How Universities Prepare Disabled College Students for Employment: Disability Service Professionals' Perspectives.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	How Universities Prepare Disabled College Students for Employment: Disability Service Professionals' Perspectives.
Authors:	Kutscher, Elisabeth L.¹ ekutscher@gwu.edu, Freund, Maxine¹ mfreund@gwu.edu, Isaacson, Karly Ball² ballkarl@msu.edu, Aljunaydil, Aljawharah I.¹ aaljunaydil@gwu.edu, Ewing, Tiombe A.¹ tjohnson25@gwu.edu
Source:	Journal of Postsecondary Education & Disability. Winter2025, Vol. 38 Issue 4, p687-699. 13p.
Subject Terms:	Career development, Students with disabilities, Occupational training, Higher education, Services for people with disabilities, Resource allocation, Cooperation
Abstract:	Although numerous researchers have identified the importance of meaningful collaboration between offices of disability resources (ODRs) and career services (CS) offices as a means of reducing employment disparities among disabled college students (e.g., Kutscher et al., 2019; Kwon et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2024; Pillette et al., 2019), little remains known about how disability service (DS) professionals understand their roles in preparing disabled college students for employment. Through a series of semi-structured interviews (n = 7) and a larger focus group interview (n =14 participants), this study investigated DS professionals' perceptions of the career development opportunities available to disabled students on their campuses, as well as DS professionals' understanding of their role in supporting students' career development. Findings emphasized (a) a common belief that ODRs served as a campus-wide authority on disability, (b) collaboration with CS offices was hampered by practical considerations despite being valued, (c) ODR career development support varied substantially by institution, and (d) a sense of responsibility for career development balanced with the need to prioritize limited resources. Practical implications and recommendations for strengthening DS and CS professionals' roles in supporting disabled students' career development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Although numerous researchers have identified the importance of meaningful collaboration between offices of disability resources (ODRs) and career services (CS) offices as a means of reducing employment disparities among disabled college students (e.g., Kutscher et al., 2019; Kwon et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2024; Pillette et al., 2019), little remains known about how disability service (DS) professionals understand their roles in preparing disabled college students for employment. Through a series of semi-structured interviews (n = 7) and a larger focus group interview (n =14 participants), this study investigated DS professionals' perceptions of the career development opportunities available to disabled students on their campuses, as well as DS professionals' understanding of their role in supporting students' career development. Findings emphasized (a) a common belief that ODRs served as a campus-wide authority on disability, (b) collaboration with CS offices was hampered by practical considerations despite being valued, (c) ODR career development support varied substantially by institution, and (d) a sense of responsibility for career development balanced with the need to prioritize limited resources. Practical implications and recommendations for strengthening DS and CS professionals' roles in supporting disabled students' career development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	23797762