ABSTRACT
Since 1990, and with subsequent amendments in 1997 and 2004, the transition provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have been a strong impetus for special educators to assume a coordinated approach to delivering transition services. The mandate contains language identifying special education teachers as having primary responsibility for overseeing the planning and facilitation of school to adulthood transitions. Despite such requirements, students with disabilities continue to face postschool outcomes in which they are less prepared for adulthood than their peers without disabilities (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). One reason students with disabilities may face challenges during transition could be due in part to secondary special education teachers’ feeling unprepared to plan for and deliver transition services (Li, Bassett, & Hutchison, 2009; Wolfe, Boone, & Blanchett, 1998). Effectively preparing transition educators requires focusing on knowledge and skills that are often beyond what is currently included in most special education teacher preparation programs (Anderson et al., 2003). Studies have revealed that special education teachers report a lack of knowledge of transition competencies and that this hinders their abilities to implement effective practices (Benitez, Morningstar, & Frey, 2009; Knott & Asselin, 1999). Consequently, teachers who are
• Transition planning is a legally mandated part of secondary special education students, yet many
secondary special educators are underprepared to plan and implement transition services.
