UCLA

This study examines how elementary special education teachers’ beliefs about the life-long, transition-related learning potential of their students with moderate-severe disabilities affects instructional choices related to transition-focused skills. Knowledge about instruction of students with moderate-severe disabilities in elementary schools is limited to older studies that were conducted prior to NCLB and Common Core standards eras, and while the skills these students need for life-long success have not fundamentally changed, the newer focus on standards-based curriculum is influencing instructional choices. Identifying how teachers are addressing the functional skill needs of students in this new context provides insight for other educators. This research consists of interviews with 11 elementary teachers of students in upper elementary grades with moderate-severe disabilities across a large urban school district in California. A phenomenological approach is used to conduct and analyze teacher interviews. Teacher participants identified social skills, communication ability specifically, as the key to student future success, that students are more successful when expectations are high, and that they have limited knowledge of what the long-term possibilities are for their students. Recommendations include focusing on communication skills early, utilizing systematic social skill instruction, and strengthening inter-agency collaboration to provide elementary teachers more information about life-long possibilities for their students.