Although the availability of jobs in science and technology fields are abundant, awareness has increased that certain populations (e.g., persons with disabilities) have fewer opportunities to pursue these careers and, consequently, are underrepresented as employees in these fields. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of parents and teachers concerning the following variables as they relate to career entry of persons with disabilities into science and engineering: (a) facility access, (b) expense of accommodations, (c) role models, (d) teachers' understanding of students' academic needs, (e) length of learning time, (f) student aptitude and educational preparation, (g) career guidance, and (h) employer attitudes. A MANOVA indicated significant differences between parents and teachers on several variables. Psychometric properties of the scale developed for the study are described, and implications of the findings for rehabilitation counselors providing career development to secondary school students are discussed. he U.S. Department of Labor (1995) projected t that the greatest employment need for the years JL 1994 to 2005 would be in the professional specialty occupations. Engineers, scientists, and computer systems analysts comprise the largest segments of these professional specialty occupations, representing nearly 970,000 prospective openings. Similar reports were heralded in widely read publications, such as USA Today, which stated that &dquo;200,000 tech jobs wait vacant&dquo; (Jones, 1998). Compounding the need for employees in science and technology fields is the observation that young people are not entering these careers in the numbers needed to meet current and future demands (Jones, 1998; Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology, 1996). Oakes ( 1990) noted that traditional pools (i.e., college-age White men) that supply scientific workers are shrinking.Although jobs in the science and technology fields are abundant, certain populations (e.g., persons with disabilities) have fewer opportunities to pursue these careers and are, consequently, underrepresented as employees.Within the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) was established to review current practices and to develop a long-range plan to advance opportunities for women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in federal scientific and technical positions (Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology, 1996). The U.S. government has recognized that encouraging and supporting underrepresented groups such as women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to enter the fields of science and engineering is crucial to &dquo;strengthen our [America's] science and engineering workforce&dquo; (p. 3). at UNIV OF NORTH DAKOTA on June 23, 2015 rcb.sagepub.com Downloaded from 159In addition to the creation of the CEOSE, a report titled &dquo;Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Sci...

The present study examined the perceptions of 140 parents and 323 teachers regarding career entry into science and engineering for students with learning disabilities. Parents' and teachers' perceptions were assessed on the following eight variables: (a) facility access, (b) expense of accommodations, (c) role models, (d) teacher understanding of students' academic needs, (e) length of learning time, (f) student aptitude and educational preparation, (g) career guidance, and (h) employer attitudes. Results revealed that parents, significantly more than teachers, feel that teachers do not make the necessary effort to accommodate students with learning disabilities and that employers in the science and engineering fields are reluctant to hire persons with learning disabilities. Implications of the results for rehabilitation counselors working with learning disabled students interested in science and engineering are offered.

Employment in science and engineering will be an extremely vital component of the nation's workforce in the next century. Persons with disabilities as a source of professionals for science and engineering remains largely untapped. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the perceptions of rehabilitation counselors regarding clients' educational preparedness and aptitude to meet the academic and employment demands of science and engineering as well as their perceptions of barriers to career entry into the fields for persons with disabilities. Implications of the findings for the matriculation of persons with disabilities in science and engineering are discussed.

A small number of studies have yielded inconclusive results when examining the assertion that ethnic minorities have greater acceptance of persons with disabilities because of shared minority group status. The purpose of this study was to explore the hypothesis that African Americans, in comparison to Whites, hold more positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities in social situations. Also, differences according to the gender of the college student participants were explored. Implications for rehabilitation counseling are provided.

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