According to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10^th Ed., transition is “the passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another.”   Therefore, when we consider the word by itself, it represents change.  The following definition from the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Career Development and Transition (CEC/DCDT) incorporates the idea of change and applies it to the changing role of students as they transition from high school to post-secondary environments and the role of educators in preparing students for those new roles. 

"Transition refers to a change in status from behaving primarily as a student to assuming emergent adult roles in the community. These roles include employment, participating in post secondary education, maintaining a home, becoming appropriately involved in the community, and experiencing satisfactory personal and social relationships. The process of enhancing transition involves the participation and coordination of school programs, adult agency services and natural supports within the community.

 

The foundation for transition should be laid during the elementary and middle school years, guided by the broad concept of career development. Transition planning should begin no later than age 14, and students should be encouraged, to the full extent of their capabilities, to assume a maximum amount of responsibility for such planning.”    (Halpern, 1994)