Project Activities
The research team will iteratively revise the existing TCSS PD model, conduct a pilot test on the new TCSS+ for feasibility and promise to enhance student transition outcomes for students with disabilities, and conduct a cost analysis.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The intervention will take place in secondary schools in Kansas, Oregon, and Virginia.
Sample
Researchers will work with six districts (two per state). The target population includes secondary and transition educators who will work as a team to complete the TCSS+. In the initial phase, approximately 36-39 individuals (educators, service staff, families, and students) will work with TCSS+ staff to provide input related to the inclusion of coaching, focusing on the unique district contexts. To develop a measure of educator self-efficacy, approximately 300 special educators will participate. For the feasibility and fidelity testing of TCSS+, researchers will recruit six teams (one per partner district) to complete the PD plus coaching and provide further input. For the pilot study, 20-27 secondary schools will participate. Accounting for potential attrition, the final sample for the pilot will include 10 TCSS+ and 10 control teams, each with 6-12 members, leading to a total of 80 educators and 160 students with disabilities.
Intervention
The TCSS+ will be a professional development program to train teams of transition educators to effectively use transition assessment processes and methods during transition planning and to subsequently use the newly acquired skills to develop high-quality, student-focused transition IEPs, to facilitate positive postschool outcomes. Based on the existing TCSS, which incorporates team-based and hybrid learning, the TCSS+ will include (a) a research-based coaching method that is feasible within a range of school contextual factors and (b) systematic data collection of outcomes that include teacher self-efficacy of transition planning; student skills and behaviors necessary to plan for postsecondary outcomes; and student-self-efficacy toward job preparation skills, time management, and goal setting.
Research design and methods
: For the phase 1 design and iterative testing process, the research team will use a mixed methods approach, including focus groups, surveys, user reports, observational checklists, and other outcomes measures for transition educators and their students. They will also collect educator data online to test a researcher-developed self-efficacy scale. During the phase 2 feasibility and fidelity testing, researchers will continue to gather data using mixed methods (including focus groups, pre–post measures of teacher knowledge and self-efficacy, IEP coding, and student outcome measures). During the phase 3 pilot testing, the team will conduct a randomized controlled trial, using the final versions of outcome measures from phase 2, to test the promise of efficacy of the TCSS+ on teacher and student outcomes.
Control condition
In the control condition of the pilot study, secondary and transition educator teams will implement business-as-usual transition practices. Participants in the control group will have the opportunity to complete the TCSS+ once data collection is complete.
Key measures
: For feasibility and fidelity testing, researchers will evaluate educator knowledge of TCSS+ using (a) a researcher-designed knowledge test, (b) a researcher-designed scale of educator self-efficacy for evidence-based transition IEPs, and (c) the quality of transition IEPs using an IEP coding rubric. Researchers will also use existing psychometrically validated measures to examine student-level outcomes, including non-academic skills and behaviors that are necessary for postsecondary employment and education outcomes (using the Transition Assessment Goal Generator) and student self-efficacy for completing specific vocational tasks related to job preparation skills, time management, and goal setting (using the Vocational Skills Self-Efficacy Scale). Researchers will assess TCSS+ fidelity of implementation using a fidelity assessment tool. In the pilot study, educator and student outcomes will be assessed with the measures previously used and tested for feasibility in phase 2.
Data analytic strategy
For the iterative development, the research team will use qualitative content analysis to analyze focus group data and will use classic item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the educator self-efficacy scale. For fidelity and feasibility, researchers will use repeated-measures pre-post designs, with educators and students nested within teams, to examine educator and student outcomes. Researchers will also conduct inter-rater reliability testing for the IEP coding rubric and complete a descriptive analysis of the fidelity measure. For the randomized controlled trial, researchers will fit multilevel models to examine student and educator outcomes across the TCSS+ and control conditions.
Cost analysis strategy
The research team will identify, measure, and value the resources needed to implement TCSS+, including new expenditures and reallocations of existing resources, using the ingredients method during the pilot study. Costs will be calculated from a societal perspective, regardless of who pays or contributes. Cost estimates will reflect the cost of resources needed to implement TCSS+ above and beyond business as usual, identifying costs for staff, materials, and services (such as website server and accessibility services). Researchers will also report local costs, making geographical price adjustments as needed.
Products and publications
Products: This project will result in a fully developed, replicable, team-based professional development program, TCSS+, to support transition outcomes for students with disabilities. Products will include print and online learning materials, a coaching model, digital resources, and outcome and fidelity measures. The project will also produce peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Bodner, Todd; Uretsky, Matthew C.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.