This research analyzes the preparation of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for inclusion in the open labor market via supported employment (SE). To…
Abstract
Purpose
This research analyzes the preparation of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for inclusion in the open labor market via supported employment (SE). To this end, Fraser’s (1995) concept of transformative action is used to evaluate changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was adopted, consisting of interviews with SE organizations and observations of students participating in workshops focused on internships that form part of their educational process.
Findings
The research findings indicate that an educational approach to SE inclusion can generate transformative processes that contribute to changing the conditions leading to exclusion from the labor market.
Research limitations/implications
This research develops further the use of Fraser’s (1995) theorization in disability studies. Students were observed participating in workshops, and not in their workplaces, which represents both a limitation and a line for future investigation.
Practical implications
This research contributes to reducing managers’ reluctance to contract people with IDD. It is also useful for those secondary schools implementing an inclusive educational approach that are willing to include internships as part of their academic curriculum.
Social implications
Greater investment and cooperation by education and labor policy makers are needed to make inclusion possible.
Originality/value
This study investigates inclusion in the labor market as part of the educational development of students with IDD, focusing on its transformative nature.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of women with disability about their working lives in a company in the Barcelona metropolitan area which is unusual in that it…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of women with disability about their working lives in a company in the Barcelona metropolitan area which is unusual in that it employs more than twice the percentage of people with disabilities as the legally established quota (2 percent). The paper specifically addresses concealment of disability in a context provided by organizational inclusion policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Narratives from women with disabilities were developed within the case study of the firm to give voice to them and bring forward their perspectives on their own working experience in the organizational context.
Findings
The author found that in an arguably inclusive organizational context, unlike their experiences in other contexts, women could choose whether or not to conceal their disability. The organizational context allowed women to forget their disability, yet disability was vindicated in different ways. Emotions were varied and nuanced around feelings of pride, happiness, a wish for independence, pain and relief.
Research limitations/implications
The research was done in a specific organization with an unusually high percentage of employees with disability. While results cannot be generalized to other companies, this research can aid understanding of what the processes of inclusion may involve for employees, and for those organizations that choose to engage in inclusive practices.
Practical implications
The results of this research are relevant for managers and policy makers in order to obtain insights about how inclusive policies may be perceived by those to whom they are addressed.
Social implications
Disability inclusion in organizations is part of disability inclusion in societies. Disability affects 15 percent of the world population. Addressing inclusion processes of people with disability is socially relevant and needed.
Originality/value
In contrast to previous research, disability inclusion processes are examined though the voices of the women with disabilities working in the company.