Project Activities
The research team will conduct four separate studies, to explore associations between student-, family-, and school-level factors, students' participation in the IEP transition planning process, and students' post-school goal aspirations. Secondary analyses of NLTS-2012 data will conducted and results will inform the development of a comprehensive model of factors that are associated with students' involvement in the IEP transition planning process and future goal aspirations.
Structured Abstract
Setting
Secondary data will be obtained from NLTS-2012, a nationally-representative study conducted in 2012-2013 involving approximately 12,000 secondary students (ages 13-21) with and without disabilities and their parents.
Sample
The sample will include the 8,960 students with IEPs across the disability categories defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and their parents.
Factors
The malleable factors under investigation include student- (e.g., self-determination), family- (e.g., parent involvement in education), and school-level (e.g., college or career readiness coursework, vocational experiences) factors that may be associated with student's involvement in the IEP transition planning meeting. Students' participation in the IEP transition planning process will also be examined as a malleable factor that may be associated with students' future goal aspirations.
Research design and methods
The research team will conduct four studies using extant data from NLTS -2012. The first study will provide a foundation for the other three studies by exploring students' experiences in IEP transition meetings (i.e., their invitation, attendance, and contribution) and differences in IEP transition meeting involvement based on type of disability and race/ethnicity. The second study will examine associations between malleable student-, family-, and school-level factors and student participation in the IEP transition planning process. The third study will examine relations between malleable factors and students' goal aspirations. The fourth and final study will use the results of the first three studies to develop and test a comprehensive model of factors that influence students' involvement in the IEP transition planning process and future goal aspirations. Findings will have implications for the development of an intervention targeting improved transition outcomes for students with disabilities.
Control condition
Due to the nature of the research design, there is no control condition.
Key measures
The research team will use a number of key variables included in the NLTS 2012 Youth Baseline Questionnaire and the NLTS 2012 Parent Baseline Questionnaire. These include variables related to students' participation in the IEP transition planning process, student-, family- and school-level characteristics, and variables to assess students' expectations for the future. Some variables will be directly analyzed and others will be combined to create variables representing constructs not directly assessed in NLTS-2012 (e.g., parent involvement).
Data analytic strategy
The research team will conduct descriptive statistics, correlation, regression analyses, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and multi-level structural equation modeling to explore the relationship among predictors (student, family, and school) and transition planning meeting invitation, participation, and contribution and future goal aspirations.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project will include preliminary evidence of a relationship between student-, family- and school-level characteristics and students' participation in the IEP process and post-school aspirations. Products will also include peer-reviewed publications and presentations.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Thurlow, Martha; Wu, Yi-Chen
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
