Impact of Transition Preparation on Post-Secondary Success

Mary Morningstar, Patricia Noonan, Bruce Frey, Jennifer Ng, Dot Nary, Kendra Williams-Diehm, Beth Clavenna-Deane, Perry Graves, Ryan Kellems, Zachary McCall, Mary Pearson, Diana K. Wade

Research Design

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Research Question

Is there a relationship between the quality of a student’s high school transition preparation and: 1.

Knowledge of self-determination; 2.

Perceived levels of self-determination; 3.

College achievement (GPA); 4.

Hope and motivation; and 5.

Locus of Control?

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Sampling

 Characteristics of Institutions  12 Total Institutions  5 States (Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Utah, and Washington)  Urban, suburban, and small city locations  Criteria for Participants  Choice to participate  Currently enrolled in post-secondary setting  Had an IEP in high school  Completed high school 1997 or later  New IDEA transition plan requirements 4

Sampling Process

 Initial considerations  KU Institutional Review Board (IRB)  Contact with disability services facilitators  IRB process at participating institutions  Data collection timeline  Email to facilitators with flier and request to forward email to students  Facilitators sent email to students  Follow up, follow up, follow up 5

Online Survey

Consists of 3 scales  The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale (Wehmeyer, 1995)  Psychological empowerment subscale  Secondary School Student’s Locus of Control Scale (Rehaflt, 2006)  The Adult Trait Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris et al., 1991) 6

Online Survey - Design

 Accessibility issues  Challenging to find software that created surveys that were accessible.

 EZSurvey by Raosoft  User Testing 7

Online Survey - Logic

Online survey utilized logic so we only collected data from our target population 8

Online Survey - Scales

Each scale was listed on it’s own page 9

Online Survey - Layout

Simplified layout provided for easier accessibility 10

Interview Purpose: To “quantify” the quality of transition program for self-determination  Interview Questions  3 Areas of Focus 1.

Student Involvement in Transition Planning and IEP Meetings 2.

Skill Development & Opportunities for Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination 3.

Post-Secondary Outcome Preparation 11

Step 1: Transition Quality Indicators Alignment

Indicators/Standards Reviewed

: 1.

2.

Quality Indicators for Transition Assessment (Morningstar, 2005) TransQual – 2006) (Cornell University, 3.

4.

5.

6.

Taxonomy for Transition Programming (Kohler, 1997) Transition Planning Inventory (Clark & Patton, 1997) Secondary Teachers Transition Survey (Morningstar & Benitez, 2005) National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (http://www.nlts2.org/reports/2006_08/nl ts2_report_2006_08_complete.pdf)

Alignment

1.

Reviewed each assessment 2.

3.

Chose only those indicators matched to the 3 interview areas Coded the indicators to align for recurring themes 4.

5.

Found emerging themes in the 3 areas from overlap of indicators Used themes to develop questions 12

Step 2: Interview Protocol Development

 First  Reviewed literature about developing effective recall questions (Fowler, 1995)  Second  Question and probe development  Third  Question development to elicit memory recall  Fourth  Develop the interview protocol (multiple edits) 13

Example: Interview Recall Questions

Example of Recall Questions 

What other kinds of things happened in your IEP meetings besides just talking about your goals for the future?



Probe:

Some students have told us that during IEP meetings, the team came up with a plan for accomplishing their IEP and transition goals. Other students have said they really didn’t have much help during meetings in developing a transition plan. How did your IEP team work with you to develop a plan for your future goals?

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Step 3: Rubric Rating Indicator Development

 Reviewed rubric research (Arter & McTighe, 2001)  Reviewed rubric examples  Developed a Likert scale with indicators  Provided key words and descriptors for the Likert scale  Exemplary – 5  Partial – 3  Poor – 1 15

Rubric Example: Post-Secondary Education and Preparation

Question 11: What kinds of things did you learn in high school that helped you get ready for college?



5 - Exemplary :

Described examples where student systematically (i.e., class sessions) learned the skills (.e.g. study skills, college applications, meeting with counselor, disability services, etc.). 

3 – Partial:

Described examples where student informally (i.e., help from teachers) learned the skills from the program (.e.g. study skills, college applications, meeting with counselor, disability services, etc.). 

1 – Poor :

Described few or no experiences (neither systematic nor informal) to learn the skills. 16

Step 4: Pilot Testing

 July Interviews  Conducted Inter-rater Reliability  October Interview  Accessibility 17

Results – Preliminary Data

 Demographics  94 total responded  21 responded with usable data  Large, urban 4-year universities 18

Trends from Initial Survey Respondents

 Participants show high mean scores on all scales  Psychological Empowerment  X = 13.98 (out of 16)  Hope Total Scale Score  X = 6.18 (out of 8)  Locus of Control  X = 3.16 (out of 4) 19

Trends from Initial Survey Respondents

 Significant correlation between GPA and Agency subscale of Hope Scale 

R

(19) = .493,

p

< .05

 Significant correlation between GPA and Locus of Control Scale 

R

(19) = .495,

p

< .05

 Significant correlation between Locus of Control and Agency subscale of Hope Scale 

R

(19) = .908,

p

< .01

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Contact Information

 Beth Clavenna-Deane  [email protected]

 Perry Graves  [email protected]

 Ryan Kellems  [email protected]

 Zachary McCall  [email protected]

 Mary Pearson  [email protected]

 Diana K. Wade  [email protected]

Mary Morningstar, PhD ~ [email protected]

Patricia Noonan, PhD ~ [email protected]

University of Kansas School of Education http://soe.ku.edu/

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