A Study of the Relationship of Education and Transition Factors to the Job Status of Mildly and Moderately Handicapped Students / Wilmer E. Wise and Cherritta L. Matthews.

This study sought to replicate a 1984 Vermont study on the work status of handicapped youth, using data from 415 mildly and moderately handicapped students who graduated high school in 1985 in Delaware with either a diploma or a certificate. The study also sought to expand the Vermont design to include a broader range of factors relating employment status and school preparation. Factors in both studies related to employment status were school location, gender, manner of exit, and work experience in high school, with no relationship between employment and vocational experience. In both states, jobs tended to be located through a self/family/friends network rather than through employment-related service agencies. In the expanded study involving Delaware students only, results showed that the special education/vocational programs were producing employable students, with 67% employed full- or part-time (compared to 80% employment for all youths). The learning-disabled were more likely to be employed than individuals with other handicapping conditions. Program placement (e.g., resource room, self-contained, special school), intensity of special education services, and vocational training were not related to employment status. Factors showing the strongest relationship to holding a job were transportation availability, method of exit from school, and race. (JDD)

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