@article{88866a8dc2734ee39577006745b51e61,
title = "Reasons and External Factors That Influence Access to University and Job Placement Programs for Individuals with Intellectual Disability",
abstract = "Despite the rapid growth in inclusive university programs, access to inclusive higher education is still limited for students with intellectual disability (ID). This article explores the perspectives of 34 students with ID on their motives for accessing the inclusion and job placement programs at three Spanish universities and the external factors that contributed to their studying at the university. The study used a qualitative methodology based on a phenomenological approach using semi-structured interviews that had previously been validated and piloted. The data were analyzed using an inductive category and code system. The results addressed four questions: What is the participant{\textquoteright}s academic pathway? What is their job profile? What are their reasons for studying at the university? What are the external factors that influenced their studying at the university? The study concludes that higher education can be an invaluable tool to foster the workplace inclusion of individuals with ID and promote their independent living. Furthermore, the family, organizations, and third-sector entities, as well as collaboration among them, emerged as key contextual factors for access to higher education and the personal and professional development of individuals with ID.",
keywords = "higher education, IDD, inclusive education, transition, workplace inclusion",
author = "Ingrid Sala-Bars and Anabel Mori{\~n}a and Ana Casas and {Van Der Mel}, Luc{\'i}a",
note = "Funding Information: Access to higher education for people with ID is a reality that has become more common in recent years in Australia, Europe, and North America [,,]. This growth is providing new contexts for learning and interaction [,] that aim to prepare people with ID for greater inclusion in community life []. Spain is no exception. The presence of students with disabilities in university classrooms has been steadily increasing since the Organic Law on Universities of 2001 and the General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion of 2013, which guarantee equal opportunities to university students with disabilities [,]. In the specific case of students with ID, since 2004, when the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Prodis Foundation spearheaded the first pilot experience offered to eight students with ID at the university [], the number of universities offering courses aimed at this student population has increased every academic year. With the recent approval of Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System on 22 March 2023, it is expected that these programs will continue to grow since, for the first time, Spanish universities will have to promote access to university studies for people with ID by promoting programs adapted to their capacities. These programs for young people with ID are continuing education programs based on customized degrees, which are neither official nor nationally regulated, with the main objective of promoting employment training for young people with ID in ordinary work contexts []. Unlike in other countries such as the United States or Canada [], these programs are not planned within a fully inclusive framework. Initially, most of them were designed within the so-called “substantially separate model”, in which students with ID attend classes only with other peers with disabilities. In this model, the curriculum focuses primarily on life skills and vocational training; however, students with ID may have the opportunity to participate in general social activities on campus and may be offered work experience in mainstream settings []. In recent years in Spain, these programs have tended to be situated within a “mixed/hybrid model”, where students with ID attend university classes with students without disabilities []. The majority of these programs have been launched within the framework of the Operational Program for Youth Employment 2014–2020, co-financed by the European Social Fund, and managed by the Spanish National Organization for the Blind (ONCE) Foundation. Funding Information: This research has been supported by the ONCE Foundation and the European Social Fund through the seventh call for the development of university programs for the employment of young people with intellectual disabilities. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by the authors.",
year = "2023",
month = sep,
doi = "10.3390/bs13090745",
language = "English",
volume = "13",
journal = "Behavioral Sciences",
issn = "2076-328X",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "9",
}
