Search results

As they say, “Change is the only constant.” Thriving and surviving during a period of extraordinary collision of technological advances, globalization, and climate change can be daunting. At any given point in one’s life, a transition can be interpreted in terms of the magnitude of change (how big or small) and the individual’s ontological experience of change (whether it disrupts an equilibrium or adapts an emergent way of life). These four quadrants represent different ways to live in a highly dynamic and complex world. We share the resulting four-quadrant framework from a quantitative and a mixed methods study to examine responses to various ways we respond to transitions. Contingent upon these two dimensions, one can use a four-quadrant framework to mobilize resources to design a response and hypothesize a desired outcome. Individuals may find themselves at various junctions of these quadrants over a lifespan. These four quadrants provide “requisite variety” to navigate individual ontology as they move into and out of fluid spaces we often call instability during a time of transition. In this chapter, we identified social, cognitive, psychological, and behavioral factors that contribute to thriving transition experiences, embracing dynamic stability. Two new constructs were developed, the first measures the receptivity to change, Transformation Quotient (TQ) and second measures the range of responses to transitions from surviving to thriving, Thriving Transitional Experiences (TTE). We hope our work will pave the way for Thriving to become a “normal” outcome of experiencing change by transforming the lexicon and expectation of engaging with transitions.

Transition planning is an important part of special education. It is a process that helps to individualize instructions and assists students in maximizing their fullest potential. Transition planning for students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) should mirror the regular transition process. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) describe causes, symptoms, and challenges following TBI, (2) examine the broader array of issues and challenges that impact transition planning, (3) overview educational considerations, (4) provide overview model of transition, and (5) review evidence-based practices in transition.

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.

The transition from primary school to secondary school is viewed globally as a crucial period in students' lives and a challenging transition can have both short-term and long-term consequences for the wellbeing of students. Despite primary-secondary transition being so important, it is a neglected area of research in general in most countries including South Africa. By smoothing the transition from primary to secondary school challenges that are related to students' disengagement with education, school failure (school dropout), and continued social inequality can be addressed. In this chapter, the value of a transition intervention based on peer mentoring to ease the transition of students in five primary schools in an area of the country where the context is characterized by socioeconomic challenges is discussed. A lack of resources and funding make it difficult to provide individual support to all these students. In response to this challenge, a peer-mentoring approach has been applied to develop an intervention aimed at preparing the students with insight into the challenges that awaits them. The intervention encompasses a workshop attended by a representative group of 20 Grade 7 students, selected based on the leadership skills as demonstrated in their interactions with adults and peers. Following the workshop, they are given the opportunity to give feedback to their Grade 7 peers and also avail themselves for individual discussions with their peers. In this chapter, we critically reflect on the value of this peer-mentored approach for socioeconomically challenged school contexts.

The percentage of North Americans who have one or more physical disabilities continues to rise. Specifically, the percentage of people with ambulatory disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and other health impairments is increasing every year. This phenomenon calls for pragmatic measures to help provide better transition and related services to students with physical disabilities and other health impairments. It is anticipated that well-planned collaborative transition services provided to students with physical disabilities and other health impairments will result in improved quality of life and independent living in the community. In this chapter, we discuss transition and transition-related services, supporting legislation for persons with disabilities, transition from rehabilitation centers and hospitals to job settings and community-based programs.

Youth and young adults with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties (EBD) face particularly difficult challenges in their efforts to fit into adult roles and functions. The purpose of this chapter is to assist providers, educators, and administrators from the mental health, education, child welfare, justice/corrections, and adult service system sectors understand (a) a practice for improving the progress and outcomes for young people in transition, and (b) how this practice model is implemented in communities to impact the lives of youth in transition to adulthood. This is accomplished in two major parts in this chapter. The first part provides an overview of the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) model, a description of its status as an evidence-supported practice, and tools and strategies that support its implementation in communities and regions across North America. The TIP model is further illustrated through a description of how it is applied with a young person. The second part of the chapter provides an overview of implementation science, a description of how its strategies and tools can guide the implementation of an intervention or model; and an illustration of a large-scale TIP implementation initiative with collaboratives of agencies and schools. This chapter concludes with implications regarding the importance of having effective transition-to-adulthood models; and ensuring the implementation and sustainability of these to improve the progress and outcomes of youth and young adults with EBD.

Planning for transition to a new educational setting, such as changing grades or moving from primary to high school, is important for all students but particularly for those who may require additional support for their individual needs. Research shows that transition planning and implementation for students with disability are best supported through collaboration and information sharing among all stakeholders. In Australia, the Disability Standards for Education (DSE) (2005) mandate consultation between education providers, students with disability, and their carers as part of the process of enrollment so that reasonable adjustments to support a student's progress can be identified and implemented. This chapter reports on two innovative approaches to the organization of transition and support systems for students with disability. The findings reveal that effective transition “doesn't just happen” and that school leaders need to establish effective mechanisms for consultation and collaboration.

The theoretical contribution provided by the transitional theories has fundamentally helped develop a better understanding of the migration process, by showing how migration is interacting with other processes of development. They show that along with development, emigration is following an upside down ‘U’ shaped pattern, being overreached by immigration, while the region changes its migration profile from emigration to immigration. This was the case for the southern European states, which followed a rapid migration transition during the second half of the twentieth century. After large emigration to Western and Northern Europe, these managed to attract large immigration flows from the less developed countries in Africa and Latin America, but also from Eastern Europe after the fall of communist regimes. This chapter aims to test whether Eastern Europe is heading to the same migration transition pattern as the South and change their current status of net migration provider. Thus, the impact of the migration transition drivers in explaining net migration balance is analysed using a panel data for the 2000–2013 period. As a country can encompass both emigration and immigration regions, the current analysis is carried out at European Union (EU) regional level data (NUTS II), while controlling for the regional specifics and unobserved time effects. Overall, most of the factors which led to the migration shift, from emigration to immigration, in Southern Europe were proven to be fundamental at EU regional level as well. Migration flows were shown to be more sensitive to unemployment, urbanisation, segmentation of the labour market and active population share in the eastern as compared to the southern European regions. Nevertheless, accessing the transition drivers evolution during 2011–2013 period, eastern regions are still highly unattractive and their chances for becoming destination regions are currently at low levels.

This paper introduces the readers to Neo-Transitional Economics – a volume which aspires to reinvigorate scholarly interest in transition economics research. The classical transition storyline is briefly revisited, and new directions for empirical and policy-relevant research that target post-transition economies in the post-crisis paradigm are highlighted.