Employment Outcomes For Students Research Articles

Teachers’ Perspectives on Challenges to Providing Work-Based Learning Experiences for Students with Extensive Support Needs

Work-based learning experiences (WBLEs) are an important part of vocational programming for students with extensive support needs (ESN); however, the development and implementation of these experiences can present challenges for special education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the challenges that special education teachers face when providing WBLEs for transition-age students with ESN. Nine special education teachers were identified through purposeful sampling methods. Participants met the following inclusion criteria: (a) teach students aged 14 to 22, (b) serve primarily students with ESN, (c) have 3 or more years of experience teaching 14-to 22-year-old students with ESN, and (d) be actively involved in planning and implementing WBLEs for 14-to 22-year-old students with ESN. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings from this study suggest that special education teachers face many diverse challenges when providing WBLEs to students with ESN, including establishing and sustaining appropriate WBLEs, securing high-quality staff, gaining support of important partners, and navigating logistics. Findings from this study have practical implications for supporting special education teachers who provide WBLEs for students with ESN. Findings also highlight the importance of improving attitudes and perceptions around employment outcomes for students with ESN.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Recession on Career Preparation during High School

ABSTRACT School closings in response to COVID-19 reduced the opportunity for students to engage in all learning including career and technical education (CTE). As a result of the COVID-19 disruption student opportunities for work-based learning and completion of hours required for professional certification was severely reduced. The absence of these experiences had the potential to create disruptions in the skill and experience accumulation for youth and their transition to the labor market. Prior research demonstrated that CTE training and certifications in high school improve earnings and employment outcomes for students, particularly those from marginalized communities. This paper uses administrative data from Massachusetts to investigate whether COVID-19 disruptions differentially influenced outcomes for CTE students relative to non-CTE students. We find graduation rates fell for all students, but students in specialized CTE high schools experienced smaller declines. These smaller differences were apparent for CTE students from lower-income families and those with disabilities. In contrast, students in large cities where the influence of COVID-19 was elevated fared less well, even among CTE participants. In contrast to educational attainment, graduating seniors continued earning industry credentials comparably to pre-COVID-19 rates. This work illuminates how the pandemic disrupted youth transitions to adulthood, particularly in marginalized communities.

Employable: Transition Program to Improve Employment Outcomes for Students with Disabilities - Needs Assessment & Current Constraints

ABSTRACTDespite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition programming. The ultimate goal of the project is to improve employment outcomes for students with disabilities and to demonstrate how occupational therapists are crucial members of the transition team in schools. School professionals from across Pennsylvania were surveyed and interviewed regarding their perspective on the current state of transition programming. The results lay the ground work for the development of an innovative, evidence-based program model called EmployABLE.

Project Career: An individualized postsecondary approach to promoting independence, functioning, and employment success among students with traumatic brain injuries.

Project Career is a five-year interdisciplinary demonstration project funded by NIDILRR. It provides technology-driven supports, merging Cognitive Support Technology (CST) evidence-based practices and rehabilitation counseling, to improve postsecondary and employment outcomes for veteran and civilian undergraduate students with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Provide a technology-driven individualized support program to improve career and employment outcomes for students with TBI. Project staff provide assessments of students' needs relative to assistive technology, academic achievement, and career preparation; provide CST training to 150 students; match students with mentors; provide vocational case management; deliver job development and placement assistance; and maintain an electronic portal regarding accommodation and career resources. Participating students receive cognitive support technology training, academic enrichment, and career preparatory assistance from trained professionals at three implementation sites. Staff address cognitive challenges using the 'Matching Person with Technology' assessment to accommodate CST use (iPad and selected applications (apps)). JBS International (JBS) provides the project's evaluation. To date, 117 students participate with 63% report improved life quality and 75% report improved academic performance. Project Career provides a national model based on best practices for enabling postsecondary students with TBI to attain academic, employment, and career goals.

Student perceptions of barriers to networking with employers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the concept of the “implied graduate” to explain the difficulties which students report when engaging with local employers. Design/methodology/approach – The “implied graduate” is an analytical concept that aims to bring together assumptions about what a graduate should be like. In this paper the concept has been used to analyse interview data collected from students after they took part in an employability project at a small Higher Education (HE) campus in a Further Education (FE) College. Findings – The students in this study reported significant issues with continuing to engage and maintain contact with the employers they met during the project. For many, this was the first time they had met graduate level employers and so felt inexperienced in how to approach networking with them. It seems that some of the offers for future contact made by the employers were aimed at an “implied graduate” and, as such, the students struggled to fulfil those expectations. Originality/value – This paper sheds light on the difficulties that HE in FE students face in engaging with graduate employers. These issues are likely to contribute to the well-established, but unexplained, differences in employment outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds.

Postsecondary Education and Employment Outcomes of Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Canada

Postsecondary Education and Employment Outcomes of Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Canada

Speech and language therapy students: how do those with ‘non traditional’ university entry qualifications perform?

Entry to speech and language therapy (SLT) undergraduate pre-registration programmes in the UK is usually achieved through qualifications attained at school (e.g. A-levels). A smaller number of people who did not succeed academically at school enter through qualifications achieved post-schooling, e.g. Access to Higher Education courses. This second group of students are attractive recruits to SLT training programmes as they bring different experiences and backgrounds to the programme and to the SLT profession. However, there are no published studies that explore the academic performance or degree and employment outcomes of students who enter university through this route. To investigate the success of non-traditional entry students, specifically those with Access qualifications, on one pre-registration SLT undergraduate degree at a university in the UK. Success is measured in terms of module results, obtaining a degree, the ability to register as an SLT and first employment destination post-graduation. University applications were reviewed and students who entered via an Access course were identified for a ten-year period. Results for modules, individual assessments and final degree classification were obtained from their files and were compared against the mean score of traditional entry students on the years of the course covered by this study using a series of one sample t-tests. The students who entered through the non-traditional academic route are generally successful in completing their degree and in registering to work as an SLT. However, as a group they perform less well on the degree overall, on individual modules and on written examinations and they do not close this performance gap over the four years of the degree. In contrast, however, they perform on a par with their peers on other types of assessment (e.g. clinical placement, case study, data exercise). The Access students were more likely than traditional entry students to be working as an SLT six-months post-qualification. These results suggest that some types of assessment may be more effective at tapping the skills of students from non-traditional academic backgrounds, and that more tailored support could be provided for this group of students in tackling university written examinations throughout all years of the programme. Despite limited preparation for university-level study and mixed performance on assessment, students from non-traditional academic backgrounds can do well at university and successfully gain employment as SLTs.

A Perspective on Revising OSEP Indicator 14

Indicator 14 obligates states to track, for a period of 1 year after leaving high school, the educational and employment outcomes of students with disabilities. The purpose of the indicator is to improve transition services that prepare this population for postschool adult living. For most students, the indicator’s tracking period only permits the collection of data through the end of adolescence. As such, transition programs are using data from adolescents to prepare students for adulthood. Given the significant differences between adults and adolescents (e.g., neurological, behavioral, functional), this dilemma should be addressed to create more relevant and effective transition programming. Several changes are recommended, including the extension of the tracking period as well as the inclusion of additional outcome categories to monitor, bringing the indicator into alignment with the definition of transition services provided in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

Comparing the Transition Planning, Postsecondary Education, and Employment Outcomes of Students With Intellectual and Other Disabilities

This article describes a secondary analysis of variables from the National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (NLTS-2) database. Specifically, students with intellectual disability (ID) were compared to students with other disabilities regarding post-school transition goals listed on their IEPs/Transition Plans, contacts/referrals made to outside agencies during transition planning, participation of other agencies/organizations in transition planning (e.g., vocational rehabilitation and higher education representatives), and students’ postsecondary education and employment outcomes. Students with ID were less likely to have postsecondary education or competitive employment goals and outcomes and more likely to have sheltered and supported employment goals and outcomes compared to students with other disabilities. Contacts with and participation of external professionals in IEP/Transition Plan meetings also differed between the two groups of students.

Field of Study and Employment Outcomes: An Analysis of Tafe Graduates

An important aim of the vocational educational and training system is to improve the employability and employment outcomes of students. The TAFE Student Outcomes Survey allows an investigation of the factors associated with employability of different individuals. Significantly for policy makers, it provides data on the course of study undertaken and institute attended. This paper models the probability that a TAFE student is employed as opposed to unemployed in the following year after graduation. It is found that non-English speaking background and disabled students have significantly lower employment outcomes than other students. One field of study, science—which includes mostly information technology courses—was associated with lower employment prospects than others. A tentative conclusion is drawn that higher-level qualifications result in better employment outcomes.

Improving Graduation and Employment Outcomes of Students with Disabilities: Predictive Factors and Student Perspectives

This article reports on findings from two studies that examined secondary and transition practices. The first study examined student and program factors that predicted participants' graduation with a standard high school diploma and placement in employment and continuing education. The second study examined participants' perceptions of the program and staff characteristics that were most important in helping them achieve their education and transition goals. Findings from these studies indicate that career-related work experience and completion of student-identified transition goals were highly associated with improved graduation and employment outcomes. Individualization of services around student goals and personalized attention from staff were highly valued by participants. Recommendations for policy and practice are discussed.

An outcome evaluation of a diploma in social work programme

This paper reports on a piece of evaluative research into employment outcomes for students completing The South Wales Diploma in Social Work Programme, and the extent to which students felt prepared for their new roles. It was recognised that such a study could determine if the South Wales area was over-producing qualified social workers and if the demand was diminishing with the shift towards community care. It would also generate insights into views of new practitioners, in particular the relevance to their practice of the strong emphasis within the Programme on anti-discriminatory practice. Anonymous questionnaires were mailed to 98 students six months after completing the Programme. Data was generated on biographical details, current posts held, and the relevance of the taught course to current practice. The findings are set against those of similar studies into students' experiences of professional and post qualifying training, and employment outcomes. Discussion then focuses on the current debate in social work, the changes in the value base as set out by CCETSW (1989) in its Paper 30: Rules and Requirements for the Diploma in Social Work, and its review of the document six years later (CCETSW, 1995).

Educators' Perspectives on Student Employment

Teachers and schools must increasingly share the commitment of working students to both job and school. Although there is substantial research on the effects of teenage employment on the academic and employment outcomes for students, little is known about the effects on schools and teachers. This study describes educators 'views about the appropriate role of employment for high school students. Results point to educators' willingness to set some limits on the conditions of work for students but suggest the limited saliency of this problem at this time.