The Transition Lynchpin: The Voices of Individuals with Disabilities Who Attended a Community College Transition Program

Nearly 60% of students with disabilities who attend postsecondary institutions attend community colleges. Individuals with disabilities paralleling their peers without disabilities need the postsecondary education opportunity to develop vocational skills, the time to mature, and the experience of living with others. A transition program, a K–12 and community college partnership, was developed to support students in this mission. A narrative inquiry methodology was utilized to understand the community college experience of students with disabilities in a transition program. Findings indicate that the program benefited the individuals. It did this by supporting completion of a vocational program leading to gainful employment and as a transition into adult roles and status. The program also provided opportunities that enhanced the individuals' self-esteem, and it facilitated the individuals becoming more independent and responsible.     

Family and School Influences on the Vocational Choices of Students in a Rural Western Australian Community

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the influence of isolation on the vocational choice processes of rural students except that such people often make very traditional career decisions. In remote areas of Australia vocational choice has to be considered at a comparatively early stage of a student's education because of the lack of full, locally available secondary education facilities. Students, in some cases accompanied by their families, migrate to urban centres to complete years 11 and 12 in order to matriculate. In the Western Australian community in which this study was located, the influence of family and school on the vocational decisions of 24 rural students was investigated. Family influence was found to be much stronger than that of the school, a matter that has implications for schools that are remote from vocational opportunities.     

Developing strong transition-focused IEPS using labour market data

Employment rates and post-school transition outcomes for individuals with disabilities remain alarmingly low compared to peers without disabilities. Transition-Focused Individualized Education Plans (TF-IEPs) often centre on skills associated with employment experience opportunities that are immediately available to the individual with a disability. While the transition plans focus on the student's strengths and areas of interest, less attention is paid to the guidance and support a student might need in choosing a sustainable career. We contend that teams must develop transition plans with specific attention to projected labour market data. Using this information will ensure that we are preparing students with disabilities for long-term success. This article describes how school teams can use an in-depth labour market analysis to develop robust transition plans. These plans will prepare students for careers that will last far into the future.     

Changes on creativity scales following continuing education courses

Some educational courses for adults are concerned with developing general cognitive skills and flexibility, rather than specific concepts and competencies. Examples of such courses are those involving the encouragement of creativity, flexible and clear thinking, and efficient reading. These cognitive development courses are difficult to evaluate; for it is not immediately clear whether adult students learn anything from the novel activities experienced in them. It is necessary to examine learning of this kind using appropriate psychological tests, so as to assess student's thinking in terms of its creativity and complexity. A study was undertaken of six adult education courses, including in particular four creativity‐training courses, with two other university groups serving as controls. With the adult education groups, several significant improvements in test results were gained following the six‐week courses, involving the student's production of ideas, preference for complex stimuli, and creative independence. Consequently, creativity‐training and similar courses for general cognitive development are recommended for inclusion in both professional and lay adult‐education courses.     

Navigating between Māori particularism and economic universalism in adult literacy provision in Aotearoa New Zealand: the case of a Wānanga

This paper examines tensions between adult literacy policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and the philosophies and mission of one post-school institution, a Wānanga, an institution focused on the education of Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous people. It uses policy documents, interview data and complexity thinking to explore the tensions created by a Wānanga's task to navigate between Māori particularism and economic universalism.     

社区职业教育"一站式服务"培训模式研究

社区职业教育的职能要求社区学院定位于为社会服务上,宜构建以电子系统和信息培训网站为核心,整合劳动力职业教育、技能培训、就业辅导、就业信息指导的以需定产的"一站式服务"培训模式,在企业、职教部门、各层次劳动力三者间组成"价值链",以市场需求为导向,建立起具有管理监督、跟综服务职能的培训体系.     

Clinical Practice in Master's Level Rehabilitation Counselor Education

Clinical practice in rehabilitation education represents an essential component in the graduate student's course of study and serves as a transition between the didactic learning of the classroom and the employment of the student as a professional counselor. Although the value of clinical practice is well established in master's level rehabilitation education, a number of potential problems currently exist. The author examines several issues related to supervision in clinical practice and provides suggestions for clarification.     

Two decades of feminist thought - and beyond

This paper reflects on feminist achievements in adult education during the last twenty years. The 1980s was a crucial period, putting gender on the agenda. Research on women and post-school education was initiated, women's studies were established and the prevalence of structural discrimination was recognised. Some comparisons with the development of anti-racist education are made. In the 1990s feminists increasingly recognised women's ‘ways of knowing’ (as process and product) and the curricular implications of this. Again a comparison is made with anti-racist curriculum development. Finally, it is argued that both minority ethnic groups and women have developed ‘cultures of resistance’ which influence their construction of knowledge and seven characteristics associated with such ways of knowing are identified.     

‘It's more than stick and rudder skills’: an aviation professional development community of practice

In Australian higher education institutions, benchmarks have been directed at developing key competencies and attributes to facilitate students' transition into the workforce. However, for those students whose degree has a specific vocational focus, it is also necessary for them to commence their professional development whilst undergraduates. Familiarising students with the norms and culture of their chosen profession often does not occur through passive observation of subject content. At Griffith University in an undergraduate aviation degree, a community of practice has been established by the school, which develops student's generic skills and their identity as novice professionals. Our research examines the ways in which Mentoring Aviators Through Educational Support (MATES) provides students with the opportunity to develop their professional competence and experience through connecting with other undergraduates and industry professionals.     

Transition and other services for handicapped students in local education agencies

A survey was conducted among special education administrators in 1,450 local education agencies (LEAs) nationwide, to determine the availability of vocational programs and transition-oriented services for handicapped youth. Results showed that most LEAs offer at least some vocational programs; transition-oriented services as not as frequently available, particularly in smaller LEAs. In addition to size of LEA, community employment opportunities and the availability of adult services were related to whether an LEA offered any transition-related services.     

Factors related to a college student's career optimism and their perception of career services

A student's expectation for a positive outcome for their future career development is referred to as career optimism. Career Services, a common university department, utilizes the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to understand how students form career interests and make educational and vocational choices. Then Career Services can assist students in finding a career that matches their interests. We hypothesize that students' perception of the assistance provided by the Career Services department when the SCCT is applied, impacts the student's career optimism. In addition, we hypothesize, and results support, that different factors, such as a student's chosen major, impact student perception of Career Services and career optimism.     

Making the most of the mosaic: facilitating post-school transitions to higher education of disadvantaged students

Research studies of post-school education and training conducted in Australia and internationally have revealed a mosaic of students’ education and employment experiences, with a multiplicity of nonlinear pathways. These tend to be more fragmentary for disadvantaged students, especially those of low socio-economic background, rural students, and mature aged students seeking a ‘second chance’ education. Challenges faced by students in their transitions to higher education are made more complex because of the intersection of vertical stratification created by institutional and sectoral status hierarchies and segmentation, especially relating to ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ education and training, and the horizontal stratification of regional, rural and remote locations in which students live. If we are to achieve the equity goals set by the Bradley Review (Bradley et al., Review of Australian Higher Education Final Report, 2008) we need to acknowledge and work with the complex realities of disadvantaged students’ situations, starting at the school level. Interrelated factors at the individual, community and institutional level which continue to inhibit student take-up of higher education places are discussed in the context of discursive constructions of ‘disadvantage’ and ‘choice’ in late modernity. Research highlights the need to facilitate students’ post-school transitions by developing student resilience, institutional responsiveness and policy reflexivity through transformative education.     

Lifelong Learning: A model for increasing the participation of non-traditional adult

This article examines the attempt of one college (Orpington College in Kent) to increase the participation in further education of adult students who would not normally have benefited from post-school education and/or training; effectively non-traditional learners. The college targeted a specific and defined community, the residents of which had, prior to this initiative, limited access to continuing education. This example is by no means a unique one, but it is unusual and reflects what is best termed a community-based approach to widening participation, harnessing the support of a wide range of community, statutory and voluntary groups to ensure its success.     

澳大利亚高校就业工作及其启示

澳大利亚在高校就业工作方面,从建立系统的职业教育培训体系、采取积极的就业推介工作到培训专业的职业指导教师等方面,为学生的就业提供了良好的保障。针对我国高校在大学生就业指导方面存在的一系列问题,借鉴澳大利亚的经验,认为需要从专业设置、就业指导、教育质量保障、师资培训方面去努力。     

Active social policy meets the discipline of the Australian marketplace: the outcomes of mobile policies

Many advanced market democracies pursue social justice by bundling together a range of programmes represented as active social policy. Northern European exemplars sanction employment as an economic and social citizen’s civic obligation, promote lifelong learning and place welfare payments as a last resort. In the United States, market-based post-school education financed by guaranteed student loans was developed as a policy alternative. Australian politicians have embraced elements of both, resulting in a massive reduction in public delivery of vocational education and training in favour of multimillion dollar, stock exchange-listed private providers. The resultant amalgam of active labour market policy and free market principles positions standard setting as a regulatory mechanism and in support of cross-jurisdictional market operations. This paper explores the interaction between active policy and demands of the market while speaking to wider issues that arise when a government first creates and then intervenes in markets.     

Trends Toward Integration in the "European Community" in the Domain of Vocational Education

In the present phase of international development the activity of international organizations and associations is growing in importance. For a number of years now in the economically developed capitalist countries of Western Europe, attempts have been made to carry out certain activities in vocational education on a joint or mutually coordinated basis. In the following we shall take a look at what results have been achieved in this respect in the "European Community" and what limits are imposed on capitalist integration. (1)     

高职商务英语专业学生学习特点与心理特征探析

高职商务英语专业学生的培养需要根据学生的学习特点和心理特征,结合时代特征和行业特点,不断发挥心理健康教育的育人功能,从性格、情感、态度、师生关系、性别等方面入手,通过开设专业的心理健康教育课程、实施丰富多彩的语言文化活动、创建学习共同体、建立学校、家庭和社会共同关注的三级网络,全方位促进学生成才。     

借鉴美国社区学院经验的思考

美国的社区学院具有把为社区服务作为最高宗旨、具备为社区服务的多种职能、适应能力强、管理模式务实高效等特点,对社区发展起到了促进的作用。借鉴美国社区学院的经验,对我国高职教育的发展有着积极意义。针对存在的问题,我国高职教育必须建立管理体系,整合和优化各地教育资源,形成良性的高职教育投融资机制,以就业为导向,走学历教育与职业培训并重、产学结合的路子。     

民国中期成人女子职业教育研究

民国中期,由于政府的重视,革命根据地和国统区的成人女子职业教育得到了大力发展:表现为在教育政策与规章上颁布了一系列文件;教育目的强调培养职业女性;教育对象平民化;教育内容上重视德育;办学形式与办学类型多元化。在政府与职业教育家的努力下成人女子职业教育逐渐走向规范化、规模化。但与此同时,在成人女子职业教育中还存在专业设置受限、就业困难、受教育人数少等问题。     

Evaluation of an Innovative Interest-Based Post-School Transition Programme for Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder

After leaving school, young people with autism spectrum disorder often struggle with social, educational and employment participation. A post-school transition programme underpinned by individualised case management, where mentees are guided to complete self-selected projects by mentors with multimedia skills, was evaluated using a qualitative approach. The programme’s impact on mentees’ social participation, emotional well-being, project skills and awareness of and transition to post-school options was examined. Eleven mentees (17–21 years), 12 family members and 7 mentors participated in semi-structured interviews. Mentors completed fortnightly records. Findings included positive impacts on mentees’ motivation and enjoyment, social participation, emotional well-being and skill development; and an appreciation of the programme flexibility and the high-quality mentor–mentee relationships. Some mentees developed their awareness of future options, while others struggled to articulate their goals. Two of 11 mentees transitioned to further education. Overall, the programme appeared to fulfil a critical need for nurturing, post-school transition programmes.