Students with Disabilities in Career and Technical Education

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Students with Disabilities in Career and Technical Education

Career and technical education (CTE) can provide significant benefits to students with disabilities. CTE teachers need to be aware of the rights of students with disabilities and of the planning process involved in meeting their needs. In addition, CTE teachers must know what role they play both in planning and in providing instruction. CTE teachers often need background information on the details of disabilities and the accommodations required. This Digest provides information on students with disabilities for secondary CTE teachers.

Benefits of CTE

Research shows that students with disabilities in secondary CTE programs were less likely to drop out and more likely to be employed, to have paid competitive jobs, and to work full time after high school (Cobb et al. 1999; Colley and Jamison 1998). However, CTE that included only simulated work experience in classroom settings did not appear to lead to optimal employment outcomes. Students with disabilities who had paid or unpaid work experience in high school had better employment outcomes—higher wages, more hours, more continuous employment. Furthermore, students with disabilities mainstreamed into regular CTE or academic classrooms obtained paid competitive jobs more often and felt better prepared to keep their jobs. Qualitative studies reviewed by Eisenmann (2000) imply that integration of academic and vocational curricula promoted meaningful engagement and inclusion of students with disabilities by increasing persistence, academic achievement, and postsecondary engagement.

Rights of Students with Disabilities

Four key federal laws define the rights of students with disabilities (Ordover and Annexstei...

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...own to Business: A Blueprint for Creating and Supporting Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities. Washington, DC: PCEPD, 2000. (ED 450 525)

Rutkowski, S., and Riehle, E. "My Daughter Probably Won't Get a Football Scholarship…Now What Can We Do?" National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education, Professional Development Speaker Series Webcast, Columbus, OH, October 10, 2001. http://www.nccte.org/events/profdevseries/20011010/index.asp

Smith, S. W. Creating Useful Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). ERIC Digest E600. Arlington, VA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. (ED 449 636)

Vail, A., and Mandiloff, V. Cultivating Our Garden: Serving Students with Learning Disabilities in Family and Consumer Sciences. Ellenburg, WA: Family and Consumer Sciences Education Association, 1996. (ED 419 346)

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