special education placements. Findings suggest a need to recognize shared as well as competing goals among educational policies and to explore a variety of approaches to expanding the capacity of general education to support students within the context of standards-based reform.

School-Aged Transition Services: Options for Adolescents with Mild Handicaps.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, special education professionals have begun to recognize the importance of planning and coordinating the delivery of services to students who have difficulties adjusting to postschool life. Will (1984) conceptualizes transition as a bridge, starting with the high school as a foundation and extending into the initial years of employment. Specifically, Will defines transitional services as &dquo;different kinds and amounts of support with different individuals so that each has the opportunity to work and enjoy the lifestyle benefits of working&dquo; (p. 5). This paper focuses on those programs and services at the high school level that can meet the transitional service(s) needs for mildly handicapped students. These students can be functionally defined as those for whom mainstreamed placements with support generally represent the most appropriate educational environment during their high school years. Although they typically require only minimal supportive services, recent follow-up research (Fafard & Haubrich, 1981; Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985; Mithaug, Horiuchi, & Fanning, 1985; Zigmond & Thorton, 1985) indicates that they frequently have substantial difficulties finding and maintaining competitive employment after graduation when compared with their nonhandicapped peers. The assumption guiding the development of this article was that secondary special education programs need to include

Teaming in qualitative research: lessons learned 1

This article discusses lessons learned as a research team conducted a large‐scale, multi‐site qualitative policy study. The lessons call for incorporating a variety of backgrounds and experience, for anticipating enormous complexities amid multiple stages of research and volumes of data, and for building firm commitments across team members as well as to the research itself. The authors contend that four different means of decision making are required when carrying out qualitative research using a research team approach. They counsel against symmetry of contribution by each member. They conclude that teaming as they practiced it was expensive in terms of time, money, and energy; yet if considered in light of effectiveness, teaming provides enormous gains in terms of professional reward and quality research. 1This paper was supported in part by funds received from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policies of this...

Citizen Advocacy Relationships: Advocate, Protegé, and Relationship Characteristics and Satisfaction Ratings

This study assessed personal and relationship characteristics of 75 advocate-protegé pairs involved in citizen advocacy relationships and related them to ratings of advocate and protegé satisfaction with the relationships. Advocates included disproportionate numbers of women and single and/or childless persons but otherwise varied greatly in age, education, employment status, income, motivations, and attitudes. Protegés were fairly representative in age, gender, and functional skills of persons with mental retardation residing in the community. Relationships varied greatly in duration, frequency of contact, activity patterns, and social support characteristics, but tended to be seen as reciprocal in nature by advocates. Both advocates and protegés reported relatively high levels of satisfaction. Frequency of contact and satisfaction ratings were unrelated to protegé characteristics and to most advocate characteristics. Higher levels of satisfaction were reported by advocates who more frequently provided interpersonal feedback, as opposed to instrumental support or assistance, and who more frequently engaged in mutual, community-based activities with protegés. The results of the study thus suggest that satisfaction with advocacy relationships is more a function of what advocates and protegés do together than of their personal traits.

Leadership Preparation: Designing and Planning for Interprofessional Doctoral Education and Practice

Executive Summary New directions in the study of leadership preparation are transforming the practices and theories about leaders, especially those who serve in educational and human services organizations (Clark & Clark, 1996; Corrigan, 1998; Dunlap & Schmuck, 1995; Leithwood, Begley, & Cousins, 1992, et al.). In spite of these new directions, few programs have given consideration to the idea of interprofessional leadership and the skills, knowledge, and experiences needed to support the changing roles and relationships that have come to define leadership practice (Browning, 1987; Cunningham, 1990; Corrigan, 1994; Lawson & Hooper-Briar, 1997; Murphy, 1992; et al.). This article explores how one university has reshaped their doctoral leadership program in an effort to build interagency collaboration among professionals from public education, higher education, human services agencies, and health care organizations. A follow-up study of current students and graduates from the program provides insight into how these professionals have come to understand interprofessional leadership, the benefits and challenges for participating in an interprofessional doctoral program, and the extent to which the program has helped them to engage in interprofessional leadership in their own practices.