Research Question_results Table

Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning Research question

Statistic

Result

RQ 1: What are the desires and expectations of parents for their children’s postschool options in education and employment?

Frequency

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School discussed the importance of high expectations: 54% yes Schools had high expectations for their children: 46.7% yes; 38.3% no; 15% unsure Most expected: Virginia Special Diploma 8.2% expected Virginia Modified Diploma 6% unsure of Diploma option 1. Education: Career or vocational preparation and training in career center for individuals with disabilities (D= 66%, E = 54%) Employment: Desired (67%) Integrated business environment with full benefits; Expected (54%) Volunteer and not receive pay 2. Education: Community continuing/adult education (D = 51%, E = 33%) Employment Sheltered workshop (D = 32%, E = 29%) 3. Education: Community continuing/adult education (D = 51%, E = 33%) Employment: Volunteer and not receive pay (D = 25%); Work in integrated business environment with full benefits (E = 28%) 4. Education: Continued course work on college campus (D = 58%, E = 20%) Employment: Own manage own business (D & E = 5% ) 5. Education: Enroll in college for credit (D = 23%, E = 12%)

RQ 2: What school-sponsored information and transition planning resources do parents of youth with intellectual disabilities access?

Frequency

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RQ 3: What other information and transition planning resources do parents of youth with intellectual disabilities access?

Frequency

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Parents preferred direct forms of communication or participation with the school and community Parents most frequently accessed information during: 1. Formal transition planning sessions - 91.8% 2. General meetings (e.g., back to school night) - 86.7% 3. Volunteer in school or school-related activities - 77% 4. Informal family/social events - 73.8% 5. Parent/teacher discussions - 65% Parents preferred direct forms of communication or participation with the school and community Frequencies for nonschool resources : 1. Government adult agencies - 60.7% 2. Disability support organizations (e.g., The Arc) - 59.3% 3. Parent information and training centers - 57% 4. Internet - 45% 5. College/university - 13% Less than half reported they received any information about PSE Parents indicated a low degree knowledge and access to information both from school and

RQ 4: Where do parents go to get information and resources for transition

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1|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)

Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning Research question

Statistic

planning, specifically for postsecondary education?

Result nonschool sources about PSE options Frequencies: Parents received PSE information from 1. Family members - 40.7% 2. Disability support organizations’ newsletters, journals - 36.7% 3. School Staff - 35% 4. Internet - 28.3% H 1: Parental involvement in transition planning activities positively correlates to the amount of time children have been included in the general education: •

RQ 5. Is there a relationship between the level of parental involvement in transition planning activities and the amount of time their children accessed and were included in the general education curriculum?

Spearman rho: School Participation and Nonschool Participation Scales

Results: Accepted with cautions

RQ 6: What is the relationship between parental access of information regarding the transition process, options, and outcomes for youth with intellectual disabilities and parents’ desires and expectations for their children?

Spearman Rho / Fisher’s r-Z:

H2: Parents involved in transition planning activities indicate stronger positive correlation between their D/E transition outcomes

H2: School Participation and Nonschool Participation Scales  D/E

Results School Participation Scale: Limited and with caution • Significant & stronger positive correlation to D/E • H2 accepted only for desire/expect volunteer and not receive pay: Significant differences between the low and high correlations • Exception: Least amount of participation  Highest correlation for desire/expected sheltered workshop • H 2 is accepted with caution for Postsecondary Scale (Z = 1.59, p = 0.056)

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Scales for School participation and Nonschool participation significantly correlated Relationship was only fair given the measures used in this survey with sample Total years included accounted for variances of 9% School participation & 7% Nonschool participation

H2 Results: Nonschool Participation Scale: Limited • Sheltered workshop: Stronger relationship to uninvolved parents • Stronger correlation with a good relationship with 1. Owning or managing a business 2. Volunteering and not receive pay 3. Postsecondary education scale • H2 accepted only for volunteering: medium involvement and high involvement (Z = 2.4, p = 0.08) H3: Received

2|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)

Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning Research question

Statistic Information about Postsecondary Education Scale  School & Nonschool Involvement

Result H 3: Parental access to information about postsecondary college or university options  stronger positive correlation between D/E for college as an option Tested for Received Information about Postsecondary Education Scale  School & Nonschool Involvement Results: Accepted with caution - School related information significant • Internal consistency of Received Postsecondary Information Scale: Fair degree of relationship (α = .497) •

H4: Received Information about PSE from Nonschool Scale  D/E

RQ 7: Is there a relationship between the amount of time a youth has been included in the general education curriculum and desires and expectancies of the parents of youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities in the transition process?

Spearman Rho: Total time included in general education  D/E for college

Of interest: Stronger correlation in mid-range of access

H4: Parents seeking information from outside of school sources about transition planning Stronger positive correlation between D/E transition outcomes Results: Accepted only for own or manage business - significant difference between low and medium level of information • Positive correlations for parents who D/E: 1. Business environment with full benefits (low group to middle group 2. Own or manage business perfectly correlated for high to low and middle group) 3. Postsecondary education (high group to low group; medium had strongest correlation of all three • Sheltered workshop & volunteer and not receive pay - higher correlation for those in lowest information group H5: Children who spent a greater amount of time included in the general educational and curriculum  stronger positive congruence between D/E transition outcomes Results: Rejected H6: Parents of children who have spent a greater amount of time included  D/E college transition outcomes for their children with intellectual disabilities Results: H6 is accepted: Significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed) for desire PSE / Significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed) for expectation PSE

3|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)