Introduction
In this chapter, I explore the literature around transition as it relates to both students with learning disability and those without disability, to signal that these groups largely experience different transition processes. I then move on to examine contemporary social responses to learning disability. This literature review will lay a foundation for the findings and discussion chapters, while building on the theme begun in Chapter 1 of the exclusionary processes that influence the experiences of young people with learning disability.
I first explore the theory, policy and practice of transition and explain how it relates to students with learning disability as they make the difficult move from school to post-school life. I then provide an overview of recent contemporary social approaches to the “problem” of learning disability to provide a historical context for the management and control of people with learning disability. This relates to the contemporary education issues described in the section on exclusion, inclusion and special education in Chapter 1.
I begin with a definition and overview of what the term “transition” means for this thesis, then I review how transition is conceptualised and positioned within education theory, policy and practice. I make brief reference to policy and practice within the wider social and welfare landscape, in recognition of the fact that this thesis is concerned with the transition from an educational environment to a community environment. I draw on transition to post-school life as a process for all students, in order to highlight the gap between students with and without learning disability. Further, I utilise recent literature on theory, policy and practice from the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand to provide a comparison and context for how the process of transition from school plays out in the lives of students with learning disability and their families as they move through their secondary schooling and enter the adult world. I conclude by drawing on current best practice in New Zealand as former manager of the Lead School Transition Service in Christchurch.
46
Conceptualising transition
The Oxford Dictionary defines transition as “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another” (OED, 2013). This general definition has relevance, as it describes transition as a process and not an event (McGinty & Fish, 1992). This definition also recognises that transition is a period of change. Transition: Getting It Right for Young
People (United Kingdom Department of Health/Child Health and Maternity Services Branch,
2006) also provides a useful definition of transition:
Transitions occur throughout life and are faced by all young people as they progress, from childhood through puberty and adolescence to adulthood; from immaturity to maturity and from dependence to independence. In addition, some young people experience extra transitions as a result of other life events for example, bereavement, separation of parents, and being placed in care. (Accessed online 28/09/12 at http://www.intellectualdisability.info/life-stages/transition-for- children-with-intellectual-disabilities)
However, what seems clear about transition from recent literature is that as a construct in contemporary Western societies, it is no longer a linear process where one moves from one stage to another in a predictable manner (Dee, 2006; Higgins, 2002; Mitchell, 1999). Nairn et al. (2012) suggest the duality between transitions – as a construct for change on the one hand, and as a steady progression through predictable stages from child to youth to adult on the other – is problematic. It is problematic for any young person, and we need to question whether it is still appropriate in 21st-century Western societies. However, whether this linearity and predictability still remains relevant for young people with learning disability in its most restricted sense becomes an important idea in this thesis. Referring to young people in general, Higgins (2002) comments:
The international literature makes clear that young people encounter transition as a multi-faceted, non-linear process deeply embedded in institutional and social relationships and practices. In the post-war years in NZ, however, transitions policies simply transferred segregation among pupils into segregation among workers, while in the 1980s and 1990s the purity of the model of transition employed in policy assumed away a network of complexities that young people encounter in their choice-making and experiences of transition. (p. 57)
47
As researchers suggest, the non-linear nature of the transition process in most contemporary Western countries defines the context for the majority of young people. This begets the question of how students with learning disability experience the transition to post-school life in this complex environment. The move from “dependence to independence” is an important phrase and is contentious in relation to young people with learning disability. Historically; people with learning disability have been seen as dependent on others in various ways and to varying degrees. Special education and social welfare systems, services and their professionals have been responsible for managing that perceived dependency in schools and the community, as described in Chapter 1. This management is explored in second half of this chapter in relation to contemporary social responses to people with learning disability. What is clear from the literature is that the word “transition” is a term that has been used by professionals, particularly in relation to young people with learning disability leaving school, for approximately 25 years (Dee, 2006; Smith & Routel, 2010); in New Zealand, however, it is a term used only in the last decade or so.
In recognising transition as a process, it is fair to assume that all the transitions we make in our lives are interconnected. However, the transition process specific to this thesis is that from school to post-school life, and it is theorised in different ways by different people. Statistics New Zealand (2008) describes this particular transition as an ongoing and cooperative process in supporting a student to move from school to the next stage in life. It is this next stage that has proved such a challenge for students with learning disability who, I will argue, have been largely excluded from many of the opportunities experienced by their peers without disability, such as further education, paid employment, house rental or ownership, developing diverse friendship networks, marriage and children.
Research has shown that the transition from school is a major life change for any young person and their family (Dee, 2006; Nairn et al., 2012). However, the context in which students with learning disability and their families experience this transition is complex, as they negotiate meanings within unequal power relations, structures and systems such as education, health and social services, medical and other professional stakeholders (Barrkman, 2002; Raymond, 2002; Bogdan & Taylor, 1998; Seymour, 2001). For young people with learning disability, it is a time fraught with competing tensions and dilemmas (Ball, Maguire, & Macrae, 2000). Cooley and Moeschler (1993) describe how we all experience many
48
transitions in our lives – like moving from childhood to adulthood, finding a partner, changing jobs and buying a house – as well as going through fundamental stages such as birth, puberty and death. Our lives, then, are full of transitions and changes; further, how we rise or fall to these challenges and, crucially, how we interact with others and are supported to meet them will influence the types of lives we will lead. How we respond, individually and collectively, and the form of support we receive during the journey, becomes crucial and will have a direct bearing on our search for a good life.
Transition models
Mirfin-Veitch (2003), a New Zealand researcher, suggests that there are a number of different ways of theorising the transition to adulthood for people with learning disability, but according to the literature they fall mainly into two areas: “life phases” and “institutional status.” Meanwhile, Certo et al. (2008) highlight three institutional transitions: school to work, housing and domestic. How students with learning disability are prepared at school for this transition to post-school life becomes of paramount importance to the student and family. Preparation implies planning, which becomes a key element in the transition process and is discussed in detail later in this chapter.
Dee (2006) “explores the process of transition from three different but complimentary perspectives described as phase-related, agency-related and time-related” (p. 5). I now briefly describe these.
The phase-related model
The phase-related model of transition identifies a number of stages that we all go through in reaching adulthood. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) in the United Kingdom adopted this approach in 1986 as a way of defining a student’s secondary education as the first part of “a continuous journey that starts well before pupils leave school and does not end when they first enter work” (p. 42). Dee (2006) describes several markers of adulthood: paid employment; personal autonomy with legal and civil rights; friendships and social activities; and family roles and responsibilities. She acknowledges the real challenges
49
that students with disability experience in achieving adult status, such as negative attitudes and assumptions, a lack of information and a shifting labour market.
The agency-related model
Dee (2006) uses the agency-related model to define “the degree of agency and control that an individual has in determining the course of their lives” (p. 5). She acknowledges that while family, socio-economic status, gender and ethnicity continue to have a significant impact on people’s lives, the majority of people are more willing to challenge society’s taken-for- granted expectations of its citizens. The Western neoliberal drive for the “autonomous individual” has arguably brought about empowerment, control, greater mobility and self- determination for some, yet greater challenges for others including young people with learning disability.
The time-related model
Dee (2006) uses the time-related model to describe a process of lifelong development that has derived from many schools of thought, including biology, socio-psychology and sociology (p. 6). Dee draws on the work of Merriam (1999), who identifies three dimensions of time, that impact on the development of adulthood: historical, life and social time. Time has influenced societies and cultures in relation to changing expectations. Young people stay in education much longer in Western countries, but this might not be the case in other countries with different cultures (Browder et al., 2001). Dee points out that “different cultures emphasise different degrees of relatedness which varies not only between cultures but between ethnic minorities within the same society” (p. 7). Rites of passage are important and lead to one achieving different milestones that provide a purpose and value in life. For young people with learning disability, these rites to adulthood are often not experienced, experienced to a lesser degree, or experienced in a different way. Transition for young people with learning disability and their families is also largely played out through public bureaucratic processes (Ball et al., 2000). This does not always reinforce the positive aspects of these important milestones being reached and serves only to reinforce the young person and their family’s failure, anxiety and fear about change and what the future brings.
50
Other models
Other attempts to conceptualise school to post-school transition processes for students with disability were made in America by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) (Will, 1984). This model placed employment as the primary outcome of the transition process. Halpern (1985) proposed a model where community living was viewed as the primary outcome. Both of these models were based on special education services in American high schools.
A widely accepted and utilised model for transition practice is Kohler’s (1996) taxonomy for transition programming. The model is suggested to improve post-school outcomes for students with disability. It informed what Kohler and Field (2003) referred to as “transition- focused education,” which they described as being
...directed toward adult outcomes and consists of academic, career, and extracurricular instruction and activities, delivered through a variety of instructional and transition approaches and services, depending on the local context and students’ learning and support needs … [It] represents a shift from disability-focused, deficit-driven programs to an education and service-delivery approach based on abilities, options, and self-determination. (p. 176)
The methodology used to construct the model was based on concept mapping and positive student outcomes. The taxonomy comprises five categories: student-focused planning; student development; inter-agency and interdisciplinary collaboration; family involvement; and program structure and attributes. The model reflects many of the key tenets of best practice from the literature and its emphasis on the importance of relationships is pertinent. However, it is nevertheless based on principles of normalisation and individualisation, where the skills and services required for leading a “normal” lifestyle are attained by an individualised approach to planning and service delivery.
So far, I have defined transition as a process that implies a change from one stage, phase or state to another, which all humans go through in life. I have suggested that the transition from school to post-school life is a complex and difficult one for anyone and is no longer a linear path for those without disability. As described in Chapter 1, bureaucratic processes and control by special education services complicate this process for students with learning
51
disability, and this greatly influences their post-school choices, decision-making capacity and pathways. Decision-making for students with learning disability is often in the control of others, particularly professionals, and implies issues of status and power (Dee, 2006; Riddell, Brown, & Duffield, 1994; Smart, 2004). I have implicated special education knowledge and control as heavily influencing the transition process for students with learning disability.
I have briefly defined some different models from the literature and some ideas about the inherent tensions and challenges for students with learning disability. Transition as a move from where one is now to the next phase or stage in one’s life is time-related and indicates a pathway to be taken. The notion of a pathway, and questions of whether there is one pathway or many pathways and whether they are open to young people with learning disability in the same way as for others, becomes an important idea in this thesis. I have introduced some ideas related to notions of dependence and independence, the degree of agency, relationships and work that are seen as important elements in the transition process and are taken up as the thesis unfolds. In particular, the quality and type of relationships developed during the transition process will have an important influence on the young person’s outcomes post school. Different research studies by Beadle-Brown (2006), Heslop and Abbott (2009) and Dyson, Meagher and Robson (2002) all found that students with learning disability were not meaningfully involved in the process of deciding what to do with their lives, even though many had clear ideas about it. This begets the questions of whether students generally are meaningfully involved in, and what importance schools place on, good transition processes and practices.
Why transition is important in New Zealand education
There is a large body of research related to transition in the context of students and young people with disability. Much of this research and literature attends generically to people with disability but does not refer specifically to those with learning disability. Hornby and Witte (2008), in a follow-up study on post-school outcomes, found that the transition process from school was an important aspect for students at the margins of the education system. It is evident from the literature that the transition from school to post-school life is a key period in any young person’s life that education and schools play a crucial role in, yet one which these institutions do not always place enough emphasis or significance on. It is my belief that good
52
career and transition education should be a critical component for all students in supporting them to create a positive pathway towards a good life.
The majority of students in New Zealand transition from school to further education, training or employment. The move from school into further education and employment was found by a recent major research programme in New Zealand to be a complex process for all young people, and especially so for those at the margins of the education system (Nairn et al., 2012). New Zealand has suffered from high youth unemployment for a number of years now. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures for September 2011 showed 19.4% of young New Zealanders aged between 15 and 24 years were unemployed. The OECD Ministerial Council, who met in May 2013, produced an Action
Plan for Youth – Giving Youth a Better Start in the Labour Market in response to the global
financial crisis and structural barriers that are preventing many youth from making the transition from school to the labour market. The report stated:
Giving youth a better start in the labour market is not only vital for improving their well-being and fostering greater social cohesion but also for boosting potential growth and limiting future social expenditures, especially in the context of rapid population ageing in most countries. (p. 1)
Employment here is related to well-being and social cohesion. The report goes on to state that
action is needed both to bring immediate results in alleviating the current situation of high youth unemployment and underemployment and to produce better outcomes for youth in the longer run by equipping them with relevant skills for the future and removing barriers to their employment. (p. 1)
The action recommendations include better pathways from school, a higher level of education for youth and resolution of skill mismatches. Importantly, this OECD work showed that student failure needs to be tackled at policy, system and school levels. Schools are, by definition, well placed to support this process. After all, what are we educating our students for, if not to prepare them for their transition to post-school life?
53
Transition pathways
I now explore the common transition pathways for the majority of students without disability in New Zealand to emphasise the issues many young people have with transitioning from school. This, in turn, lends increased urgency to the fact that students with learning disability in New Zealand have very little access to these pathways into further education, training and employment that are deemed vital for all other young people.
Fluid pathways: Transition to tertiary education, training and employment in New Zealand
Higgins (2002) suggests that there is little useful data on transitions between school and further education, training and employment in New Zealand. Recent New Zealand government policy has encouraged young people to be in further education, training or employment after school (Ministry of Education, 2010; Nairn et al., 2012). However, there has been a significant and persistent percentage of these young people who have found this extremely difficult (Ministry of Education, 2010; OECD, 2013). In New Zealand, over 40% of students who enrol in tertiary study drop out before completing their qualification – giving New Zealand one of the highest drop-out rates in the OECD, second only to the United States (OECD, 2012). Student retention rates are poorest in polytechnics, with part of the reason for the gap being they have higher levels of part-timers and higher levels of students enrolled in what are deemed as lower-level qualifications.
A report by the Tertiary Education Committee (TEC), Poutamatia: Youth Transitions