 Postsecondary Education Supports and Accommodations
Related Research
Getzel, L., Stodden, R. A., & Briel, L. (2001). Pursuing postsecondary education opportunities for individuals with disabilities. In P. Wehman (Ed.), Life beyond the classroom: Transition strategies for young people with disabilities (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Brookes.
The number of postsecondary students reporting a disability has increased dramatically, climbing from 2.6% in 1978, to 9.2% in 1994, to nearly 19% in 1996 (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Since 1990, there has been a 90% increase in the number of colleges, universities, technical institutions, and vocational technical centers offering opportunities for persons with disabilities to continue their education (Pierangelo & Crane, 1997). Nonetheless, the enrollment of people with disabilities in postsecondary institutions is still 50% lower than enrollment among the general population. This gap in educational attainment significantly affects the long-term employment prospects for persons with disabilities. This book chapter discusses a series of decisions that need to be made in order for individuals to select a program that best meets their academic and personal needs. Current trends in postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities are explored. The authors explore critical factors in successfully transitioning from secondary to postsecondary education programs, in addition to best practices in educating students with disabilities who are seeking advanced degrees.
Sharpe, M., & Johnson, D. R. (2001). A 20/20
analysis of postsecondary support characteristics.
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 16(3/4), 169-177.
An
analysis was conducted with data obtained from a national survey
to study institutional characteristics of support services that
reflect high and low levels of capacity based on supports and accommodations
available to students. In this analysis, two-year and four-year
public and private institutions (N = 259) were partitioned into
two groups representing "High Capacity" and "Low Capacity" institutions to examine issues related to institution size, disability types of students served, staff-to-student ratios, and other elements of services that reflect "capacity".
Results of this study indicate that High Capacity institutions
provide significantly more supports and accommodations to a more
diverse range of students with disabilities, even with staff-to-student
ratios about the same or higher than Low Capacity institutions.
Also, supporting other research conducted in this area, large,
public institutions were found to reflect a greater level of capacity
than small, private institutions.
Stodden, R. A. (2001). Postsecondary educational supports
for students with disabilities: A review
and response. Journal
for Vocational Special Needs Education, 23(2), 4-11.
Legislation
and practice in the provision of supports to students with disabilities
in postsecondary educational settings is fairly recent and undocumented.
Current research does not provide a clear picture of the availability
and effectiveness of educational supports necessary for students
with disabilities to successfully complete postsecondary education
programs and obtain or sustain employment relative to training. Due
to the piecemeal and unorganized nature of the information available,
it is difficult to formulate conclusions and recommendations leading
to improved postsecondary education and subsequent employment outcomes
for people with disabilities. An extensive literature review was
conducted to examine existing knowledge and perspectives on the provision
of educational supports to students with disabilities in postsecondary
educational settings.
Vreeberg-Izzo, M., Hertzfeld,
J., Simmons-Reed, E., & Aaron, J. (2001).
Promising practices: Improving the quality
of higher education for students with disabilities.
Disabilities Studies Quarterly,
21(1).
A program improvement cycle for increasing the
quality of postsecondary programs for students
with disabilities is described. Nine promising
practices were selected from a review of promising practices submitted
by 21 model demonstration projects that have been charged with improving
the quality of postsecondary education for students with disabilities.
These nine practices were divided into three phases of the program improvement
cycle: (a) assessing the climate of the institution; (b) delivering professional
development activities to administrators, faculty, and students; and
(c) building capacity for institutional change. Focus group comments
from faculty and students are infused throughout the article to illustrate
the beliefs and recommendations of these two primary stakeholders. For
a similar document, see: http://www.rrtc.hawaii.edu/documents/products/phase2/pdf/022d(1)-H01.pdf
Other pages on this topic:
Other topics:
^ Top of Page ^
|
