Date of Conferral

8-11-2026

Date of Award

August 2026

Degree

Doctor of Human Services (D.H.S.)

School

Human Services

Advisor

Sarah Matthey

Abstract

Students in special education may experience a variety of barriers to gaining cohesive and consistent life skills training programs. A lack of life skills training for special education students may lead to a lack of social-emotional skills, social awareness, and an overall lack of independence once students have graduated. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the charter school human service professionals’ perceptions of the life skills counseling services needed for K-8 self-contained students in Essex County, NJ. Botvin Lifeskills Training program was used as the framework for the study. Using a qualitative research model, semistructured interviews were conducted with eight different social workers, counselors, and learning specialists who currently work or have worked firsthand with special needs students. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of these analyses indicated a lack of resources for staff and students, a lack of training for staff, a lack of consistency in current programming, academic content prioritization over life skills training, a need for the creation of a curriculum for staff, an overall need for improvements to current life skills programming, a growing need for daily living skills and communication skills teaching, and a growing need for independence within the self-contained population. The results of this study may lead to positive social change by outlining necessary changes around improvement for self-contained life skills programming, which can aid in the creation of a successful program in the future.

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