Journal Articles by Audrey Trainor
Community conversations as a method of gathering and analyzing qualitative data
Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 2018
Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 2017
This study investigated to what extent faculty members include and value transition curricula in ... more This study investigated to what extent faculty members include and value transition curricula in special education preparation programs in Saudi Arabia. A web-based survey was conducted and sent to special education professors across 20 universities. Descriptive statistics and a t-test analysis generated three main findings: (a) Institutions covered transition by adding specialized courses and/or through infusing of transition content in other courses, (b) institutions covered all 29 transition competencies at varying rates, and (c) both male and female faculty members placed high value on teaching their students in the principles of transition education and services. Implications and recommendations for future research were discussed.
Adolescents and young adults with disabilities continue to experience post- school outcomes indic... more Adolescents and young adults with disabilities continue to experience post- school outcomes indicative of those at the margins of society. Many young adults with disabilities have dreams and goals similar to their peers without disabilities, but they continue to face challenges to make these becoming tan- gible realities. This paper explores Bourdieu’s capital theory as a useful frame- work for understanding the transition of adolescents and young adults with disabilities into adulthood, emphasizing the importance of context, power, and status as constructs in need of examination. By enhancing our critical, socio- cultural view of transition through an exploration of eld, habitus, and social and cultural capital, we can more comprehensively address the challenges with individuals with disabilities and promote equitable postschool outcomes.
Review of Educational Research, 2016
Neither legislative demand for evidence-based practices nor a focus on experimental designs for e... more Neither legislative demand for evidence-based practices nor a focus on experimental designs for educational interventions has ameliorated the dis-parate educational opportunities and outcomes for youth from nondominant cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Recent initiatives to increase the rigor of intervention research in special education have largely ignored the implications of culture and its role in experimental research. The extent to which the experimental intervention studies are culturally responsive remains unex-plored. We developed a rubric, modeled after prior rubrics for quality indicators of special education research, identifying criteria for culturally responsive research. Rubric items were created following a systematic review of literature and gathering feedback from experts. The 15-item rubric uses culture as a generative concept that mediates each aspect of experimental intervention research. Implications include expanding the field's dominant empirical paradigm and increasing reflexivity and responsivity in knowledge production that may contribute to a paradigm expansion in special education research. The purpose of this article is to present a culturally responsive research (CRR) rubric for experimental intervention studies, its underlying theoretical framework, and the methodology of its development. We aim to operationalize culturally responsive experimental intervention research and to expand the conceptualiza-tion of methodological rigor to include the role of culture in special education research. Recently, special education scholars have called for increased attention to the cultural aspects of intervention studies, analyzing results, and disseminating
Community conversations: Engaging stakeholders to improve employment-related transition services for youth with emotional and behavioral disabilities
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 2016
Characteristics of Transition Planning and Services for Students With High-Incidence Disabilities Article in Learning Disability Quarterly · September 2015
Transition planning is conceptually and empirically linked to successful postschool outcomes for ... more Transition planning is conceptually and empirically linked to successful postschool outcomes for adolescents with disabilities and has been legally mandated for more than two decades. Unfortunately, young adults with high-incidence disabilities, including learning disabilities (LD), emotional disabilities (ED), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), continue to experience poor postschool outcomes. Using a secondary analysis of the second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2), this study examined both the quality and characteristics of transition plans for a nationally representative group of adolescents with high-incidence disabilities and the extent to which transition planning and services were similar across the three high-incidence disabilities. Findings indicate that a majority of students with high-incidence disabilities have transition plans and that key stakeholders participated in planning meetings. Findings also support the inclusion of adolescents with LD, ED, and ADHD in the larger category of high-incidence disabilities. Implications include further examination of the disparate relationship between planning and outcomes.
Remedial and Special Education, 2016
Little is known about the characteristics, transition education, and postschool outcomes of Engli... more Little is known about the characteristics, transition education, and postschool outcomes of English learners with disabilities (ELSWDs), despite that English learners are a rapidly growing group of U.S. students with consistently poor outcomes. This study examines a nationally representative sample of ELSWDs through a secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Complex Samples statistical analyses were used to identify ELSWDs' sociodemographic characteristics, education and transition program characteristics, and postschool outcomes. Results confirmed disproportionate identification by race/ethnicity for Latinos and White as ELSWDs. Findings also illustrated alignment between transition planning and courses taken, yet postschool employment was significantly lower for ELSWDs. Implications include the need for research methods that address ELSWDs disproportionality in high school and transition outcome variables unique to this population. Implications for practice include the development of teacher preparation programs that apprise secondary special educators of ELSWD characteristics and their transition-related preferences, strengths, and needs.
BACKGROUND: This study examines adult outcomes of young adults with high incidence
Transition Assessment and Planning for Youth With Severe Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
The Journal of Special Education, 2014
The Journal of Special Education, 2014
Researchers and practitioners have struggled to promote optimal academic, behavioral, and postsch... more Researchers and practitioners have struggled to promote optimal academic, behavioral, and postschool outcomes for historically marginalized youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. While there is a growing body of evidence-based interventions in special education, the extent to which these interventions are culturally responsive remains unexplored. Culturally responsive research (CRR) has gained increased attention in social sciences. The authors developed a 15-item rubric to evaluate the cultural responsiveness of research.They applied the rubric to six studies in transition education identified as high-quality intervention studies to determine the extent to which these met the criteria for CRR. Results from this analysis demonstrated that while none of the studies were indicative of CRR across all rubric items, strengths in question relevancy, sampling, participant description, and data collection strategies were noted.
Evaluating rigor in qualitative methodology and research dissemination
Remedial & Special Education, 2014
Qualitative Special Education Research: Purpose, Rigor, and Contribution
Remedial & Special Education, 2014
Exploring and developing reciprocity in research design
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2013
Social capital during the postsecondary transition for young adults with high incidence disabilities
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
Predictors of Postschool Employment Outcomes for Young Adults With Severe Disabilities
Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 2011
Although entry into the world of work is a prominent marker of postschool success in the United S... more Although entry into the world of work is a prominent marker of postschool success in the United States, students with severe disabilities often leave high school without the skills, experiences, and supports that lead to meaningful employment. The authors examined the extent to which an array of student, family, and school factors was associated with employment during the 2 years
Four supportive pillars in career exploration and development for adolescents with LD and EBD
Intervention in School and Clinic, 2012
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011
The early work experiences of a nationally representative sample of youth with severe disabilitie... more The early work experiences of a nationally representative sample of youth with severe disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities) were examined. Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, we explored the extent to which various student-, family-, school-, and community-level factors were associated with paid work experiences during high school. Findings highlight the elusiveness of early work experiences for many youth with severe disabilities and call attention to malleable factors that may play a role in shaping employment success during high school. Recommendations for research and practice are highlighted.
The Journal of Special Education, 2011
Although summer offers a natural context for adolescents to gain community-based work experience,... more Although summer offers a natural context for adolescents to gain community-based work experience, little is known about the extent to which youth with disabilities are accessing these transition-related opportunities.We examined the summer employment experiences of 220 youth with high-incidence disabilities at two time points. Although more than half of all youth were employed at some point during the summer, youth with emotional/behavioral disorders and intellectual disabilities worked at significantly lower rates than youth with learning disabilities, and all received limited formal support related to finding and maintaining their jobs. Skill-related factors and spring work experience emerged as prominent predictors of summer employment outcomes. We present recommendations for schools, families, and communities to expand summer employment opportunities for youth with disabilities as an avenue for promoting career development.
Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 2011
Despite the potential contributions of adolescent employment to postschool success, many youth wh... more Despite the potential contributions of adolescent employment to postschool success, many youth who experience emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) do not access these opportunities. This intervention study examined the effects of a package of strategies designed to increase access to summer work experiences. Fifty-seven youth with EBD from seven high schools were randomly assigned to intervention and comparison groups. A significantly higher proportion of youth in the intervention group were employed toward the end of the summer relative to youth from their same schools in the comparison group. Intervention components were rated as feasible to implement and acceptable to relevant stakeholders. Steps to sharpen the intervention’s ability to address the transition-related needs of youth with EBD are discussed.
Learning Disability Quarterly, 2011
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Journal Articles by Audrey Trainor