MODULE 3
CONCEPTS AND
PRINCIPLES
What the Module is about:
Transition is a lifelong reality. It is part of everyone’s life.
Aconceptthatimplies change and movement. The course is designed
todescribetheconcepts of implementing transition services, major
domains of transitionand guiding principles of transition.
WhatWillYou Learn:
At the end of this module you are expected to:
1. enumerate and describe the concepts and principles of transition for special needs students.
IMPLEMENTINGTRANSITION
In the United States, transition services for special needsstudentsbecame a
mandate in federal level special education [Link] known as the
Individuals with Disabilities EducationAct (IDEA),required transition services
for students with special needswhenthey attained the age of [Link] meant
that an array of serviceswould be initiated during the last years of secondary
[Link] be pointed out, however, that transition services
werebeingdeveloped and implemented in many parts of the
countryduringthemid to late 1980s.
A number of reasons can be identified to explain whytransitionservices
became a required component of the special educationprocess in the United
States. One of the most compellingreasonsthat led to the requirement of
transition services was thedataaboutthe adult outcomes of many former
special needs students. Researchthat had been conducted as part of a
number of different follow-ups t u d i e s s u b s t a n t i a t e d a r a t h e r b
l e a k pi ct ureofunemployment/underemployment, few individuals living
independently,limited social lives, and little community involvement.
Inadditiontothe adult outcome data, information related to
graduationratesindicating high dropout rates contributed to the movement
tobetterprepare students for life after secondary school.
In the Philippines, Republic Act (RA) 7277, known as “MagnaCartafor
Persons with Disability”
, underscored the State’s dutytoPersons
with Disability, the scope of which includes the delivery of adequateaccess to
quality education and sufficient opportunities todeveloptheir skills. These
commitments of the state are accomplishedthrough the Department of
Education (DepEd), which is mandatedtoensure that every Filipino learner
with special educationneeds,regardless of age, and socio-economic status will
haveaccesstoquality educational programs that will ensure his or
herholisticdevelopment to become a functionally literate citizen.
Major Domains of Transition
Although the actual transition domains used in various regions in the United States vary, anumber of key
areas for which transition assessment and planning should be [Link] 1, based on
the domains used in the Transition Planning Inventory (2ndedition), lists 11 transition [Link] scope
of these domains shows the type of comprehensivenessthat should be used when providing transition
planning and [Link] table alsoprovidesafew examples of what each domain covers. It is important
to note that most special needsstudents do not have problems in all of the domains; they often only have
transitionneedsinsome of the areas. Nevertheless, all areas should be examined for transition needs, as
well asidentifying transition strengths, as part of the process.
DOMAINS FEATURED CONTENTWorking
1. Career Choice and Planning Knows about job, knows howtoget ajob2. Employment
Knowledge and Skills Can acquire and performgeneral andspecificskills related to a job or jobs,
knows howtochangejobs
Learning
3. Further Education/Training Knows about options for further developmentbeyondhigh school,
has the skills to be successful, knowshowto
use support services
4. Functional Communication Is able to read, write, listen, and speakinappliedsettings
DOMAINS FEATURED CONTENTLearning
5. Self-Determination Understands one’s strengths and weaknesses, hastheabilityto plan,set goals,
and make decisions andhas theability
to be in charge of one’s life
Living
6. Independent Living Has skills related to a variety of everyday demands,suchascooking,
cleaning, and making simple repairs; hastheability
to solve everyday problems that arise andhas theskills
to use current technology
DOMAINS FEATURED CONTENTLiving
7. Personal Money Management Has skills associated with buying everydayitems, hastheability to pay
bills, maintain checking/savings accounts,
and budget money
8. Community Involvement and Usage Has skills associated with being a capablecitizen, hasthethe
ability to use services and resources inthe
community, has the ability to use local publictransportation
9. Leisure Activities Has awareness of a range leisure activities, participatesinindoor and outdoor
activities, is engagedinvarioustypesof
entertainment
DOMAINS FEATURED CONTENTLiving
10. Health Has knowledge and skills associated withstayingphysicallyhealthy, has knowledge and skills
associatedwithstaying
emotionally/mentally healthy and has knowledgeof appro-
priate sexual behavior
11. Interpersonal Relationships Has skills to interact appropriately with a rangeof otherpeople, has the
ability to make and keepfriends, hasthe
ability to deal with conflict and has the knowledgeandskills
required to be a good parent
Guiding Principles ofTransition
Certain principles are essential to guiding the transition process for special
needsstudents.
These principles have come from the professional literature on
transitionandfromactual practice and are listed below:
[Link] efforts should start early;;
2. Planning must be comprehensive;
3. Planning process must balance what is ideal with what is possible; 4.
Student participation is essential;
5. Family involvement is crucial;
[Link] transition planning process must be sensitive to family values andcultural diversity;
Guiding Principles ofTransition
[Link] identification of supports and services is extremely important; 8.
Community-based experiences and other activities are extremely helpful inestablishing
needed transition skills;
9. Having sufficient time to conduct a transition assessment, planning,
andinstruction is crucial;
[Link] transition planning process should include a focus on the student'sstrengths as
well as his or her needs;
11. Ranking of transition needs might be necessary;
12. Transition planning is beneficial for all students.
References:
James R. Patton , Min Kyung Kimii (2016).The Importance of Transition Planning for Special Needs
Students: University of Texas at Austin, East Tennessee State University, USA.
[Link]