Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Graham Weir

Second Advisor

Edward nelson

Third Advisor

Edward Rodgers

Abstract

This study is in place to identify what needs to be outlined within an IEP transition plan, so that students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can experience success during their educational careers. The study will review results based on teacher-provided surveys to identify how high-quality transition plans impact the student’s educational success when transitioning from early childhood education to elementary and elementary to middle school. The transition process plan is designed to provide the needed student information from one educational entity to another. The goal is to reduce the amount of time to get the student what the student needs to be successful. The teachers will be allowed to supply anonymous answers to a survey to help understand what is working during transitions and what needs to change within transition plans to be successful. The information will be derived from the teacher’s knowledge of the students who have been part of the transition process within their tenure as either a teacher of typical or special education students. The study will survey teachers across a large suburban school district in the St. Louis area. In addition, a portion of the study will complete in-person interviews with targeted teachers to ask additional probing questions to understand what is required for a successful transition plan.

The goal of the study is to determine what high-quality transitional plans look like and explain how they are an important tool for providing a solid educational experience for students with ASD. The study hopes to provide school leaders and teachers with an additional resource that will showcase best practices across one large suburban school district in the St. Louis area. The study plans to collect data from Regular Education Teachers and Special Education Teachers through the use of an anonymous survey and in-person interviews. The researcher will analyze the participant’s answers to the survey questions and compare them to the success criteria provided.

This study aimed to address current support, the effectiveness of services, successful programs, critical resources, potential outcomes, and limitations for the school district's transition services through the program evaluation. The researcher developed a qualitative research study focusing on six research questions to provide recommendations on special education transition services for ASD students transitioning from early childhood to elementary and elementary to middle school. The researcher and dissertation committee developed a survey distributed to 350 employees within 10 elementary schools and two alternative schools in the district. The group received 31 responses to the questions. The survey was designed to understand the current processes in place for students with ASD, understand the gaps in the processes, as well as best practices. The survey also reached out to 15 total Regular Education Teachers and Special Education Teachers to see if they would be willing to be part of the interview process. Five employees volunteered to participate in the follow-up interviews. The survey and the interviews provided the needed information to help generate responses to the research questions. The researcher was able to use the provided information to align responses to the proper research questions. The research quickly identified patterns based on the responses. The patterns provided the researcher with the needed guidelines to produce the recommendations. The program evaluation response data supported the researcher's conclusion that the school district studied, provides basic transition services for students with ASD, but they have limitations that restrict the services from meeting the full potential that is needed to optimize the success of the students with ASD.

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