Supporting students with disabilities to transitions to or from postsecondary education: A review of technology-enriched transition programs

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Background People with disabilities do not always successfully transition to and from postsecondary education. Although technology has the potential to play a role in supporting these transitions, there has been very little in-depth exploration of how exactly technologies can be incorporated into transition-support programs and the impact this has on transition outcomes. Objective This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis regarding how transition support programs for students with disabilities might effectively incorporate technology. Methods A comprehensive and critical review of research was conducted. Results Just six technology-enriched transition programs have been developed and evaluated between 2000 and 2023. Within these programs technology has been employed or integrated in four main ways. All the transition programs were able to report a positive influence on at least one of their chosen primary outcomes, although these were not always statistically significant. The outcomes of these ‘proof of concept’ technology-enriched transition support programs have had a limited impact on the postsecondary education community. Conclusions In order to overcome concerns regarding unequivocal results, cost, feasibility and relevance further debate and research is required involving all relevant stakeholders including those responsible for resourcing and delivering student support systems within postsecondary education.