From School to Postsecondary Education: Qualitative Transition Profiles of Young Adults With Disabilities

• In Event: 63.079 - Postsecondary Outcomes for Individuals With Disabilities: Supports and Self-Advocacy for Transition

Abstract

Researchers have identified multiple K-12 factors that predict participation in postsecondary education among secondary students with disabilities, but few studies have examined how these factors are related to college persistence. This qualitative study investigated the K-12 and postsecondary factors thirteen young adults with disabilities perceived as affecting their persistence in college. Interview responses suggested 19 K-12 experiences (eight facilitators, 11 challenges) and 22 postsecondary experiences (12 facilitators, 10 challenges) influencing college persistence. Additionally, participants’ experiences were grouped by their perceptions of the transition to their postsecondary environments into four “transition profiles.” Findings help bridge K-12 and postsecondary research and can inform the work of schools and postsecondary institutions in supporting college persistence among students with disabilities.

Authors

• Elisabeth Kutscher, The George Washington University

• Beth Dawn Tuckwiller, The George Washington University