An Investigative Study of the Effects of E-Mentoring on Transition Planning for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities

• NCJ Number: 306629
• Author(s): Margaret Collier
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 283 pages
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This dissertation presents an exploratory study that examined student outcomes on transition competency, self-determination, and connectedness, with the goal of determining the extent to which an e-mentoring program incorporating research-supported components might improve the ability of students with disabilities to identify post-school career interests and goals, and the steps necessary to achieve them.

Abstract

The author of this dissertation reports on an exploratory study to determine the extent to which an e-mentoring program incorporating research-supported components might improve the ability of students with disabilities to identify post-school career interests and goals, and the steps necessary to achieve them. The research study investigated the impact of an e-mentoring program on 112 high school students with learning disabilities, who were randomly assigned into either the control or intervention group. All participating students were invited to attend two college campus visits hosted by the mentors, and students in the intervention group were matched with a college mentor and correspondence was conducted via an innovative password-secure website. The dissertation analyzes potential benefits of mentoring in transition, e-mentoring for students with disabilities, and the basis of the program design; it provides a breakdown of the research methodology, including subjects, setting, dependent and independent variables, research design, procedures, data collection, fidelity and reliability, and data analysis. The results section includes reliability measures and design and data analysis, a summary of findings, study limitations, recommendations for future research, and comments on sustainability. Twenty appendices include the surveys used in the study, a questionnaire and rubric, training manual for mentors, review documents, a journaling checklist, and more.