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The transition from comprehensive school to either an academic or a vocational track and from academic track to tertiary education are the key educational transitions during adolescence and young adulthood in many European educational systems. The present chapter approaches engagement and disengagement during these key educational transitions in the context of the 4-C (channelling, choice, co-regulation, compensation) life-span model of motivation and phase-adequate engagement model. In accordance with the life-span model of motivation and the phase-adequate engagement model, school transitions are triggers that channel the engagement and disengagement processes. The former process reflects school-related engagement, whereas disengagement is a key element of the school-burnout process. Engagement in the school context is defined as a positive, fulfilling work-related state of mind characterized by vigor and energy, dedication, and absorption. School burnout comprises three dimensions in terms of exhaustion due to school demands: a cynical and detached attitude toward the school, feelings of inadequacy as a student, and disengagement. Cynicism is manifest in an indifferent or distal attitude toward school work in general, a loss of interest in it, and not seeing it as meaningful. Inadequacy refers to a diminished sense of competence, achievement, and accomplishment as a student.

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.

There is a concerning disparity between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities in their long-term, postsecondary outcomes. The former group tends to have a variety of poorer outcomes in important domains of life, such as employment, postsecondary education, independent living, and community participation. Policymakers, scholars, and the general public alike have called attention to this issue, resulting in both legal mandates and research on evidence-based practices in the area of transition services. While the law requires individualized, results-oriented transition services based upon age-appropriate transition assessment and a number of evidence-based transition practices and predictors have been identified, studies of individualized education programs and practices have revealed a significant underuse of best practices in transition assessment and services. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of comprehensive transition assessment as a foundation for setting postsecondary goals and designing services that best fit individual student strengths and needs and best prepare students to be successful in their adult lives. Further, we provide an overview of current recommendations for best practices in planning, conducting, and interpreting transition assessments, and offer suggestions for areas where further research is needed.

Researchers have found that enhanced self-determination can contribute to integrated employment and social inclusion outcomes for adults with disabilities. This chapter will provide an overview of the Self-determined Career Design Model (SDCDM) and research on its implementation. The SDCDM is an evidence-based career design model implemented by a facilitator (e.g. school professional, community service provider, or any supporter) to enable young people with disabilities to design their career trajectory. The SDCDM has the three phases: (1) set a goal, (2) take action and (3) adjust goal or plan. The SDCDM promotes social inclusion by enabling young people with developmental disabilities to leverage their strengths, interests and resources available to reach self-selected career-related goals. The chapter will specifically consider factors (e.g. culture, family background) that influence the development and expression of self-determination and goal-directed behaviour across the lifespan. A case study of the implementation of the SDCDM with two young women with developmental disabilities who participated in a larger study examining the impact of the SDCDM on employment outcomes will be used to demonstrate the use and impact of the model.

Economic stressors such as job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment cause severe difficulties for the workers affected, their families, organizations, and societies overall. Consequently, most past research has taken a thoroughly negative perspective on economic stress, addressing its diverse negative consequences and the ways that people try to cope with them. And even when following the advice provided by the scientific literature, people affected by economic stress will usually end up being off worse than they were before the onset of the stressor.

The current chapter pays credit to this perspective yet also tries to counterbalance it with an alternative one. While acknowledging the vast amount of literature outlining the negative consequences of economic stress on peoples’ well-being and careers, some literature also points at opportunities for a more positive perspective. More specifically, we argue that affected people can use a wide repertoire of behaviors for handling their current situation. Of particular promise in this regard is the concept of career adaptability, generally defined as the ability to change to fit into new career-related circumstances. Indeed, studies show that under certain conditions, career adaptability can facilitate people's search for not just any job but for a qualitatively better job, thus breaking through the spiral of losses usually associated with economic stress.

For the purpose of this argument, we link career adaptability to the concept of proactive coping, analyzing how and under which conditions career adaptability may present a contextualized form of proactive coping. We then address known personal and situational antecedents of career adaptability and show how career adaptability may be fostered and trained among different types of job seekers. We end this chapter with a discussion of open questions as well as directions for future research.

Interagency collaboration is an effective strategy for supporting students and families with resources and support to prepare students for life after high school. The Communicating Interagency Relationships and Collaborative Linkages for Exceptional Students (CIRCLES) is the only interagency collaboration model identified as a research-based practice, which means the CIRCLES model has the most and highest quality of evidence for its use among interagency collaboration models. Within this chapter, we overview the CIRCLES model and its history. School districts from multiple states have implemented CIRCLES, and, within this chapter, we overview stakeholder experiences with CIRCLES. When implementing any practice, evaluation and implementation fidelity are critical, so we provide suggestions for both. Finally, we discuss barriers and strategies to effective interagency collaboration, in addition to implications for policy and practice.

In the years following high school, youth, including youth with extensive support needs, aspire to pursue a range of personally important experiences, such as attending postsecondary education programs, obtaining competitive employment, and living independently. However, the level of disability continues to be a powerful predictor of the degree to which desired outcomes materialize in early adulthood. For most young adults with extensive support needs, valued outcomes are elusive. To support youth with disabilities, including youth with extensive support needs, to progress toward achieving their post-school goals, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 mandated the provision of transition services. Despite the legal mandate for transition services, numerous factors continue to impact the outcomes experienced by youth with extensive support needs. However, research has identified numerous practices to support improved post-school outcomes. In this chapter, we address the transition mandates of the IDEA, identify and describe factors influencing the post-school outcomes of youth with extensive support needs, and provide strategies, practices, and interventions for improving these outcomes.

Students with disabilities have many obstacles to overcome and challenges to address as they go through the educational system. Besides challenges with academics, behavior, and social situations, these students also need to be able to transition throughout their educational careers from different grade levels to post-school outcomes. Transition for students with disabilities should include input from classroom teachers, school psychologists and other related school personnel, families, the community, and, of course, the student. Specifically, the student should be an integral part of the transition process and planning. This chapter focuses on transition in general, discusses data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, and sets the stage for the rest of this volume.

Research has documented post-school outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and learning disabilities continue to be poor. To improve student outcomes for these populations, research has recommended implementing evidence-based practices and predictors in the classroom. The purpose of this chapter is to identify evidence-based practices and predictors targeted for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities in the area of secondary transition. We identify and briefly describe 12 evidence-based practices and 14 evidence-based predictors for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.