The Impact of Intensive Vocation-Related Course Taking on Employment Outcomes for Individuals Who Are Deaf

Individuals who are deaf have historically faced significant obstacles to equity in employment. This secondary analysis of data from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2) examined (a) intensive vocation-related courses taken by students who are deaf and (b) their impact on long-term employment outcomes. Deaf students in general education schools and special education schools were equally likely to take a four-course sequence of vocational classes. However, students in general education schools were less likely to enroll in at least a year of work-study courses. Propensity score analyses indicate there were no significant effects of enrollment in vocation-related course taking on employment outcomes for deaf students within the study time frame. Implications of these findings are provided both in terms of how the NLTS2 dataset is used to determine significant predictors of longer term outcomes for deaf individuals and potential inferences of nonsignificant results for the field.

[1]  Gary D. Sandefur,et al.  What Happens after the High School Years among Young Persons with Disabilities? , 2003 .

[2]  P. Sitlington.  Transition to Living , 1996, Journal of learning disabilities.

[3]  G. Fisher.  The development and history of the poverty thresholds. , 1992, Social security bulletin.

[4]  J. Ayuso-Mateos,et al.  Identification of personal factors that determine work outcome for adults with intellectual disability. , 2008, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[5]  L. Allen Phelps,et al.  School-to-Work Transitions for Youth With Disabilities: A Review of Outcomes and Practices , 1997 .

[6]  S. Cawthon,et al.  The Role of Self-Beliefs in Predicting Postschool Outcomes for Deaf Young Adults , 2014 .

[7]  Thomas D. Snyder,et al.  Digest of Education Statistics , 1994 .

[8]  A. Irvine,et al.  Into the Workforce: Employers' Perspectives of Inclusion. , 2008 .

[9]  Cheryl G. Najarian.  Deaf women: educational experiences and self‐identity , 2008 .

[10]  Scienze Politiche.  American Community Survey , 2011 .

[11]  Ingrid Schoon,et al.  Teenage Aspirations for Future Careers and Occupational Outcomes , 2002 .

[12]  J. Schafer,et al.  A comparison of inclusive and restrictive strategies in modern missing data procedures. , 2001, Psychological methods.

[13]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[14]  C. Hughes,et al.  Toward Self-Directed Learning, Post-High School Placement, and Coordinated Support Constructing New Transition Bridges to Adult Life , 2009 .

[15]  Alfredo J. Artiles,et al.  Theorizing Racial Inequity in Special Education , 2011 .

[16]  Paula D. Kohler,et al.  Evidence-Based Secondary Transition Predictors for Improving Postschool Outcomes for Students With Disabilities , 2009 .

[17]  K. Shogren.  A social-ecological analysis of the self-determination literature. , 2013, Intellectual and developmental disabilities.

[18]  Graham G. Rifenbark,et al.  Relationships Between Self-Determination and Postschool Outcomes for Youth With Disabilities , 2015 .

[19]  Zhong Zhao.  Sensitivity of Propensity Score Methods to the Specifications , 2005, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[20]  A. Halpern.  The Transition of Youth with Disabilities to Adult Life: A Position Statement of the Division on Career Development and Transition, The Council for Exceptional Children , 1994 .

[21]  D. Patrick,et al.  School placement and perceived quality of life in youth who are deaf or hard of hearing. , 2013, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[22]  Stef van Buuren,et al.  MICE: Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations in R , 2011 .

[23]  Mary Wagner,et al.  The Post-High School Outcomes of Young Adults with Disabilities up to 8 Years after High School: A Report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). NCSER 2011-3005. , 2011 .

[24]  P. Freebody,et al.  Interviewing deaf adults in postsecondary educational settings: stories, cultures, and life histories. , 2001, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[25]  Bonnie Doren,et al.  The Effects of Working at Gaining Employment Skills on the Social and Vocational Skills of Adolescents With Disabilities , 2013 .

[26]  G. A. D. De Clerck.  Deaf Epistemologies as a Critique and Alternative to the Practice of Science: An Anthropological Perspective , 2010, American annals of the deaf.

[27]  Emily C. Bouck,et al.  Secondary students with moderate/severe intellectual disability: considerations of curriculum and post-school outcomes from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2. , 2012, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[28]  Jennifer Coyle.  Identifying In-School Predictors of Postsecondary Success for Students with Hearing Impairments , 2012 .

[29]  M. Davison,et al.  The long-term effects of early parent involvement and parent expectation in the USA , 2013 .

[30]  L. Collet-Klingenberg.  The Reality of Best Practices in Transition: A Case Study , 1998 .

[31]  C. Garvan,et al.  Connecting Student Outcomes with Transition Practices in Florida , 2002 .

[32]  D. Hogan,et al.  School-to-work program participation and the post-high school employment of young adults with disabilities. , 2008, Journal of vocational rehabilitation.

[33]  D. Rubin,et al.  The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects , 1983 .

[34]  Paula D. Kohler,et al.  An Analysis of Exemplary Transition Programs: How and Why Are They Selected? , 1994 .

[35]  Pamela Luft,et al.  How Prepared Are Transition-Age Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students for Adult Living? Results of the Transition Competence Battery , 2011, American annals of the deaf.

[36]  A. Steinberg,et al.  Parental decision making and the choice of communication modality for the child who is deaf. , 2003, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[37]  H. Javitz,et al.  The Benefits of High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) for Youth With Learning Disabilities , 2016, Journal of learning disabilities.

[38]  Vivian C. Wong,et al.  Three conditions under which experiments and observational studies produce comparable causal estimates: New findings from within‐study comparisons , 2008 .

[39]  S. Foster,et al.  The role of mentoring relationships in the career development of successful deaf persons. , 2004, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[40]  E. Gitter.  The Deaf History Reader , 2009 .

[41]  Thomas Lumley,et al.  Analysis of Complex Survey Samples , 2004 .

[42]  K. Charles.  The Extent and Effect of Employer Compliance with the Accommodations Mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act , 2004 .

[43]  A. Migliore,et al.  Comparing the Transition Planning, Postsecondary Education, and Employment Outcomes of Students With Intellectual and Other Disabilities , 2011 .

[44]  P. Creed,et al.  Career barriers perceived by hard-of-hearing adolescents: implications for practice from a mixed-methods study. , 2005, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[45]  S. Winn.  Employment Outcomes for the Congenitally Deaf in Australia: Has Anything Changed? , 2008 .

[46]  M. Jahoda,et al.  Work, employment, and unemployment: Values, theories, and approaches in social research. , 1981 .

[47]  S. Winn.  Employment outcomes for people in Australia who are congenitally deaf: has anything changed? , 2007, American annals of the deaf.

[48]  J. Kyle,et al.  Research with Deaf People: Issues and Conflicts , 1990 .

[49]  Pamela Luft.  A National Survey of Transition Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students , 2014 .

[50]  R. Mitchell,et al.  Large-scale academic achievement testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students: past, present, and future. , 2012, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[51]  P. Geyer,et al.  Long-Term Career Attainments of Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Graduates: Results From a 15-Year Follow-up Survey , 2000, American annals of the deaf.

[52]  John L.P. Thompson,et al.  Missing data , 2004, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other motor neuron disorders : official publication of the World Federation of Neurology, Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases.

[53]  Dan Goldhaber.  School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity , 1999 .

[54]  Diane M. Austin,et al.  Predictors of Postschool Employment Outcomes for Young Adults With Severe Disabilities , 2012 .

[55]  Lynn A. Newman,et al.  Predicting the Academic Achievement of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students From Individual, Household, Communication, and Educational Factors , 2015, Exceptional children.

[56]  Y. Cheung,et al.  Predictive Factors of Participation in Postsecondary Education for High School Leavers with Autism , 2012, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[57]  Marc Marschark,et al.  Educating Deaf Students: From Research to Practice , 2001, DECP Debate.

[58]  R. Roessler,et al.  Factors Affecting Employment Success and Quality of Life: A One Year Follow-up of Students in Special Education , 1990 .

[59]  Carrie Lou Garberoglio,et al.  Assessing English literacy as a predictor of postschool outcomes in the lives of deaf individuals. , 2014, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[60]  Gary King,et al.  Matching as Nonparametric Preprocessing for Reducing Model Dependence in Parametric Causal Inference , 2007, Political Analysis.

[61]  Rey Catabay.  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , 2017 .

[62]  G. O'brien,et al.  The relative effects of unemployment and quality of employment on the affect, work values and personal control of adolescents , 1990 .

[63]  Mary Wagner,et al.  Comparisons across Time of the Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years after High School. A Report of Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). NCSER 2010-3008. , 2010 .

[64]  Michael W. Harvey.  Comparison of Postsecondary Transitional Outcomes Between Students With and Without Disabilities by Secondary Vocational Education Participation: Findings from the National Education Longitudinal Study , 2002 .

[65]  Jacqueline M. Caemmerer,et al.  Effect of Parent Involvement and Parent Expectations on Postsecondary Outcomes for Individuals Who Are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing , 2015 .

[66]  Characteristics of Early Work Experiences and Their Association with Future Employment , 2012 .

[67]  J. Gau,et al.  The Relationship between Parent Expectations and Postschool Outcomes of Adolescents with Disabilities , 2012 .

[68]  R. M. Baer,et al.  A Collaborative Followup Study on Transition Service Utilization and Post-school Outcomes , 2003 .

[69]  Janet E. MacLeod-Gallinger,et al.  The Career Status of Deaf Women: A Comparative Look , 1992, American annals of the deaf.

[70]  Michael R. Benz,et al.  Improving Graduation and Employment Outcomes of Students with Disabilities: Predictive Factors and Student Perspectives , 2000 .

[71]  Karen Rabren,et al.  Predictors of Post-High School Employment Among Young Adults with Disabilities , 2002 .

[72]  T. Little,et al.  Autonomy, Psychological Empowerment, and Self-Realization: Exploring Data on Self-Determination from NLTS2 , 2014 .

[73]  Kimberly A. S. Howard,et al.  Quality Learning Experiences, Self-Determination, and Academic Success , 2012 .

[74]  Jasjeet S. Sekhon,et al.  Multivariate and Propensity Score Matching Software with Automated Balance Optimization: The Matching Package for R , 2008 .

[75]  D. Dooley,et al.  Underemployment and depression: longitudinal relationships. , 2000, Journal of health and social behavior.

[76]  Stephanie W. Cawthon,et al.  Social Skills as a Predictor of Postsecondary Outcomes for Individuals Who Are Deaf , 2015 .

[77]  Heather Lindsey,et al.  Navigating the early career years: Barriers and strategies for young adults with disabilities , 2013 .

[78]  R. Payne,et al.  Social class and psychological ill-health during unemployment. , 1984, Sociology of health & illness.

[79]  Lynn A. Newman,et al.  Who is where? Characteristics of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in regular and special schools. , 2014, Journal of deaf studies and deaf education.

[80]  D. Hendricks,et al.  Real-Life Issues in Job Accommodation , 1994 .

[81]  Jeffrey Ditterline.  Social Skills Rating System , 2008 .