Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning
Research question Statistic
RQ 1: What are the desires and Frequency
expectations of parents for their
children’s postschool options in
education and employment?
RQ 2: What school-sponsored Frequency
information and transition planning
resources do parents of youth with
intellectual disabilities access?
RQ 3: What other information and Frequency
transition planning resources do parents
of youth with intellectual disabilities
access?
RQ 4: Where do parents go to get
information and resources for transition
Result
• School discussed the importance of high expectations: 54% yes
• Schools had high expectations for their children:
• 46.7% yes; 38.3% no; 15% unsure
• Most expected: Virginia Special Diploma
• 8.2% expected Virginia Modified Diploma
• 6% unsure of Diploma option
1. Education: Career or vocational preparation and training in career center for individuals with
disabilities (D= 66%, E = 54%)
Employment: Desired (67%) Integrated business environment with full benefits; Expected
(54%) Volunteer and not receive pay
2. Education: Community continuing/adult education (D = 51%, E = 33%)
Employment Sheltered workshop (D = 32%, E = 29%)
3. Education: Community continuing/adult education (D = 51%, E = 33%)
Employment: Volunteer and not receive pay (D = 25%); Work in integrated business
environment with full benefits (E = 28%)
4. Education: Continued course work on college campus (D = 58%, E = 20%)
Employment: Own manage own business (D & E = 5% )
5. Education: Enroll in college for credit (D = 23%, E = 12%)
• Parents preferred direct forms of communication or participation with the school and community
• Parents most frequently accessed information during:
1. Formal transition planning sessions - 91.8%
2. General meetings (e.g., back to school night) - 86.7%
3. Volunteer in school or school-related activities - 77%
4. Informal family/social events - 73.8%
5. Parent/teacher discussions - 65%
• Parents preferred direct forms of communication or participation with the school and community
• Frequencies for nonschool resources :
1. Government adult agencies - 60.7%
2. Disability support organizations (e.g., The Arc) - 59.3%
3. Parent information and training centers - 57%
4. Internet - 45%
5. College/university - 13%
• Less than half reported they received any information about PSE
• Parents indicated a low degree knowledge and access to information both from school and
1|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)
 Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning

Research question Statistic Result

planning, specifically for postsecondary nonschool sources about PSE options

education? • Frequencies: Parents received PSE information from
1. Family members - 40.7%
2. Disability support organizations’ newsletters, journals - 36.7%
3. School Staff - 35%
4. Internet - 28.3%
RQ 5. Is there a relationship between the Spearman H 1: Parental involvement in transition planning activities positively correlates to the amount of time
level of parental involvement in rho: children have been included in the general education:
transition planning activities and the
amount of time their children accessed School Results: Accepted with cautions
and were included in the general Participation
education curriculum? and • Scales for School participation and Nonschool participation significantly correlated
Nonschool • Relationship was only fair given the measures used in this survey with sample
Participation • Total years included accounted for variances of 9% School participation & 7% Nonschool
Scales participation

RQ 6: What is the relationship between Spearman Rho H2: Parents involved in transition planning activities indicate stronger positive correlation between
parental access of information regarding / Fisher’s r-Z: their D/E transition outcomes
the transition process, options, and
outcomes for youth with intellectual H2: School Results School Participation Scale: Limited and with caution
disabilities and parents’ desires and Participation • Significant & stronger positive correlation to D/E
expectations for their children? and • H2 accepted only for desire/expect volunteer and not receive pay: Significant differences between
Nonschool the low and high correlations
Participation • Exception: Least amount of participation  Highest correlation for desire/expected sheltered
Scales  D/E workshop
• H 2 is accepted with caution for Postsecondary Scale
(Z = 1.59, p = 0.056)

H2 Results: Nonschool Participation Scale: Limited

• Sheltered workshop: Stronger relationship to uninvolved parents
• Stronger correlation with a good relationship with
1. Owning or managing a business
2. Volunteering and not receive pay
3. Postsecondary education scale
• H2 accepted only for volunteering: medium involvement and high involvement (Z = 2.4, p =
0.08)
H3: Received

2|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)

 Quantitative Results: Parent Involvement in Transition Planning

Research question Statistic Result

Information H 3: Parental access to information about postsecondary college or university options  stronger
about positive correlation between D/E for college as an option
Postsecondary Tested for Received Information about Postsecondary Education Scale  School & Nonschool
Education Involvement
Scale 
School & Results: Accepted with caution - School related information significant
Nonschool • Internal consistency of Received Postsecondary Information Scale: Fair degree of relationship
Involvement (α = .497)

• Of interest: Stronger correlation in mid-range of access

H4: Parents seeking information from outside of school sources about transition planning Stronger
H4: Received positive correlation between D/E transition outcomes
Information
about PSE Results: Accepted only for own or manage business - significant difference between low and medium
from level of information
Nonschool • Positive correlations for parents who D/E:
Scale  D/E 1. Business environment with full benefits (low group to middle group
2. Own or manage business perfectly correlated for high to low and middle group)
3. Postsecondary education (high group to low group; medium had strongest correlation of
all three
• Sheltered workshop & volunteer and not receive pay - higher correlation for those in lowest
information group
H5: Children who spent a greater amount of time included in the general educational and curriculum 
stronger positive congruence between D/E transition outcomes
Results: Rejected

RQ 7: Is there a relationship between the Spearman H6: Parents of children who have spent a greater amount of time included  D/E college transition
amount of time a youth has been Rho: Total outcomes for their children with intellectual disabilities
included in the general education time included
curriculum and desires and in general Results: H6 is accepted: Significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed) for desire PSE / Significant at the 0.01
expectancies of the parents of youth education  level (1-tailed) for expectation PSE
with intellectual or developmental D/E for college
disabilities in the transition process?

3|Donna Martinez, Ed.D. (2009)