IngentaConnect Aiming high: the educational and occupational aspirations and of ...

Author: TANIA BURCHARDT¹

Source: Support for Learning, Volume 19, Number 4, November 2004 , pp. 181-186(6)

Abstract:

This article provides an overview of the aspirations and expectations disabled teenagers form for their future education and employment and the factors which are associated with positive aspirations. After reviewing what is already known about the formation of aspirations in general, and among young disabled people in particular, Tania Burchardt presents preliminary analysis from original research using two large-scale representative surveys: the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). The results indicate that young disabled people have similar aspirations to their non-disabled counterparts, although tempered in some cases with a recognition that there are likely to be obstacles in the world of work. There is also some–tentative–evidence that young disabled people feel less well served by advice and support services. SEN coordinators in secondary schools and further education, and Connexions advisors, need to ensure that they encourage positive aspirations, especially among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, while offering practical support in overcoming disabling barriers.

Keywords: aspirations; disability; education; employment

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.0268-2141.2004.00345.x

Affiliations: 1: Tania Burchardt is a research fellow at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Education at the London School of Economics. Her research interests span education, employment and welfare, with a particular interest in disability. Some of her earlie

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Aiming high: the educational and occupational aspirations and of young disabled people