Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Derek Schroll

Abstract

Individuals with mild disabilities are graduating high school and struggling to succeed in higher education and the workplace. An examination of how educators prepare students to develop the necessary skills for successful postsecondary outcomes was warranted in a western state to improve the success rate for individuals with mild disabilities. The framework for this project study was Wehmeyer and Schwartz’ theoretical framework for promoting enhanced self-determination as a means of achieving positive postsecondary outcomes. The research question guiding the study focused on how educators in a school district helped students with mild disabilities develop self-determination skills. The research design was a qualitative case study. Twelve high school teachers, a transition specialist, and a job developer were invited to participate in this study, utilizing semistructured interviews as one avenue to collect data for this study. Interview data were recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed to develop common themes. Students’ Individual Transition Plans were collected and analyzed, using a thematic analysis with open coding, to identify transition goals and any gaps in transition goals related to self-determination. The findings from this study indicated that these special educators’ lacked experiences with self-determination skills training which led them to feel underprepared to adequately instruct their students on how to develop self-determination skills. A 3-day professional development series was developed as a project to address these findings. The project could lead to improved post-secondary outcomes for students with disabilities in the areas of education and employment, resulting in social change through sustained student employment and positive educational outcomes.

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