Experiences of students with specific learning disabilities as they transition to online college
School of Education, Drexel University, Philadelphia
How they used Delve
A Doctor of Education candidate at Drexel University used Delve for second-cycle coding of pseudonymised interviews with five students with specific learning disabilities, organising codes into three themes about the transition from high school IEP support to online college.
“Delve coding software supported organization of codes that were organized into themes that helped to explain the [experiences]. [...] Through familiarization with the interview responses and second-cycle coding with the support of Delve, three main themes were identified: need for community, need for self-advocacy, and need for consistency.”
- Field
- Higher education and disability services; the transition from K-12 IEP support to online college for students with specific learning disabilities
- Data
- Semi-structured interviews with five students with specific learning disabilities (referred to as Participants 1-5), following a quantitative survey; all transcripts were pseudonymised before upload and stored on a password-protected, encrypted device via Drexel OneDrive
- Approach
- Explanatory sequential mixed methods: a quantitative survey analysed first to identify patterns, then interviews to explain them. Qualitative analysis proceeded by familiarisation - reading transcripts repeatedly to identify similarities and codes - followed by second-cycle coding in Delve, with codes organised into three themes
- Data types
- Interviews, Open-ended survey responses
Abstract
The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between high school Individualized Education Program (IEP) services and support services in online higher education among students with specific learning disabilities. Quantitative data was collected and analyzed first to identify patterns and relationships, followed by qualitative interviews designed to provide deeper insight into students’ experiences related to these findings. This study explored students’ perspectives and insights regarding their transition from K-12 IEP support to online collegiate support services and examined how online higher education currently supports students with specific learning disabilities. Findings from this study revealed that many challenges students with specific learning disabilities face when transitioning to virtual higher education are similar to those experienced by their peers without learning disabilities. However, these students also face additional barriers to accessing support services in a more independent learning environment. Re-envisioning the design and services of virtual collegiate education to reflect generational changes influenced by technology and the COVID-19 pandemic may help address these challenges. By prioritizing accessibility and listening to the perspectives of students with specific learning disabilities, virtual higher education environments can better support student success.
Citation
Haley Kirkpatrick, Bridget Blakely (2026). Experiences of students with specific learning disabilities as they transition to online college. Drexel University Research Discovery. https://doi.org/10.17918/00011545