Date of Award
Summer 7-16-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Bethany Powers
Second Advisor
Cherie Gaines
Third Advisor
Lindsey Cochran
Abstract
Few students with disabilities applied for postsecondary education disability services and, as a result, had lower graduation rates from four-year colleges than their non-disabled peers. The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to discover the perceptions of Tennessee public high school case managers regarding IEP transition planning and to discover their role in preparing 12th grade students with disabilities for postsecondary education disability services as minimal literature existed on the topic. I discovered four themes from coding questionnaire responses of 13 study participants. Most case managers (85%) relied on direct student input to create transition goals and perceived IEP transition planning was helpful. Few case managers (23%) believed they received any recent, beneficial training on IEP transition planning, but most (85%) wanted training, guided documents, or information on college disability services. Most case managers (92%) helped their students meet transition goals by building self-advocacy skills, facilitating postsecondary education transition experiences, or discussing goal progress with students. Despite most case managers (62%) perceiving most students needed postsecondary education disability services, and all case managers (100%) believing few students applied for those services due to lack of knowledge, lack of self-advocacy skills, or disability stigma, very few case managers (15%) directly helped their students complete the disability services application. This study was important to the education field as it provided 12th grade case managers’ perceptions on IEP transition planning and strategies to improve related practices. Any party responsible for helping students with disabilities transition to postsecondary education would benefit from this study.
Keywords
Case manager, disability services, higher education, IEP, stigma, transition
Recommended Citation
Bartles, Robert A., "The Perceptions of Tennessee Public School Case Managers on Individualized Education Program Transition Planning and Their Role in Preparing 12th Grade Students for Postsecondary Education Disability Services" (2024). Ed.D. Dissertations. 71.
https://digitalcommons.lmunet.edu/edddissertations/71
