This study was aimed at investigating the degree to which field practitioners in transitional education recognize the performance and the linkage level of service programs including intellectual special school settings, special education support cente...
This study was aimed at investigating the degree to which field practitioners in transitional education recognize the performance and the linkage level of service programs including intellectual special school settings, special education support centers, and skills training centers.
Recently, special education emphasizes on the interaction among education systems and related organizations. Professionals have been concerned about individualized learning, and the evaluation of each system to improve the quality of life for students with intellectual disability. These paradigms and themes focus on the holistic growth, learning, basic abilities, and students’ attitude toward their, career, including the units of individual and environment to improve full community participation.
However, there has been a limitation to apply principles and guidelines mentioned above in reality. Due to the lack of a linkage between community welfare agencies and business sectors, most students with special needs are remaining in the unemployment status after graduating from high schools. Thus, transition education provides these students with smooth transition to post secondary vocational education, independent living and participation in the community.
Thus, this study examined the current level of recognition about program performance and linkage of transition education in special education settings with other welfare organizations.
This study considers transition education as a comprehensive system of promoting the employment opportunities and social participation. Therefore, to analyze the level of performance and practitioners’ awareness of transition education, specific attitudes related on experimental linkage were set up as significant research topics.
A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to workers from a total of 156 schools and 172 special education support centers in the country by regular mails. In addition, an e-mail survey and individual contacts were conducted for improving the questionnaire return.
Total of 245 questionnaires were returned were finally analyzed using SPSS/WIN 20.0 of IBM and the Lisrel statistical software package program. As a whole the question response rate in this study was 26.63%.
Descriptive statistics was used to draw means, standard deviations, and other relates results including frequencies. The parametric statistics was also used to compare means and to generate correlation coefficients. Finally a, structural equation model was used to figure out the paths and effect sizes between research variables and factors.
To look at the factors related with the practice of intellectual special education schools for intellectual disability in Korea and the linkage of transition education was explored. The questions related to the performance level of the schools received more than a 3 point out of the 5-point scale except professionalism and number of practitioners.
Linkage questions received more than 3.19 points except termination and continuing guidance. As a result, first, administrative and financial support should be made for transition education. Second, cooperation organizations including community welfare agency, parents, school governing body, and etc. should be more organized. Third, to provide successful transition for students with intellectual disability to the community, the teachers influence on students and continuous education for adults with disability should be studied systematically.
Transition plan of special education institution must contain factors including content of instruction, instruction media, and instruction method but most importantly, teacher’s role as a leader must be recognized as a national issue with the comprehensive concept of continuous management.