The special education teachers'' perceptions about the actual conditions and problems of the career and vocational education of high school students with intellectual disabilities

Written by: Kim Jae-young
Department of Special Education
Graduate School of Woosuk University
Directed by: Prof. Chung Jin-ja, Ph.D.

<Abstract>
This study chose two special schools in Jeollabuk-do, three in Chungcheongnam-do, one in Jeju-do and one in each of Busan and In-choen in order to investigate special teachers'' perceptions about the actual conditions and problems of the career and vocational education of high school students with intellectual disabilities. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 178 teachers who worked in special schools, and cross - analysis and frequency analysis were conducted.
The specific studies are as follows.
First, how are special teachers'' perceptions about the actual conditions of the career and vocational education of high school students with intellectual disabilities.
Second, how are their perceptions about the problems of the career and vocational education of high school students with intellectual disabilities.
Third, what is improvement plan about the career and vocational education of high school students with intellectual disabilities.
The results of this study were as below.
First, the effect of career and vocational education on actual employment was very influential. The goal of career and vocational education was to select social skills and occupational skills. In the career and vocational education field, the teachers showed vocational education and daily training. He was doing career/vocational education for more than 10 hours per week and mainly teaching craft and job preparation. 55.1% did not conduct diagnostic evaluation for career or occupation. Teachers were using checklists and test samples as an evaluation tool. Most of them were practicing employment support or after-care, and they were doing both daily life training and social adjustment training. Second, the perception of the problem is as follows. The reason why students with intellectual disabilities can''t adapt themselves to their work life is the lack of patience (37.6%) and the lack of understanding of employers (23%). The biggest problems of career and vocational education were lack of financial and financial support for career and vocational education, lack of facilities and lack of professionalism of professors for vocational education.
The problem of evaluation is because of absence of education about professional evaluation method. The problems of employment support and follow-up management were recognized as a necessity of diagnosis and evaluation based on learning site and practice. The lack of an administrative and financial linkage system for daily life training and social adjustment training is the biggest problem of self-supporting life training. Third, the perception of the improvement plan is as follows. Specific occupational skills acquisition, social responsibility, positive attitude, and personality formation are necessary. The method of vocational education showed that the practical training of the instructor with the expertise in the vocational subject was most needed. The evaluation of occupation showed that diagnosis and evaluation should be done on the basis of the learning site and the practice. The greatest improvement in employment support and follow-up care required linking with vocational rehabilitation agencies for ongoing employment support and follow-up care. There was a need for a customized career and vocational education program that could do real work.
As a result of the above, suggestions for the management situation, problem and improvement plan of career and vocational education for high school students with intellectual disability are as follows.
First, in the course of career and vocational education, it is required to strengthen the contents of vocational education and to raise the specialization of special education teachers.
Second, efficient career and vocational education requires active financial support and manpower.
Third, it is necessary to establish a system that can provide support for the career and vocational education of students with disabilities, so that they can actively support them, find employment places and arrange them in the right place.
Fourth, it is required that students with disabilities will be able to get continuous employment support and follow-up through linkage with vocational rehabilitation institutions after graduation. It is necessary to cooperate with local communities and related organizations so that efficient management of employers'' perceptions and changes in the management of the students after graduation as well as strengthening of administrative and financial affairs within the school can be achieved.