On-the-Job Training: A Curricular Approach to Employment

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES for individuals with disabilities have been available for many years. However, several follow-up studies conducted during the 1980s (e.g., Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985; Mithaug, Horiuchi, & Fanning, 1985) indicated that post-school status of youths with disabilities was often less than desired. Over this same period, educators, researchers, and policy makers have investigated alternative educational, rehabilitation, and employment processes in an effort to identify practices that will improve these post-school outcomes. Current consensus suggests that employment of youths with disabili-ties should be one of the primary outcomes of secondary-level special education programs. Benz and Halpern (1986, 1987) defined the fundamental purpose of education to be the preparation of students to lead productive and rewarding lives. Bellamy, Rhodes, Mank, and Albin (1988) narrowed this definition by challenging education to prepare students with severe disabilities for integrated employment opportuni-ties. Wehman, Moon, Everson, Wood, and Barcus (1988) specified preparing students to live independently as well as employment in the marketplace as major goals of education. There also is consensus that schools, service providers, and parents must work together to develop both appropriate educational programs and appropriate employment