Effective Practices during Transition: Does Preparation Make a Difference Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D....
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Effective Practices during Transition: Does Preparation Make a Difference Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D. University of Kansas Sung Jik Bae, Ph.D. University of Louisiana-Lafayette
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Transcript of Effective Practices during Transition: Does Preparation Make a Difference Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D....
Effective Practices during Transition: Does Preparation Make a Difference
Mary E. Morningstar, Ph.D.University of Kansas
Sung Jik Bae, Ph.D.University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Addressing Teacher Quality for Transition: What are the Issues?
• Limited knowledge of competency levels of secondary special educators
• Limited knowledge of implementation levels of secondary special educators
• Limited quality teacher preparation for transitionResearch Questions: 1. What are the levels of preparation &
implementation of critical elements of transition services?
2. Are high qualified professionals more likely to engage in transition practices?
Participants
Convenience sample: 1475 professionals who completed a demographic survey as part of their enrollment in online training through the Transition Coalition (www.transitioncoalition.org)– 682 identified themselves as educators– 101 were not currently teaching
Sample: 581 educators working directly with students with disabilities
user_state
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Alabama 2 .3 .3 .3
Arizona 10 1.7 1.7 2.0
Arkansas 4 .7 .7 2.7
California 8 1.3 1.3 4.0
Colorado 116 19.2 19.2 23.2
Connecticut 7 1.2 1.2 24.4
DC 1 .2 .2 24.5
Florida 8 1.3 1.3 25.9
Georgia 50 8.3 8.3 34.2
Hawaii 2 .3 .3 34.5
Idaho 48 8.0 8.0 42.5
Illinois 6 1.0 1.0 43.4
Indiana 2 .3 .3 43.8
Iowa 2 .3 .3 44.1
Kansas 66 10.9 10.9 55.1
Louisiana 10 1.7 1.7 56.7
Maryland 2 .3 .3 57.0
Massachusetts 6 1.0 1.0 58.0
Michigan 10 1.7 1.7 59.7
Minnesota 18 3.0 3.0 62.7
Missouri 15 2.5 2.5 65.2
Montana 1 .2 .2 65.3
Nebraska 4 .7 .7 66.0
Nevada 1 .2 .2 66.2
New Hampshire 65 10.8 10.8 76.9
New J ersey 4 .7 .7 77.6
New Mexico 26 4.3 4.3 81.9
New York 6 1.0 1.0 82.9
North Carolina 8 1.3 1.3 84.2
Ohio 3 .5 .5 84.7
Oregon 15 2.5 2.5 87.2
Pennsylvania 10 1.7 1.7 88.9
Rhode Island 5 .8 .8 89.7
South Carolina 5 .8 .8 90.5
South Dakota 1 .2 .2 90.7
Tennessee 2 .3 .3 91.0
Valid
Texas 15 2.5 2.5 93.5
ethnicity
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
White 536 88.9 88.9 88.9
Black 33 5.5 5.5 94.4
Hispanic 19 3.2 3.2 97.5
Pacific Islander 10 1.7 1.7 99.2
American Indian 5 .8 .8 100.0
Valid
Total 603 100.0 100.0
SubRole
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Special Education
Teacher 412 68.3 70.1 70.1
General Education
Teacher 23 3.8 3.9 74.0
Administrator 20 3.3 3.4 77.4
Transition Specialist 77 12.8 13.1 90.5
Paraprofessiona 23 3.8 3.9 94.4
Vocational Educator 17 2.8 2.9 97.3
Other 16 2.7 2.7 100.0
Valid
Total 588 97.5 100.0
Missing System 15 2.5
Total 603 100.0
Demographic Info.
Demographic Info. Agelevel
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Elementary 109 18.1 18.1 18.1
Secondary 403 66.8 66.8 84.9
Both 80 13.3 13.3 98.2
Some youth,
primarily adults 11 1.8 1.8 100.0
Valid
Total 603 100.0 100.0
Place
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Special school 60 10.0 10.1 10.1
Regular school 487 80.8 81.6 91.6
Vocational/technical
school 5 .8 .8 92.5
Alternative school 25 4.1 4.2 96.6
Community service
agency 20 3.3 3.4 100.0
Valid
Total 597 99.0 100.0
Missing System 6 1.0
Total 603 100.0
Subplace
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Resource Room 113 18.7 27.9 27.9
General Education Class 57 9.5 14.1 42.0
Special Education Class 161 26.7 39.8 81.7
Consulting Service 74 12.3 18.3 100.0
Valid
Total 405 67.2 100.0
Missing System 198 32.8
Total 603 100.0
Certification, Years Teaching & Transition Preparation
Teach Year
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
0 or student teaching
experience only 16 2.7 2.7 2.7
1-3 162 26.9 26.9 29.5
4-6 113 18.7 18.7 48.3
7-9 63 10.4 10.4 58.7
10+ 249 41.3 41.3 100.0
Valid
Total 603 100.0 100.0
Type of Preparation FREQ %
Inservice trainings on transition topics
339 56.2
1 college/university course in transition
184 30.5
2+ college/university courses in transition
63 10.4
college/university courses that covered some transition content
103 17.1
Attend Conference presentations
247 41.0
Subscribe to Newsletters/articles/ books/online resources
258 42.8
On the job training, help from colleagues
319 52.9
Professional associations 104 17.2
None 41 6.8
Do others ask your Advice 428 71
Certification
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Fully certified for current
teaching assignment 353 58.5 58.5 58.5
Certified in a field other
than what I am teaching 85 14.1 14.1 72.6
Certified, not currently
teaching/practicing 12 2.0 2.0 74.6
Provisionally certified 60 10.0 10.0 84.6
Emergency certified 88 14.6 14.6 99.2
Not certified, currently
working toward
certification
5 .8 .8 100.0
Valid
Total 603 100.0 100.0
Survey Items: Transition Practices
Teaching PracticeDo you feel prepared to perform this
practice?How often do you perform this
practice?
Work with students and parents to identify specific post-school goals. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Identify educational experiences that correspond to the transition IEP. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Plan goals and activities that focus on post-school outcomes:
community living
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
recreation and leisure
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
community participation
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
employment
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
post-secondary education
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Coordinate linkages and referrals to adult service providers. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Prepare students to participate in the IEP process. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Teach self-determination such as decision making, goal-setting, or self-awareness.
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Develop students' career awareness. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Work with students and parents to identify job opportunities that match student interests and skills.
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Develop community work-experience programs. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Teach learning strategies such as note-taking, time management, and developing mnemonic devices.
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Teach independent living skills in the community. Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Provide formal and informal assessment information to help determine students' skills, preferences and interests related to transition issues.
Yes No Often Sometimes Never
Transition Practices: Descriptive StatisticsTransition Practice Prepared to Perform
this Practice?
NO YES
How often do you Perform this Practice?
Never Sometimes Often
Work with Students and parents to identify specific post-school goals 70% 31% 22% 30% 48%
Identify educational experiences that correspond to the transition IEP. 26% 74% 21% 29% 50%
Plan goals and activities that focus on post-school outcomes:
Community Living 40% 57% 33% 35% 32%
Recreation and Leisure 36% 645 30% 49% 30%
Community Participation 36% 63% 27% 37% 36%
Employment 34% 66% 25% 29% 46%
Postsecondary Education 35% 65% 28% 35% 37%
Coordinate linkages and referrals to adult service providers 50% 50% 38% 31% 31%
Prepare students to participate in the IEP process 23% 77% 22% 40% 38%
Teach self-determination such as decision making, goal-setting, or self-awareness.
22% 78% 15% 35% 50%
Develop students' career awareness. 25% 75% 19% 36% 45%
Work with students and parents to identify job opportunities that match student interests and skills
375% 63% 28% 38% 34%
Develop community work-experience programs. 58% 42% 49% 26% 24%
Teach learning strategies such as note-taking, time management, and developing mnemonic devices
21% 78% 21% 39% 41%
Teach independent living skills in the community. 45% 54% 41% 35% 24%
Provide formal and informal assessment information to help determine students' skills, preferences and interests related to transition issues.
335 67% 26% 38% 37%
Factor Analysis of Survey Items
Are certain items on the survey related?
• Varimax rotation (assumed all factors not related)
• 2 factors emerged:– Factor 1 (community-based
transition practices) accounted for 42% of variance
– Factor 2 (school-based transition practices) accounted for 18% of variance
Scree Plot
Factor Number
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Eig
enva
lue
10
8
6
4
2
0
Rotated Factor Matrixa
.721 .376
.705 .410
.823 .147
.789 .141
.831 .205
.825 .326
.640 .422
.714 .246
.384 .618
.212 .726
.587 .596
.676 .440
.657 .152
.040 .624
.558 .188
.564 .407
ConsumerBExperienceBLivingBRecreationBParticipationBEmploymentBPostsecondaryBAdult agencyBIEP ProcessBSelf-determinationBCareer AwarenessBJob OpportunitiesBWork-experienceBLearning strategiesBLiving SkillsBAssessmentB
1 2Factor
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
Rotation converged in 3 iterations.a.
Comparisons Across Educator Groups
Differences between Educators Who indicate High vs. Low Levels of Transition Preparation
Levene's Test for
Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t dfSig. (2-tailed)
Mean Differe
nce
Diploma .186 .667 -2.147 522.152 .032 -.10
Certification 12.656 .000 -3.578 579 .000 -.47
Teach Year 1.280 .258 -3.757 579 .000 -.41
PRASUM37.137 .000 -15.734 579 .000
-10.269
3
Differences between Educators who indicate High vs. Low Levels of Implementing Transition Practices
Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)Mean
Difference
Diploma .639 .424 -5.167 551.759 .000 -.23
Certification 90.738 .000 -8.477 579 .000 -1.05
Teach Year .132 .716 -6.544 548.239 .000 -.70
PRESUM 74.353 .000 -15.873 579 .000 -5.7592
Educators who feel highly prepared have obtained more advanced degrees, are certified in the areas they are teaching in, and have taught for many years.
Educators who indicate high levels of implementing transition practices have obtained more advanced degrees, are certified in the areas they are teaching in, and have taught for many years.
Comparing Elementary Teachers with Secondary Teachers
Sum of Square
s df Mean Square F Sig.
Diploma Between Groups
8.410 2 4.205 14.568 .000
Certification Between Groups
109.713 2 54.856 24.088 .000
Teach Year Between Groups
65.938 2 32.969 20.043 .000
PRESUM Between Groups
2869.242 2 1434.621 64.499 .000
PRASUM Between Groups
19007.169
2 9503.585 178.861 .000
Secondary Educators are more likely to have an advanced degree, be certified in the field in which they are teaching, have more years of experience, and feel more prepared and are more likely to implement transition practices
Dependent Variable (I) Agelevel(J) Agelevel
Mean Difference (I-J)
Std. ErrorSig.
Diploma Secondary Elementary .25(*) .058 .000
Certification Secondary Elementary 1.13(*) .164 .000
Teach Year Secondary Elementary .84(*) .139 .000
PRESUM Secondary Elementary 5.7748(*) .51170 .000
PRASUM Secondary Elementary 14.9581(*) .79087 .000
Post-hoc comparisons
What Variables Predict Effective Practices?
• For the Community-based Practices, the regression analysis indicated:– 4 variables significantly contributed (level of
preparation; secondary grades; certification status & years teaching)
• For the School-based Practices, the regression analysis indicated:– 3 variables predict 19% of the variance (level
of preparation; secondary grades; diploma)
Findings & Conclusions
• High quality teachers possess significantly more advanced degrees, are certified in their field in which they are teaching, and have many years teaching experience. These teachers indicated being well prepared for the majority of transition practices, and perform these practices at a higher rate than less qualified teachers.
• Overall, teachers felt less prepared in the transition practices than their level of performance. This might mean that teachers are practicing without the skills and preparation to effectively implement transition practices.
