Moving Transition Forward

The Moving Transition Forward: Exploration of College-based and Conventional Transition Practices for Students with Intellectual Disability and Autism (ID/A) project examines the composition and impact of existing transition practices for students with ID/A. In this Institute for Education Sciences (IES)-funded project, we conducted a series of secondary analysis studies with two national datasets.

About the Project

Moving Transition Forward: Exploration of College-based and Conventional Transition Practices for Students with Intellectual Disability and Autism (ID/A) is a research project comprised of three-phases of analysis on data collected about students attending high schools and college-based transition programs across the U.S. to define, explore, and compare critical aspects of two transition approaches: 

  • a college-based transition experience provided via partnership between local education agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs), and
  • a conventional transition experience offered by a LEA in a high school or community setting. 

The Moving Transition Forward Theory of Change shown below reflects our intent to explore the malleable factors and test moderating and mediating relationships, resulting in identifying recommendations to improve transition experiences for students with ID/A.

 

A model explaining connection between youth, their in-school transition experiences and post-school outcomes. In-school approaches to transition can be either conventional or college-based. In-school transition experiences can include research-based transition services as well as preparation for employment and preparation for college (the model shows the latter as predictors of paid employment in school). In-school experiences predict post-school outcomes in education and employment. Throughout the model, moderating variables are disability status, other youth factors, family factors, and school factors.

 

Learn more about the MTF studies  

Learn more about the datasets used in this project  

Funding Information

This project is funded by Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), Special Education Research Grants competition (Award number: R324A190085).