Work-based learning experiences help students with disabilities transition to careers: a case study of University of Washington projects

Career capital, career success, and perceived employability: evidence from medical billing companies in the post-COVID world

BACKGROUND

This paper focuses on the concept of career construction based on the theory of conservation of resources to understand the overall effect of career capital on career success from both a subjective and objective manner through the mediating effect of perceived employability.

OBJECTIVE

This study attempts to explain how different integrated aspects of career capital, including human, social, and psychological (antecedents), influence both subjective career success and objective career success (outcome) through the mediating effect of perceived employability (mediator).

METHODS

Time-lagged data of 331 employees from the telehealth medical billing service companies based in Pakistan were analyzed through a structural equation modeling technique using SmartPLS software.

RESULTS

The main results confirmed that career capital positively affects perceived employability and career success while perceived employability positively mediates the relationship between career capital and career success.

CONCLUSION

This research responded to prior calls by explaining the positive mediating role of perceived employability (as a mediator) in explaining the positive influence of career capital on career success using different various dimensions of career capital and career success. This research included the contextual issues by testing the model in the telehealth sector of Pakistan. The findings suggested that context or occupation matters in the relationship between career capital and career success.

Students with Disabilities in Life Science Undergraduate Research Experiences: Challenges and Opportunities

Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in postsecondary science education and in science careers, yet few studies have explored why this may be. A primary predictor of student persistence in science is participating in undergraduate research. However, it is unclear to what extent students with disabilities are participating in research and what the experiences of these students in research are. To address this gap in the literature, in study 1, we conducted a national survey of more than 1200 undergraduate researchers to determine the percent of students with disabilities participating in undergraduate research in the life sciences. We found that 12% of undergraduate researchers we surveyed self-identified as having a disability, which indicates that students with disabilities are likely underrepresented in undergraduate research. In study 2, we conducted semistructured interviews with 20 undergraduate researchers with disabilities. We identified unique challenges experienced by students with disabilities in undergraduate research, as well as some possible solutions to these challenges. Further, we found that students with disabilities perceived that they provide unique contributions to the research community. This work provides a foundation for creating undergraduate research experiences that are more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities.

Effects of work experiences on the Post-school employment outcomes of youth with disabilities: A study of one state vocational rehabilitation agency’s transition program

BACKGROUND: The Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services provided eight years’ worth of de-identified data on transition-aged clients to be examined in this study. OBJECTIVE: This study presents information on the predictive impact of work experiences, age at time of application for vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, and priority group category of eligibility on successful VR case closure (i.e., achievement of competitive integrated employment). METHODS: Using logistic regression, the extant data were analyzed (consisting of 8,966 participants). RESULTS: Results indicated age, priority group category, gender and racial identification were each statistically significant predictors of achieving a successful VR case closure. Work experience as a predictor was not found to predict outcomes. Among work experiences, Project SEARCH was the only work experience to significantly predict successful employment outcomes. Individuals achieving higher rates of competitive integrated employment tended to be in the less severe priority category of eligibility, older, and those who identified as male and who identified as White. CONCLUSIONS: Findings inform special education and VR in considering the possible factors behind the results, examining data further, and potentially changing existing programs, policies, and practices or creating new ones to increase the employment outcomes of transition age clients.