Affiliations: [a] Department of Special Education, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| [b] Walmart Inc., Bentonville, AR, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Megan M. Griffin, Ph.D., MSC05 3040, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA. Tel.: +1 505 277 6652; Fax: +1 505 277 6929; E-mail: griffinm@unm.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: One way for students to be more involved in transition planning is to provide their opinions and perceptions via self-report transition assessments. One such assessment is the Student Transition Questionnaire (STQ), which affords students an avenue to provide their input during the transition planning process. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of the current study were (a) to refine the STQ according to stakeholder feedback from the pilot study and (b) to replicate the STQ with a novel population. METHODS: Participants included 130 high school students with disabilities who completed the STQ, and 24 stakeholders who participated in focus groups about the STQ. RESULTS: Results documented the internal consistency of the STQ’s factors and replicated earlier findings: that knowledge of Vocational Rehabilitation was an area of weakness and that students with learning disabilities were less familiar with Vocational Rehabilitation than other students. Items related to disability disclosure and self-advocacy were also rated low by participants. Participants’ self-reported areas of strength related to independent living skills. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have implications for using the STQ in transition planning and for student needs in the areas of Vocational Rehabilitation and self-advocacy.
