This is the third of a six part series dedicated to inspiring leadership on transition teams through the use of resources including evidence, tools and models for high school based practice. Feel free to contribute your own comments about tools and resources you use that are not mentioned here! Please note, in an effort to keep the information in the more casual form of a blog, a reference list is available via email to the author at heatherj@newviewot.com.
"If there is a better way to practice, therapists should find it.”-Law & MacDermid
Student-Centered is an Evidence and Ethics-Based Practice
There are misconceptions about evidence-based practice. Before I summarize some recent research that impacts how we prepare students for transition I want to stress one point about the term evidence-based practice.
Many practitioners don’t realize evidence-based practice includes the integration of the student’s wishes, goals, strengths and needs based on our thorough interview and observations of the student; it is not the sole use of research-based activities in practice.
Evidence-based is student-based.
While school-based practice is not a clinical-based practice, it does require a thorough gathering of all evidence to create an effective, student-oriented IEP— including research based practices to the best extent possible.
I bring up this point because we owe our students our best effort and avoiding the use of interventions that are shown to work means we are also influencing the possible outcomes of our students.
Evidence-based is ethics-based.
Evidence that Impacts School-Based Transition Interventions
Lee & Keilhofner (2010)
The factors that impact employment: volition, time not working, previous employment, environmental support, skills, and the workers beliefs about the environment
Becker et al. (2001), Campbell et al. (2010), Drake et al. (1999), Lehman et al. (2001)
In order to have the best vocational outcomes supported employment and the integration of student work interests and preferences are more supported by evidence than pre-vocational tasks.
Benz, Lindstrom & Yovanoff (2000)
These researchers found that work experience in combination with mastery of individualized transition goals supports best post-school outcomes. More specifically, and importantly they found:
Students who did not feel their transition goals were based on their unique preferences also had worse outcomes in post-secondary employment.
AND
Surveyed students who felt their transition goals were focused on their interests had a greater chance of post-secondary employment.
Rabern, Dunn & Chambers (2010)
In probably the most significant research to determine successful post-secondary outcomes for students these researchers explored what impact employment vs. non-employment at the time of graduation from high school had on students.
87% of 1,393 students who were employed at the time of graduation were still employed one year after graduation.
The Bottom Lines
1. We must consider the factors that impact a student’s work success including their desires, if they’ve worked before, how much support they need, how they perceive the workplace and what skills they have to complete the job
2. Real-life, community based employment with support will give our students better success than simulated pre-vocational tasks
3. If we do not have individualized transition goals based on the student’s input they are not as likely to be employed or feel positive about their high school experience after graduation
4. If our students are employed when they graduate they will be more likely to be employed a year after graduation