Transition of Special education students

Transition of Special Education Students

Introduction

Making the transition from tertiary study to the workforce is a journey undertaken by thousands of graduates each year. With some three to six years of higher education behind them and their degree firmly in hand, graduates set out to find themselves a job. These graduates make decisions regarding career and employment choices, undergo a job search and, if successfully recruited, progress into possibly their first career position. However, the significance and poignancy of this life transition has been largely ignored and underestimated. It is one that will affect their quality of life, especially in the short term. It can also be a time fraught with stress, anxiety, shock, fear, uncertainty, loss, loneliness, depression and feelings of low self worth. These are feelings not routinely anticipated by students. They are also experiences that are not widely understood by the business community, by tertiary institutions or by scholars of the higher education experience.

Transition of Special education students: Are high school graduates prepared for life after graduation

Much attention has been focused on the importance of the early experiences of undergraduate students in mass higher education systems. The problematic nature of transition from school to university (Elsworth et al., 1982; Ramsden, 1992; McInnes and James, 1995; Hargreaves et al., 1996; Latham and Green, 1997; Earl et al., 1998), as well as the experience of students once at university, has been examined by many (Watkins, 1982; Williams, 1982; Williams and Pepe, 1983; Lewis, 1984; Mitchell, 1990; Emjay Research Consultants, 1995; McInnes and James, 1995; Latham and Green, 1997; James et al., 1999).

There has been attention to the first year experience and levels of student satisfaction (Watkins, 1982; Williams, 1982; Williams and Pepe, 1983), how students adjust to the larger social setting (Mitchell, 1990), the personal world of the university student (Lewis, 1984; McInnes and James, 1995) and that students are most likely to form lasting outlooks and values with respect to higher education and lifelong learning, including establishing that there is often a gap between student expectations and the reality of the experience, during the first year of higher education (McInnes and James, 1995, p. 11.2). Importantly, it has been noted that students undergo rites of passage as they move from the membership of one community (school) to another (university) (Christie and Dinham, 1991).

Additionally, the literature also looks at the experience of searching for a job after finishing university. There are numerous publications and internet sites offering insights, tips and strategies for job search success (for example Lussier and Noteman, 1997; Bolles, 1999; GCCA, 2000; Koen and Lee, 2000; O'Brien, 2000; Phillips and Weddle, 2000). Student job-seekers are informed about ways to develop their career goals, improve their resumés, create attention-grabbing covering letters, develop, contact, pursue job leads and amaze interviewers at their subsequent job interviews. However, the usefulness of these publications remains questionable and they certainly do not provide a complete picture of the story of the shift from university life to full time career ...