Although the literature is clear that self-determination is an important component of the transition planning process for students with disabilities preparing for postsecondary education, further studies are needed to explore what self-determination strategies these students use to remain in college and successfully meet the challenges in postsecondary education settings. This article describes a study conducted with postsecondary education students in 2- and 4-year college settings to (a) identify skills that effective self-advocates use to ensure they stay in college and obtain needed supports and (b) identify the essential self-determination skills needed to remain and persist in college. Findings from the study and implications for postsecondary education and secondary education are discussed.

Student alienation is a major cause of dropping out of school, gang activity and poor peer, school-student, and teacherstudent relationships. A considerable amount of research has focused on factors that distinguish between students who are engaged in the learning process and those who are not. This study examined the relationship between students and their perceptions of school life. A survey was distributed to over 200 students at two high schools in a large, urban school district in the southern United States. Results suggest that gender, race/ethnicity, and placement in special education are all strong factors in influencing whether students perceive school and/or life in general as alienating. The limitations of the study as well as future research directions and implications for practice are discussed.

Although social skills have long been recognized as essential in promoting employees’ employability (e.g., maintaining employment), there has been little research about work-related social skills for the last two decades. A systematic replication of Salzberg, Agran, and Lignugaris/Kraft’s investigation of critical social skills was conducted. Specifically, a national sample of secondary teachers was asked to rate the importance of social skills in employment settings and the extent to which instruction was provided to teach these skills. Among the skills rated as most important were seeking clarification for unclear instructions, arriving at work on time, refraining from inappropriate touching of others, carrying out instructions needing immediate attention, notifying a supervisor when assistance is needed, responding appropriately to critical feedback, and interacting well with customers/clients. Interestingly, the skills perceived to be the most important were not the skills that were most frequently taught. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Promoting self-determination for students with disabilities has proven to be a critical component of effective transition planning. However, researchers seldom consider race when promoting self-determination for people with disabilities. The purpose of the current phenomenological research investigation was to explore how Black youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families explain transition planning experiences that promote and hinder self-determination. We found that participants in the current study experienced some hurdles during their transition experiences that they perceive are rooted in systemic and structural racism and ableism that prompted advocacy, family engagement, inclusion, building knowledge of rights, and other emergent strategies to promote self-determination. Findings from the current preliminary investigation have implications for transition and self-determination research, as well as improving the quality of services and support for Black youth with IDD and their families.

Young adults with intellectual disability (ID) continue to experience the least successful postschool outcomes among transition-aged youth ( Sanford et al., 2011 ). Experts disagree on the most effective approach to improve outcomes such as employment, postsecondary education, and community living. In 2015, the National Goals Conference brought together educational researchers to set an agenda to guide the field in terms of research, practice, and policy ( Thoma, Cain, & Walther-Thomas, 2015 ). One of their recommendations, based on promising research and practices, urged the field to identify effective personnel preparation and professional development practices that ensure general and special educators can implement a UDL framework ( Thoma, Cain, et al., 2015 ). This study surveyed program coordinators at accredited universities to determine what is currently being done to prepare educators to implement a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, the extent to which a UDL framework is being incorporated into preservice courses in higher education, and how a UDL framework is being used to improve postschool outcomes for youth with ID.