“What Do We Have to Do?” Community College CTE Faculty Perceptions, Preparedness, and Propositions in Supporting Disabled Students’ Employment Opportunities

Available formats:    Word

Quick Look:

Many students with disabilities choose to attend a community or technical college as an accessible way to get more education after high school. Community or technical colleges often focus on hands-on work and programs that lead right to employment in in-demand fields. However, the faculty at these schools don’t know how students with disabilities fit into the types of jobs that community or technical colleges prepare them for. Research has shown that faculty need more education on preparing their students with disabilities for the workforce.

 

A 2024 study interviewed 20 faculty members across departments and asked how they supported students with disabilities in their programs. The researcher then made a model called the “3 Ps” that showed how faculty at community and technical colleges help students with disabilities.

 

Key Findings:

 

  1. Perceptions: The first “P” is all about what the faculty know about students with disabilities in their programs. The researcher found that faculty with more experience working with people with disabilities were more open to working with students with disabilities toward employment. The researcher also found that most faculty had an idea about how their field was limiting to employees with disabilities. For example, a law enforcement instructor said that their jobs require quick decisions and can be really loud or intense - this might not be a good fit for a person who needs longer processing time to make decisions, or who gets easily overwhelmed or overstimulated.
  2. Preparation: The second “P” is about faculty working with students in their programs. The faculty said that the program requirements can be a barrier for students with disabilities to get into the program in the first place. Physical requirements (like being able to lift 50 pounds) or entrance exams are examples of these barriers. The faculty also said that they have students with disabilities who did get into their programs, and that they work with them on bringing their skills to the workplace. Many of these faculty talked about the “unique perspectives” that people with disabilities can bring to a job.
  3. Propositions: The third “P” is about faculty members’ recommendations for their field to have better opportunities for people with disabilities. First, the faculty said that it is important for their job fields to be diverse. They said that the fields would be better with more diverse workers, but that many employers need education on how to support employees with disabilities. The faculty also said that the community or technical college staff can help employers to understand how to support employees with disabilities. They can do this by setting up internships for students to try out jobs or by showing employers how to set up accommodations at work.

 

Putting it Into Practice:

 

Now that we know the 3 Ps, we know that faculty members’ knowledge (Perceptions) helps them to work with their students (Preparation). And we know that by working with their students, the faculty form ideas for improving their field (Propositions). Some of the ideas from this study include changing program requirements and educating faculty and employers on working with people with disabilities. 

 

More about the research/next steps:

 

From this study, we learned that students with disabilities face barriers to employment in some fields, but that faculty at community or technical colleges can help. The research can grow to include more schools, more departments, and the voices of students with disabilities themselves. The 3 Ps Model could also be used beyond students with disabilities and help other groups of students, such as those from low-income households or English learners. 

 

Article Citation:

Nachman, B. R. (2024). “What do we have to do?” Community college CTE faculty perceptions, preparedness, and propositions in supporting disabled students’ employment opportunities. Community College Review, 52(3), 354-374. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521231222273 

 

Learn More:

The contents of this summary were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number #90RTEM0013). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this summary do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.