Availability of and Access to Career Development Activities for Transition-Age Youth With Disabilities

Abstract

Equipping youth with and without disabilities for the world of work has been the focus of ongoing legislative and policy initiatives. The authors examined the extent to which career development and vocational activities were available to and accessed by youth with severe disabilities or emotional and behavioral disorders attending 34 urban, suburban, and rural high schools. Although school-level representatives (e.g., administrators, guidance counselors, student services directors) identified an array of career development opportunities offered by their schools, participation by youth with disabilities in these experiences was reported to be fairly limited. Potential factors influencing the participation of youth included disabilityrelated needs and limited professional development opportunities for educators. The authors present recommendations for improving research and practice aimed at better preparing youth with disabilities for their future careers.

La transition de l’école à la vie adulte d’une élève ayant une déficience intellectuelle légère

“…Sur le plan environnemental, les jeunes ayant une déficience intellectuelle ont peu accès aux activités de développement de carrière offertes aux autres élèves : counseling, évaluation des intérêts, de la personnalité et des aptitudes, visites d'entreprises, journées carrière, stages d'exploration et foires de l'emploi (Carter, Trainor, Cakiroglu, Swedeen, & Owen, 2010).…”

“…Les liens sociaux avec les amis ou la famille sont une contribution précieuse au bien-être émotionnel de ces jeunes (Bramston, Chipuer, & Pretty, 2005). Leur participation à des activités de loisir ou communautaires favorise l'établissement de liens d'amitié avec des pairs ayant des intérêts similaires et leur permet de développer de nouveaux intérêts ou de s'investir dans des activités qu'ils apprécient (Carter et al, 2010). Sur ce plan, la participation à un programme d'accompagnement communautaire a permis à des jeunes ayant une déficience intellectuelle d'accroître leur réseau de soutien social, notamment celui en provenance de la famille élargie (JourdanIonescu & Julien-Gauthier, 2004).…”

Career development: Preparation, integration, and collaboration

“…Professionals with schools and agencies must document how preparation is done versus what preparation was done and, in turn, determine how services are delivered and direct instructional activities are implemented (Carter, Trainor, Cakiroglu, Swedeen, & Owens, 2010;Hitchings et al, 2001;Joselowsky, 2007;Rusch, Hughes, Agran, Martin, & Johnson, 2009;Trainor, Carter, Owens, & Swedeen, 2008;Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, & Levine, 2005). For example, Hitchings, et al (2001) examined activities of high school students with learning disabilities to identify which activities led them to choose their postsecondary education settings and make career decisions.…”

“…Early work experience is the greatest predictor of post-school employment for youth with disabilities (Carter et al, 2010). Other activities included in Table 1 have shown evidence and been cited as positive learning opportunities for high school students with and without disabilities from a variety of cultural backgrounds.…”

“…Although not a comprehensive list of all the possible activities that have been implemented or shown successful, many have resurfaced repeatedly in the literature about successful outcomes (e.g., Burgstahler & Bellman, 2009;Daviso, Denney, Baer, & Flexer, 2011;Herbert, Trusty, & Lorenz, 2010;Lindstrom, Doren, & Miesch, 2011). Considering the range of activities, schools are challenged to be more intentional about the experiences they provide for all youth, particularly those with disabilities (Carter et al, 2010). The bigger challenge, however, is not what the schools offer, but how teachers integrate and relate these career activities into meaningful classroom experiences.…”