Abstract
Purpose
This article evaluates the effectiveness of Career Services in supporting college students with disabilities to self-advocate for their accommodation rights during the job search.
Method
A qualitative case study was conducted at one university to examine how their Career Services unit educates, trains, and supports students with disabilities in their professional development. Two rounds of interviews were conducted: one with university staff responsible for such services to assess policies and practices in providing support, and one with students and alumni with disabilities to gather feedback on their experiences with career planning and employment.
Results
Three key themes emerged from the data: (1) Disability stigma negatively impacts a willingness to self-advocate among participants (this is especially true among those belonging to multiple marginalized groups); (2) the lack of transition support by the university further entrenches this stigma; and (3) participants report subsequent challenges in the crossover to employment.
Conclusion
These identified barriers discouraged participants from planning for and seeking workplace accommodations and highlighted the need for universities to provide more comprehensive support for their professional development.
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Data Availability
The study transcripts analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, with redactions of all personal information.
Notes
See Table 1 in the appendix for a demographic breakdown.
See the appendix for interview guides.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) “Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier” Grant [award number 2026622]. The author would also like to thank Terri Kurtzberg, Lisa Schur, Douglas Kruse, and the journal reviewer for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript.
Funding
This study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) “Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier” Grant [award number 2026622].
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The author, MA, contributed to the study’s conception and design and performed material preparation, data collection, and analysis.
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The author declares no conflict of interest.
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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers University on December 13, 2022, Study ID Pro2022002238.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Ameri, M. From Classroom to Boardroom: Self-Advocacy and Navigating the Transition for Students with Disabilities. J Occup Rehabil (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-023-10144-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-023-10144-0