Background: Mock or practice interviews have become a typical tool for transition programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Method: We examined what interview skills were most associated with subsequent employment for individuals intellectual and developmental disabilities via practice interviews. The likelihood of…

Virtual Reality Job Interview Training (VR-JIT) and Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth (VIT-TAY) demonstrated initial effectiveness at increasing employment among transition-age youth with disabilities engaged in pre-employment transition services. We characterized activities and estimated the labor and non-labor costs required to…

Autistic transition age youth struggle with obtaining employment, and interviewing is a critical barrier to getting a job. We adapted an efficacious virtual reality job interview intervention to meet the needs of autistic transition age youth, called the Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth. This study evaluated whether Virtual…

While job interviewing training is part of the transition planning and school-to-work curriculum, using virtual reality (VR) can be a valuable addition to the current curriculum, specifically given the unique characteristics of individuals with ASD. This article will provide step-by step procedures to integrate VR into the current classroom…

This study reports the results of a single-arm, noncontrolled, Type 3 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial evaluating virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) delivered in five preemployment transition programs comprising 15 schools, 10 administrators, 23 teachers, and 279 youth ages 16-21 years receiving special education…

This scoping review synthesized existing literature to address what is known about technology-based employment interventions for individuals with autism and how these interventions were conducted. A systematic multi-database search yielded 48 studies (362 participants; mean age = 20.5 years; 85.3% male) that met the inclusion criteria.…

Research examining the teacher hiring process is scant and has largely ignored the principal's role. This qualitative, comparative case study uses Person-Environment fit to explore teacher hiring in two high schools with divergent characteristics in the same district. Findings suggest that fit is a dynamic quality, depending on school context and…

The purpose of this study was to assess the usage of video modeling in the high school setting in order to prepare students with Autism to be job ready upon leaving high school. This researcher examined the information provided through the interviews of those with Autism. Autism Spectrum Disorder was a lifetime processing diagnosis with no cure…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience barriers to competitive integrated employment during their transition to adulthood. To better understand potential reasons for these barriers, we interviewed 10 young adults with ASD, ages 18-26, and their parents or guardians. We audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed…

The significant, positive influence classroom teachers can have on student learning outcomes is clearly documented in educational research. As teachers are typically selected by principals, deciding which teachers to hire is one of the most critically important decisions principals make. However, in most school districts in the United States,…

Educating high school students for both college and career is difficult. Teaching trade skills seems alien to the academic culture. But new research indicates that soft skills are quite important to judgments of employability and that youth learn many soft skills in traditional academic subjects (e.g., literature). A focus on soft skills allows…

This article summarizes findings from an experimental evaluation of After School Matters (ASM), a paid, apprenticeship-based, after-school program in Chicago for high school students. Analysis of quantitative data from a mock job interview revealed that ASM participants did not demonstrate more marketable job skills than youth in the control…

With the current teacher workforce in urban school districts diminishing in size, teacher preparation programs are being called to use creative ways to attract candidates to ensure that schools in urban districts keep their staff filled with highly qualified teachers. This article considers the factors for successful recruitment in an urban…

In this article, the author discusses a transition program at the Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD) that helps students learn to search for, find and keep jobs. ISD's personal and career development (PCD) classes, which began in the fall of 2005, are required for the school's ninth through twelfth graders. The goal is to ease transition from school…

School administrators have some tough hiring decisions to make, and an interview to select the most highly qualified applicants is critically important. Even before the mandates of No Child Left Behind, school administrators strove to hire the best new teachers. Competent, caring, qualified teachers are the keys to enhanced student achievement.…