Falling between Two Stools? Post-secondary Transition Planning for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase of students with intellectual disabilities attending mainstream primary and secondary-level education in the Republic of Ireland (McConkey et al., 2017). Despite this increase, it appears that comparatively few of these students successfully transition to further/higher education and/or employment opportunities. This chapter examines typical transition support/guidance provided to students with intellectual disabilities as they prepare to complete their post-primary education in a mainstream setting. Using data from a study of school principals and school personnel responsible for career guidance and transition planning, the findings show guidance is limited for students with intellectual disabilities. Instead of being the responsibility of career guidance counsellors, guidance and transitions planning for students with intellectual disabilities are viewed as being the role of other personnel such as the school SENCO. By assigning this responsibility to special education roles in the school, students with intellectual disabilities may run the risk of having narrow and limited career options presented to them. This study raises serious questions about the effectiveness of mainstream schools in facilitating this critical transition stage for students who have intellectual disabilities.

Citation

Banks, J., Aston, D. and Shevlin, M. (2022), "Falling between Two Stools? Post-secondary Transition Planning for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in the Republic of Ireland", Scorgie, K. and Forlin, C. (Ed.) Transition Programs for Children and Youth with Diverse Needs (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 18), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620220000018011