New Zealand/United States: Distinct Policies, Impacts Upon Transition Teachers of Students With Significant Disabilities

• In Event: 61.040 - Being and Becoming Citizen Teachers: Examining the Ecology and Complexity of Democratic Teacher Development

Abstract

Education practices used during the transition from school for students with disabilities have been mandated in the United States since 1983 (Will, 1985). In contrast, New Zealand’s transition practices have recently undergone pilot testing, and are linked with becoming a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. While individual transition outcomes (e.g., employment rates, post-secondary education completion) are important, the promotion and enhancement of an inclusive society is prioritized (Office for Disability Issues, 2015). The distinct philosophical derivations that shape specifications and requirements of the role of transition teachers in New Zealand and United States will be examined.
In both countries, teachers of transition interact with community organizations to facilitate transition. These interagency-collaborations, as they are known, position transition teachers as civic participants. When considered from the perspective of citizen teachers (Grumet, 2010), the relational aspects of transition teaching hold subtly different functions in New Zealand and United States. These nuanced differences are framed using capability (Nussbaum, 2006), whereby disability becomes an element of diversity that enhances society with its inclusion (Mitra, 2006).
This paper reports on the findings of an in-depth, qualitative, meta ethnography (Noblit & Hare, 1988). After comparative policy timelines were constructed, meta ethnography guided review of seminal empirical studies drawing key comparisons between each country’s dominant research literature. Analysis focused upon whether the distinct socio-political and philosophical foundations of disability rights in each country has led to qualitatively different expectations of teachers.
The findings from this work reveal that transition in New Zealand was tied to wider international practices of social development. Research described protecting human rights and rectifying political injustices. In the US, transition research implied accountability to individual’s civil rights. Implications held tacit impacts upon both students undergoing transition and their teachers that will be detailed in the paper. For instance, New Zealand does not require an individual disability label in order to receive educational or social welfare services. Additionally, New Zealand teacher preparation imbeds special education preparation, rather than differentiate special education as a unique endorsement. These and other socio-cultural aspects from each country are used to consider the nature what teachers do and the contexts that shape their actions.

Author

• Sarah M Hart, University of Hartford