Criteria Identified and Validated by Impaired Workers for the Selection of the Training Setting for Their Job Competency Development

The study was directed toward gathering information about the twenty-six criteria which were identified in the Evans, Hunter, Holter, and Miller (1980) study. These criteria were believed to have been used for selecting the training setting of "impaired" workers who lived and worked in the State of Illinois and had been employed for twenty-four consecutive months or longer in their current jobs. The results indicated that nine criteria had been identified by more than fifty percent of the workers to have been OFTEN to ALWAYS USED in the selection of their training settings. Eight criteria were identified to have been less frequently used since only thirty-four percent or less of the workers identified their use to have been OFTEN to ALWAYS USED, and twelve criteria, in the opinion of these workers, should have been used more frequently. Two additional criteria were identified, but not tested, in this study. Several conclusions were drawn based on the results of this study: (1) the workers interviewed were not the "disabled" or "handicapped" workers who are typically reported in the professional literature as clients or persons difficult to place in schools and/or the work place; (2) the training settings for these workers were far above average with strong linkages with the work place. Most workers believed the preparation for their current employment occurred in a "combination" training setting, i.e., classroom/laboratory instruction succeeded by on-the-job training or in conjunction with on-the-job training; and (3) the Evans et al. (1980) criteria were applicable in the decision-making process of choosing a training setting for the respondents in this study, i.e., "impaired" workers. The results of this study suggests, first, a need for additional research with trainers/instructors of "pre-job entry" vocational programs to determine how best to train persons with handicaps to increase job-entry potential and to gain job placement. Second, a study to test the effects of advocate, family, and other sources of support and encouragement upon the handicapped trainee's attitude towards seeking work and independence. And third, a study to find more effective ways of sampling a population, such as impaired workers, under current laws and regulations (for example: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) which prevent access to personally identifiable data and therefore restricts the sampling options available to the educational researcher.

Name thesis:degree_name

Educat.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Hunter, Alain Edward Callis

• Education, Vocational

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8108548

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/65995