CIRCLES: Effects of CIRCLES on the Provision of Transition Services
Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of the Communicating Inter-agency. Relationships and Collaborative Linkages for Exceptional Students (CIRCLES) intervention for improving student, teacher, and community agency personnel outcomes. Research indicates that inter-agency collaboration models are needed to address gaps in the services provided to students with disabilities to ensure a successful transition from high school.The CIRCLES intervention aims to increase positive transition outcomes—student self-determination, knowledge and perspectives of the transition planning process, and secondary and post-secondary engagement—for students with disabilities by improving the inter-agency collaboration among teachers and community agency personnel. Improving upon the research design of a prior investigation of CIRCLES, the proposed study will use a cluster randomized trial to generate robust evidence of the intervention's impact on proximal student, teacher, and community agency personnel outcomes and distal student outcomes.
The following research questions will be examined: Research Question 1: Is the CIRCLES intervention more effective than the BAU model of collaboration at increasing collaboration within and across agencies? Research Question 2: Is the CIRCLES intervention more effective than BAU model of collaboration at increasing students' proximal outcomes (i.e., students' knowledge and perspectives related to the transition planning process, self-determination, persistence in secondary school [# of years in school overtime, on-track status, GPA, attendance]), and distal outcomes (i.e., graduation, engagement in post secondary employment and education)?Research Question 3: Does (a) availability of community resources, (b) rural, urban, & suburban communities, and (c) student disability category moderate the effects of CIRCLES?________________________________________
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Employment-Related Activities, Transportation-Related Activities, Quality of Life, Other - Cultural Diversity, Other - Leadership
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Another State, State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
