Creating Career Connections for Students with Disabilities

This research is utilizing population data on students enrolled in CTE programs collected by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) through three comprehensive systems:

(a) the Illinois Student Information System (ISIS),
(b) the Performance Management Information System (PMIS), and
(c) the Illinois Community College Board’s Management Information System (ICCB-MIS).

To date, ISIS data for 9 school years, 1996 through 2004, have been analyzed through cross-sectional (year-by-year) analyses and over-lapping four-year longitudinal panels. These data include student enrollment records of over 3,000,000 students from across Illinois. Six longitudinal panels have been constructed representing cohorts of students enrolled in CTE in 1996 – 99, 1997 – 2000, 1998 – 2001, 1999 – 2002, 2000 – 2003, 2001 – 2004, and 2002– 2005. Our project included five studies. In each study, the experiences of students with disabilities of both genders and various ethnicities will be compared with those of a comparison group of students without disabilities.
 
Study 1 is investigating career assessment and planning activities implemented with students in grades 6 – 12 and includes a survey of over 2,900 school counselors in Illinois.

Study 2 is investigating the influence of demographic and environmental variables on enrollment in CTE training level programs—traditional, gender-neutral, and non-traditional—of students with disabilities.

Study 3 is investigating the influence of demographic and environmental variables on participation in CTE work-based education experiences—traditional, gender-neutral, and non-traditional—of students with disabilities.

Study 4 will investigate the influence of demographic and environmental variables (including the career assessment indicators) on concentration in specific CTE training level programs—traditional, gender-neutral, and non-traditional—of students with disabilities.

Study 5 will build on Studies 1–4 to determine the influence of student and environmental variables on students’ post-school outcomes regarding postsecondary education and employment.As indicated in Section III of this performance report, we have made substantial progress in establishing the project and achieving our research objectives.

Award # H324C030014
Funded by U.S. Dept. of Ed, Office of Special Ed Programs