Amber Gilbert

Sped 856: Transition Education and Services

Running Assignment Part Two

Brief description of the domain selected and rationale:

The domain I have selected based on the Quality Indicators results from Project 1 is

Family Involvement, since it would appear to be the most critical domain in need of

improvement for the district I investigated. Overall according to the Quality Indicators of

Exemplary Transition Programs (QI-2) questionnaire, Family involvement (2.50) is the domain in

need of the most work with the highest indicators being, the family's needs and supports are

taken into consideration during transition planning and information and training are provided

to families about transition. While the lowest indicators in this domain being, family members

are actively involved throughout the transition planning process and supports are in place to

involve family members in transition planning meetings (e.g., flexible time and location,

language interpreter). With this domain being such a critical indicator of post-secondary

success I felt it made the most sense to focus my attention on where and how family

involvement could be improved.

Literature Review Table:

Study (APA Citation) Purpose of Study Key Findings

Cote, D. L., Jones, V. L., Sparks,
S. L., & Aldridge, P. A. (2012).
Designing Transition Programs
for Culturally & Linguistically
Diverse Students with
Disabilities. Multicultural
Education, 20(1), 51-55.
1. To identify skills that
lead to self-
determination, in
students with
disabilities who come
from culturally and
linguistically diverse
(CLD) backgrounds.
2. To provide steps to
involve, CLD families
and students in
successful transition
To enrich familys lives,
professionals must
view families as
valuable members of
the transition planning
team in order to avoid
feelings of inadequacy
within the family
Demonstrate cultural
competence by,
encouraging and
respecting all of the
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two
Defur, S. H., Todd-Allen, M.,
&Getzel, E. E. (2001). Parent
participation in the transition
planning process. Career
Development for Exceptional
Individuals, 24(1), 19-36.
planning.
1. The purpose of this
study was to gain a
deeper understanding
of (a) Virginian
families experiences
in transition planning,
(b) family relationships
with school
professionals in the
transition planning
process, and (c)
implications for policy
and practice that
promote and enhance
the full participation of
all families in
transition planning.
familys perspectives
on a child's potential
strengths.
Support family values
by developing
transition goals that
can be supported at
the students home.
Promote a family
centered approach by
using a student self-
directed IEP.
According to this study
parents of
adolescents with
disabilities consistently
identified the quality
of the relationship
they had with service
providers as the key
factor that affected
the familys
involvement in
transition planning.
researchers that have
explored factors
influencing post-
secondary transition
outcomes report
family involvement as
key to successful post-
school transitions for
young adults with
disabilities
Families can often feel
that they are not
valued or listened to,
during the transition
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two
Kohler, P. D., & Field, S. (2003). 1. The purpose of this
Transition-focused education study was to present
foundation for the future. The and summarize three
Journal of Special specific initiatives: (a)
Education, 37(3), 174-183. federal special
education and
disability legislation;
(b) federal, state, and
local investment in
transition services
development; and (c)
effective transition
practices research.
2. To describe and
recommend specific
transition-focused
practices supported by
process.
Avoid barriers to
parent participation
that may include, not
seeing parents as
capable teachers;
thinking parents are
too emotionally
involved; keeping
family in passive roles
thinking the process
may be too complex
for them.
Recognize cultural and
linguistic barriers that
may alienate families.
Value the importance
of communication,
collaboration, caring,
and celebration of
accomplishments.
Amongst the three
initiatives, the
emphasis on transition
focused education and
services grew stronger
and broader. Each
initiative influenced
the other in important
ways, and it is
imperative to
recognize the
interaction and
interrelationships
among them, as well
as the importance of
parent and advocate
influence across
them.
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two

current research.
3. To address the extent
and fidelity of the
implementation of
transition practices
and synthesize aspects
of transition-focused
education that are
unique to special
education.
Five categories are
recognized being
effective student-
focused planning,
student development,
interagency and
interdisciplinary
collaboration, family
involvement, and
program structure.
Three aspects of family
involvement focus
specifically on,
participation and roles,
empowerment, and
training (Kohler, 1996,
1998). Participation
practices focus on a wide
array of roles through
which families might be
involved in planning and
delivering individual-
and community-level
transition education and
services, such as
assessment, decision
making, policy
development, and as
trainers.

Website Abstracts:

APA Citation Website Description

Transition Toolkit. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from The National Alliance for Secondary
http://www.nasetalliance.org/family/index.htm Education and Transition is a
national organization that was
voluntarily assembled in 2003 to
identify what youth need in order
to achieve successful participation
in postsecondary education and
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two
Parent/Professional Collaboration. (n.d.). Retrieved April
27, 2017, from
http://www.ncset.org/topics/family/default.asp?topic=29
training, civic engagement,
meaningful employment, and adult
life; and prioritize and address
significant issues of national scale
that have an impact on the
development of appropriate
policies and the provision of
effective secondary education and
transition services for all youth
The website contains five content
areas to address specific needs that
are critical to post-secondary
success. These content areas are
schooling; career preparatory
experiences; youth development
and youth leadership; family
involvement; connecting activities.
For each of these content areas,
there is a list of national standards
along with supporting evidence
and research.
According to the NASET website,
successful family involvement is
championed by the schools
principal and implemented by
administrators, teachers, and staff;
nurtures a young persons interests;
provides for individualized choices;
and includes family-staff
partnerships at the classroom and
programmatic levels.
According to the website, the
National Center on Secondary
Education and Transition (NCSET)
coordinates national resources,
offers technical assistance, and
disseminates information related to
secondary education and transition
for youth with disabilities in order
to create opportunities for youth to
achieve successful futures.
NCSET website, offers twenty-six
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two

different topics to choose from

ranging from UDL to IEPs and
Transition planning. Under each
topic there is a list of resources,
websites, articles, promising
practices, and frequently asked
questions.

Summary of Findings:

Articles: The common theme across all articles was how research supports family involvement

as one of the largest predictors of success for students, especially students with special needs.

With this being such an important quality indicator, I was surprised that I was not inundated

with an abundant amount of articles to choose from. It would seem that more research needs

to be done to identify strategies that help strengthen the family-agency-student partnerships.

Largely, the articles I chose explained the five indicators to success being, effective student-

focused planning, student development, interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration, family

involvement, and program structure. Each article describes ways to include family in the

transition planning process, while also respecting cultural and linguistic differences.

Websites: What I liked most about these websites was how user-friendly they are. I knew a

specific domain to target, my interest being family involvement, but was able to easily access

multiple quality indicators for additional information. Specifically for family involvement and

collaboration, I was able to see the national standards, as well as some supporting research and

evidence. I found both websites incredibly helpful. NSTAC included information on family

relationships and support and how it can play a particularly influential role in the lives of youth
Amber Gilbert
Sped 856: Transition Education and Services
Running Assignment Part Two

from diverse cultural communities. When looking at the NCSET website, I was happy to see how

many other resources were available not only to transition, but supporting topics like Universal

Design for Learning and Mentoring Youth in Transition.

Overall: My biggest take-away from both the articles and the websites would have to be how

incredibly important family involvement really is. I read and re-read both on the websites, and

within the articles, how it is possibly the largest indicator of successful outcomes for students in

transition. When looking at possible pitfalls to avoid, another theme seemed to present itself,

that of parents feeling not included or valued in the transition process. For the school district

that I did my quality indicator survey with, family involvement was the lowest scoring indicator.

There needs to be more attention given to involving these families. Support coordinators,

educators and administration, need to spend more time going out of their way to motivate

families and be careful not to alienate them. Family and student support systems (guardians,

teachers, neighbors, etc) need to be respected, collaborated with and included if we are to

improve this critical area to student success.