Frank Rusch
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Frank R. Rusch (born February 22, 1949) is an American
educational psychologist An educational psychologist is a psychologist whose differentiating functions may include diagnostic and psycho-educational assessment, psychological counseling in educational communities ( students, teachers, parents, and academic authorit ...
. He researches self-instructional strategies, coworker and natural supports, benefit-cost analysis, and model program evaluation as well as his contributions to the conceptualization and implementation of
supported employment Supported employment refers to service provisions wherein people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, mental health, and traumatic brain injury, among others, are assisted with obtaining and maintaining employment. Supported ...
and secondary transition services. His contributions to supported employmentDevlieger, P., Rusch, F., Pfeiffer, D. (2003) ''Rethinking disability: The emergence of new definitions, concepts, and communities''(pp. 207-208). Philadelphia, Pa: Garant Publishers. include the establishment of the first "supported work" model in the fall of 1975 at the University of Washington while a doctoral student.


Early career

Rusch received his undergraduate degree in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
from the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
in 1971. He went on to earn a master's degree at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
in 1972 in
special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
. Rusch completed his doctoral program in 1977 in special education and began his career at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
. He replicated his supported employment program in 1978 with the addition of an apartment-training program that provided employees with the training and support that they required to remain independent of adult day programs and segregated housing options typically available at the time. Eventually, Rusch turned his attention toward special education high school students and how they were being prepared for work. His early research career at the University of Illinois also included testing a model of supported employment that became the preferred approach for individuals with disabilities in the United States Widely recognized as responsible for the birth of supported employment as an alternative to sheltered employment, Rusch and his students influenced the way special education and rehabilitation funded training, evaluation and long-term employment in this country. Over a five-year period, Rusch and his students helped start over 125 supported employment programs in the states of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
and
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. These demonstrations led to over 100 publications by his students between the period beginning 1987 and ending in 1994. His first text was recognized by the President's Committee on Mental Retardation as the first text to overview the methods that should be used to promote employment among persons with disabilities, leading to his being awarded the American Association on Mental Retardation's "Educator of the Year Award". During this period he worked with
Senator Paul Simon Paul Martin Simon (November 29, 1928 – December 9, 2003) was an American author and politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and in the United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. A member ...
's staff in crafting changes in legislation that promoted the emergence of transition service for high school students in an effort to better prepare youth to escape the potential of sheltered employment by being better prepared for work and independence after high school.


Later career

Over the past 30 years, Rusch and his students have been studying self-instructional strategies that utilize coworkers as change agents, and issues related to secondary education reform, including program development ( cost-benefit analysis). He has also served as associate editor for numerous journals and has published over 200 books, chapters and articles. Rusch is one of the most-cited social scientists in the country; he was identified as the 15 most productive researcher in the field of mental retardation worldwide. Rusch and his colleagues at the University of Illinois established the Transition Research Institute, and later the National Transition Alliance, which was designed to improve transition services and outcomes, build states' capacity to form coalitions that better serve students with disabilities in the education mainstream, provide technical assistance to states implementing school-to-work systems change, and produce and disseminate information related to transition. Collaborators in the Alliance included the National Transition Network at
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, the Academy for Educational Development in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, the National Alliance for Business, the National Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. Research methodologies utilized by Rusch have included secondary analysis of the outcomes reported by the federally mandated Longitudinal Study of Youth in Transition, matched-pairs analysis of the effectiveness of a high school education, qualitative analysis of model programs, and meta-evaluations of model program outcomes. Several of Rusch's publications identified new methods of inquiry, including meta-analysis using repeated measures, withdrawal designs for use with intra-subject experimental designs, and new conceptual frameworks to better understand cost-benefit analysis of model programs. Rusch joined the
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
faculty in 2004, and is continuing his research related to utilizing cognitive strategies to promote learning among persons with intellectual disability. He is also involved in a ten-year follow-up study of coworker involvement, a 25-year retrospective analysis of supported employment, and the examination of a secondary model intervention utilizing experimental and control subjects attending schools in the greater Philadelphia school district and surrounding area.


Publications

*''Beyond High School: Preparing Adolescents for Tomorrow's Challenges'' (2nd ed., Pearson, 2008) *''Rethinking Disabilities: The Emergence of New Definitions, Concepts and Communities'' (edited with P. Devlieger and D. Pfeiffer, Garant Publishers, 2003) *''Beyond High School: Transition From School-to-Work'' (edited with Janis Chadsey, Wadsworth Publishing, 1998) *''Transition from School to Adult Life: Models, Linkages, and Policy'' (Brooks/Cole, 1992) *''Supported Employment: Models, Methods, and Issues'' (Sycamore Publishing, 1990) *''When Will Persons in Supported Employment Need Less Support?'' (with D. E. Mithaug, J. E. Martin, J. V. Husch, and M. Agran, Ascent Publications, 1988) *''Why Special Education Graduates Fail? How to Teach Them to Succeed'' (with D. E. Mithaug, J. E. Martin, and M. Agran, Ascent Publications, 1988) *''Introduction to Special Education and Behavior Analysis'' (with Terry Rose and Charles R. Greenwood, Prentice-Hall, 1988) *''Competitive Employment Issues and Strategies'' (edited, Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 1986)Reviews of ''Competitive Employment: Issues and Strategies'': Jan Nisbet & David Hagner, ''Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities'', ; T. W. Morris, ''School Psychology Quarterly'', ; Susan L. Smith, ''American Journal of Occupational Therapy'', *''Vocational Training for Mentally Retarded Adults: A Behavior Analytic Approach'' (with Dennis E. Mithaug, Research Press, 1980)


See also

*
Special Education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
*
Disability studies Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability", where impairment was an impairment of an individual ...
*
Exceptional education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
*
Least restrictive environment In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a special education law that mandates regulation for students with disabilities to protect their rights as students and the rights of their parents. The IDEA requires ...
*
Post Secondary Transition For High School Students with Disabilities The Post Secondary Transition For High School Students with Disabilities refers to the ordinance that every public school district in the United States must provide all students with disabilities ages 3 through 21 with an individualized and free app ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusch, Frank Pennsylvania State University faculty 1949 births Living people