Preparing Teachers for the Transition of Students with Disabilities Through Community-Based Instruction

Abstract

Increasing demand for effective transition programs for individuals with disabilities has created a need for more comprehensive teacher preparation. Community and service learning experiences may be effective ways to accomplish this task. This article describes the planning and implementation of an on-campus transition project for students with disabilities and its impact on preservice teachers who participated in the project as job-sampling mentors. Data sources included university student journals, instructor field notes, course assignments, and open-ended questionnaires. Emergent themes indicated that university students gained new expectations of individuals with disabilities, became more aware of attitudes toward and treatment of individuals with disabilities, supported the benefits of first hand experience, and learned ways to teach individuals with disabilities. The perspectives of the university instructor and implications for teacher preparation programs are discussed.