Paths, tracks, gaps and cliffs: the post-school transitions of students with special educational needs

This study, commissioned by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), maps with greater breadth the pathways of a representative sample of students with special educational needs (SEN), through surveys and interviews with a range of stakeholders in school and post-school settings and through secondary data sources like Growing Up in Ireland (GUI). The sample over-represented DEIS schools and those providing high levels of additional support to students in order to reach those with the most complex needs. It engages in depth with students on pathways currently under researched and poorly understood. Interviews were used to capture the diverse experiences characterising these pathways, involving a range of key stakeholders while centring the young adults own accounts of their trajectories. The use of a mixed methods approach and a range of secondary data sources allowed us to engage with the wider picture of post-school transitions for young adults with disabilities and the nuance of individual pathways.