Principals’ Perceptions Related to Transition to Kindergarten for Children With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study

To ensure children with disabilities (CWD) have a successful transition to kindergarten, teachers have been encouraged to use high-intensity, or individualized, transition practices. Yet, there exists little research regarding principals’ perceptions of transition practice use for CWD. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to better understand how principals’ perceptions are related to the reported use of transition practices by teachers to support CWD and their families, and their perceived importance and feasibility. A questionnaire designed for this study was used to understand what 150 principals from one midwestern U.S. state report about teachers’ use of kindergarten transition practices to support CWD, and their perceptions of transition practices. Next, interviews were conducted with 14 principals to further explain findings from the initial phase, using a purposeful sample and interview protocol developed using findings from the completed questionnaires. According to findings, principals perceived preschool teachers as having an essential role in the transition process and as using a higher number of transition practices when compared to those used by kindergarten teachers. Principals in this study perceived proximity of preschool and kindergarten classrooms as one contributing factor to the use of transition practices. Lastly, principals who reported teachers’ use of a higher number of overall and high-intensity transition practices were able to describe multiple benefits of their use. While these findings indicate a potential need for professional development to support principals’ understanding of best practices as they relate to kindergarten transition for CWD, further investigation using statistical methods of analysis and comparison to teacher perceptions is suggested.