Supporting Strong Transitions Remotely: Considerations and Complexities for Rural Communities During COVID-19

Abstract

Transition education is a distinctive aspect of special education that extends well beyond the boundaries of the school building, engages partners from all corners of the local community, and addresses so many different life domains. In the midst of a pandemic, creative strategies are needed to equip students with the skills, knowledge, experiences, supports, and relationships that prepare them well for a future of flourishing in adulthood. In this article, we describe key features of high-quality transition education and illustrate some of the ways each area might be addressed remotely or at times when being present together is not possible. In addition, guidance is provided on how to ensure educators and service providers are well-prepared for their roles, as rural districts and communities seek ways to equip students and support their transitions using these new approaches.

Effects of virtual learning environments: A scoping review of literature

“…Further, this inclusion might allow for a greater basis of insight into the still emerging reality of widespread online education. Notable exclusions from the research that might have helped develop such a picture were many articles that focused on the VLE experiences of graduate and post-graduate level students (e.g., Chugani & Houtrow, 2020 ; Gardner, 2020 ; Shawaqfeh et al, 2020 ) and articles concerned with the mental health of educators who utilized VLEs (e.g., Watermeyer et al, 2021 ; Rowe et al, 2020 ; Ault et al, 2020 ; Alkarani & Thobaity, 2020 ; Schlesselman, 2020 ). The subsequent 63 articles were read in their entirety to determine whether their content would be appropriate for this scoping review.…”

Rural School Staff Roles in Career Development for Students With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Despite their distinct employment barriers, rural communities also possess unique assets for collaboration that can lead students to work. For example, rural communities may be particularly rich in social capital, networking, and relationships that could support collaboration (Ajilore & Willingham, 2019;Rowe et al, 2020). In smaller districts, rural staff can develop close relationships, tap into the tightly knit personal networks of one another, and develop awareness of formal and informal supports available within their local school communities.…”

Development of an Online Professional Development Module to Support Special Educators in Implementing the Universal Design for Transition Framework

“…Special education teachers have the responsibility to develop, plan, and implement student plans that include both academic and functional goals and progress. Secondary special educators need to have the knowledge related to provide transition instruction (Holzberg et al, 2018), know how to write student-centered goals within the context of the individualized education program (Rowe et al, 2020), and how to integrate academic content and functional/transition related activities into their instruction (Scott et al, 2019). Yet, special educators struggle to align academic and transition through goals, instruction, and assessment and many report their preparation did not include this instruction (Scott et al, 2019).…”