DCDT Fast Fact Sheets
The primary purpose of the DCDT Fast Fact Sheets are to disseminate information to the field related to key topics in secondary transition. Currently, the DCDT Fast Fact Sheets focus on a number of topics, including evidence-based predictors of post-school success for youth with disabilities, transition planning and assessment, transition specialist competencies, and recommendations for research in secondary transition. The DCDT Fast Fact Sheets related to the evidence-based predictors were developed to provide teachers, administrators, and families with information about, and ideas for, incorporating the secondary evidence-based predictors into the transition planning process. Next, the DCDT Fast Fact Sheet related to transition specialist competencies summarizes the competencies of transition specialists that go beyond the traditional special education teacher. Further, there are several DCDT Fast Fact Sheets that focus on transition planning and assessment, providing information about secondary transition evidence-based practices, and conducting age-appropriate transition assessment. Finally, the Recommendations for Research in Secondary Transition DCDT Fast Fact Sheet provides recommendations to the field of special education for future research endeavors in secondary transition. We hope you find the DCDT Fast Fact Sheets useful. We will continue developing DCDT Fast Fact Sheets, providing an overview of key topics in secondary transition with the hope of exciting readers to go and learn more.
Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment
Defines age-appropriate transition assessment and briefly discusses types of transition assessment (e.g., formal and informal), how to conduct assessments, and how to select instruments. Descriptions of what information assessments such as adaptive behavior scales and informal interviews can offer when planning for transition with students.
Access: Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment
Community-Based Vocational Exploration and Learning
This Fast Fact provides an overview of the Department of Labor and Wage and Hour Division laws presiding over students with disabilities involved with unpaid community-based work learning. This fast fact will provide information related to legislation and guidelines for delivering community-based vocational exploration and learning experiences for students with disabilities.
Access: Community-Based Vocational Exploration and Learning
Community Experiences
Defines community experiences and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in activities occurring outside of the school setting, supported with in-class instruction, where students apply academic, social, and/or general work behaviors and skills.
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Culturally Responsive Transition Practices
The focus of this FAST FACTS is to provide practitioners with suggestions to develop culturally responsive transition practices. Examples of culturally responsive postsecondary goals are provided along with additional resources to support culturally responsive transition practices for teachers.
Access: Culturally Responsive Transition Practices
Exit Exam Requirements/High School Diploma Status
Defines exit exam and high school diploma status, including essential program characteristics to support youth with disabilities in high school. Recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families are provided.
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Goal Setting for Transition-Age Students
Summarizes steps for teaching goal setting established by Wehmeyer and colleagues (2007). Includes benefits of teaching goal setting and the relationship of goal setting and self-determination.
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Inclusion in General Education
Defines inclusion in general education and provides recommendations for teachers and administrators on how to provide students with disabilities access to the general curriculum and how to engage students with disabilities in regular education classes with peers without disabilities.
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Interagency Collaboration
Defines interagency collaboration and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to engage stakeholders in the transition planning process. Strategies are provided to help ensure youth with disabilities have the necessary supports as they transition from high school into post-school life.
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Non-Academic Behaviors Associated with Post-School Employment and Education
This Fast Fact provides an analysis of the secondary transition qualitative and quantitative research literature to build constructs and lists of student non-academic behaviors associated with post-high school employment and education.
Access: Non-Academic Behaviors Associated with Post-School Employment and Education
Occupational Courses
Defines occupational courses and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in exploring various career pathways and developing specific skills through instruction and experiences focused on their desired employment goals.
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Paid Employment and Work Experience
Defines paid work employment and work experience for youth with disabilities and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in participating in full-time or part-time paid employment and work experiences during high school.
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Parental Involvement
Defines parental involvement and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to engage families and ensure parents/families/guardians are active and knowledgeable participants in all aspects of transition planning (e.g., decision-making, providing support, attending meetings, advocating for their child).
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Program of Study
Defines program of study, including essential program characteristics to support youth with disabilities in high school. Strategies for teachers, administrators, and families related to evaluating and identifying programs of study that meet the needs of youth with disabilities are included.
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Recommendations for Research in Secondary Transition
Provides recommendations to the field of special education for future research endeavors in secondary transition. Although these evidence-based practices and predictors have been identified based on high quality research, there continues to be need for rigorous research to identify additional secondary transition evidence-based practices and predictors of improved post-school success. Discusses need for high quality research in group and/or single-subject research as well as correlational research.
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Self-Care and Independent Living
Defines independent living and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in developing skills necessary for management of one’s personal self-care and daily living.
Access: Self-Care and Independent Living Skills
Self-Determination/Self-Advocacy
Defines self-determination and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in making choices, solving problems, setting goals, evaluating options, taking initiative to reach one’s goals, and accepting consequences of one’s actions.
Access: Self-Determination/Self-Advocacy
Social Skills
Defines social skills, including essential program characteristics to support youth with disabilities in high school. Recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families for providing social skills instruction to youth with disabilities are included.
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Student Support
Defines student support and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on strategies to support students as they move through the transition planning process. Resources for identifying student support needs and strategies are provided.
Access: Student Support
Teacher Hidden Bias
A chief barrier hindering the inclusive practices of students with disabilities, specifically those from culturally and linguistically diverse populations (CLD), is the attitude of teachers instructing them (Mullen, 2001). Particularly, these attitudes refer to the hidden biases teachers associate to this population. Research suggests both schools and cultures are becoming more diverse; however, the racial and ethnicity gap is widening relative to teacher (i.e., White) and student (e.g., Black, Native American, Latino) populations (Dingus, 2008; Philip, 2011; Shim, 2018) in the school environment.
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Transition Programs
Defines transition programs, including essential program characteristics to support youth with disabilities in high school. Recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families related to providing comprehensive and quality transition programs to youth with disabilities are included.
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Transition-Related Planning, Instruction, and Service Responsibilities for Secondary Special Educators
Summarizes the promising practices that emerged through research for which secondary special educators should be responsible (Kohler, 1998). These practices are organized according to the five categories in the Taxonomy for Transition Programming (Kohler, 1996) and form a foundation for transition related skill development for secondary special educators.
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Vocational Education
Defines vocational education and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in participating in a sequence of courses that will prepare students for a specific job or career.
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Work Study
Defines work study for youth with disabilities and provides recommendations for teachers, administrators, and families on how to support youth with disabilities in participating in work study opportunities during high school.
Access: Work Study