The passage of the 1983 Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 98-199) marked the beginning of the federal transition initiative. Discretionary monies earmarked for transition under this law authorized the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), U.S. Department of Education, to fund an Institute to study the issues and problems related to secondary special education and transitional services. In August of 1985 the Transition Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was formed under the directorship of Frank R. Rusch. Since 1985, the Institute has conducted a number of intervention, evaluation, and policy studies aimed at improving our understanding of transition processes and outcomes. Descriptions of these studies can be found in any one of the 60 Institute monographs. In addition to research, the Institute provides evaluation technical assistance to over 400 transition model demonstration projects funded by OSERS since 1984. The Transition Research Institute is designed to address both the theoretical and practical problems of transition, and to organize and conduct a complementary set of activities including research, evaluation, and evaluation technical assistance. The on-going mission of the Institute is to define effective practices that will promote the successful transition of youth with disabilities from school to adult life.
The research goals of the Transition Research Institute at Illinois are two-fold. The Institute seeks to validate and refine educational strategies and outcome indicators for effective transition programs, and to collect and analyze data related to transition models being implemented throughout the United States for youth with disabilities. The following research programs are underway to address these goals:
The goal of the Evaluation Technical Assistance component of the Transition Research Institute at Illinois is to actively encourage and provide evaluation technical assistance to all OSERS-funded transition model demonstration projects, cooperating state educational agencies, OSEP regional resource centers, and other organizations providing data for evaluation research on transition program effectiveness. Technical Assistance covers such areas as evaluation design, management, instrumentation, data collection methods, data analysis evaluation, utilization, and dissemination. The Institute provides technical assistance using a variety of strategies, including:
In addition to intervention and evaluation research and evaluation technical assistance, the Transition Research Institute at Illinois engages in several supporting activities to promote the dissemination of advances and issues in secondary education and transitional services and to foster communication among transition model demonstration projects. Support activities include:
For more information on the Institute's support activities,
contact:
Thomas E. Grayson or
Paula D. Kohler or
Lynda Leach to join
Tri-Talk ListServ.