Keywords

Transition, disabilities, language impairments, work based learning, job experience training, postsecondary, executive functioning skills

Abstract

The collaborative efforts of families, educators, and policy makers have merged vocational training with special education services for students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 introduced mandates for schools to provide transition services for students with disabilities based on three areas of need: a) education, b) employment, and independent living. This legislation has led to more work-based learning programs that meet the postsecondary needs for students with disabilities. Despite this increase in work-based learning programs many students with disabilities are still unable to make successful transitions into postsecondary outcomes. Using a mixed method design, this study examined the impact of a Job Experience Training (JET) program on the executive functioning skills of seven young men (15 to 18 years of age) over the course of seven weeks at an assisted living facility. Results of the teacher evaluations showed the students were capable of completing tasks, making individual goals, and increasing executive functioning skills while participating in the JET program. Conversely, the results from the parent and student assessments showed little to no change in executive functioning skills once the participants were outside the context of the assisted living facility. Future research is encouraged to examine a longitudinal study across multiple job sites that evaluates and measures the students’ ability to transfer executive functioning skills to other contexts and further investigate mentoring as the core teaching strategy of a JET program.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2014

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Martin, Suzanne

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Dean's Office, Education

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005161

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005161

Language

English

Release Date

May 2014

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance, Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic

Download

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS