engleski

Moving from institutional education: The life experiences of adolescents with disability

There has been little research which aims to explore the views of young people with disabilities who experience institutional life particularly at the time when they are moving out of the institution and/ or going through a transition to secondary school. This qualitative study focuses on understanding the lived experience of a group of 22 young people moving from the institution to the community as they transitioned from primary to secondary education. In depth interviews with young people sought to identify how the young people saw their experience of institutional life preparing them for for life outside the institution (at the end of primary education). Further through focus groups with professional staff who work with adolescents in an institution, the study sought to identify how they perceived their role and the support that young people with disabilities need and get in the transition period from primary to secondary school. This research addresses a significant lack of research and knowledge about the lives of young people with disabilities in Croatia and their lives in institutions. The paper will conclude by exploring the implications of the research for the development of new guidelines for educational policy planning and in the provision of a system of support for adolescents with special needs in a period of transition from primary to secondary school.

transition period, lived experience of adolescence with disabilities, qualitative methodology

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