Principal and Assistant Principal Involvement in and Barriers to Supporting Secondary Transition for Students with Disabilities

Abstract

To address disparities in post-school outcomes for students with disabilities, federal legislation mandates appropriate education programs to include transition planning and programs for students with disabilities. Because administrators are held responsible for ensuring appropriate educational programs for all learners including those with disabilities, it is important to understand their perspectives on secondary transition; however, research on administrators' involvement in secondary transition activities is limited. Using a single-state survey, this study examined the perspectives of secondary school administrators (i.e., principals and assistant principals) on their involvement and engagement in providing effective transition services for students with disabilities and their perceptions of barriers to providing and supporting transition efforts. Frequency of responses show the majority of administrators indicated they were highly involved in including parents and families in transition processes and attending IEP meetings. Yet, they were never directly involved with collaborating with community agencies to be actively involved with students with IEPs. Frequency of responses also show the majority of participants identified families not being prepared to participate in transition processes as a significant barrier as well as the absence of real-life instructional contexts (e.g., paid work experience) and lack of effective supports for students with IEPs from outside agencies as significant or moderate barriers. Implications for practice and future research are provided.