Youth and Adolescents with Special Needs (YASN) face many challenges during transition into employment. Although most of their physical challenges are secondary, yet they call for attention since most of them are hired for blue collar jobs. Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) should be adapted to prepare them addressing the physical job-demands,…

Work-based learning (WBL) is undertaken in a wide variety of higher education contexts and is increasingly viewed as a valuable, and increasingly essential, component of both the undergraduate and postgraduate student learning experience. However, the development of rigorous pedagogies to underpin WBL and its assessment is still embryonic. This…

Answers are provided to commonly asked questions about secondary special education programs. Topics covered include components of comprehensive vocational programs, job placement techniques, agencies involved, and difficulties frequently faced in the transition phase. (CL)

Professional practice is important in the lives of many people and it is often assumed that professionals are motivated with a desire to serve the public interest. However, studies have increasingly addressed the professional dilemma of combining demands for efficiency with the obligation to help others. This study examines what professionals want…

The transitional assessment model described here contains the following characteristics: vocational orientation, comprehensive approach, individualized focus, contemporary design, and informal instrumentation. The screening, placement/planning, and monitoring/evaluation services vary in degree depending on the severity of the student's disability.…

The UK vocational assessment landscape is changing and research has a key role in helping to identify trends and anticipate emerging issues and challenges. This review collates the messages from recently published research about specific issues that have been found to affect the measurement of vocational learning. It also highlights issues that…

This article provides a brief introduction to transition assessment for students with disabilities and then lists 43 references (published from 1988 through 1996) pertaining to transition assessment or vocational assessment. (CR)

The Index of Least Restrictive Employment is a vocational assessment instrument for use with individuals with disabilities. It focuses on job security, opportunity for advancement, job satisfaction, planning, earnings, and integration aspects of transition. The index is intended to provide a means of measuring the movement from more to less…

The authors review several existing models of vocational assessment for the special needs learner. They argue the need to include generalizable skills assessment information in the vocational assessment process and provide suggestions for incorporating this information in the vocational assessment process for the special needs learner. (CH)

A process to translate results of vocational assessment of learning disabled and behavior-disordered students into individualized education program objectives is described. The process addresses three concerns: (1) appropriate vocational assessment for all; (2) adequate use of assessment results; and (3) inclusion of transition objectives and…

Outlines the history of vocational evaluation and assessment, career assessment, and transition assessment; discusses the relationship among these three areas; and provides recommendations in the area of transition assessment, including the need to start the assessment process at an earlier age and to emphasize performance in the community. (CR)

This paper provides a definition of assessment that is tailored to the unique considerations of the concept and practice of the transition of students with disabilities from school to adult life. Assessment in transition is considered to be the on-going process of obtaining and properly using both person and environment-based assessment…

This handbook is for persons, especially teachers, who collect, evaluate, and apply vocational assessment information for handicapped students in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS). The approach used is a developmental curriculum-based assessment process which responds to the career/vocational programming sequence through the…

Curriculum-based vocational assessment procedures as implemented in the United States Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Germany are assessing a match of handicapped students' interests and strengths in terms of career and vocational instructional options. The model is described, with emphasis on project planning and design and…

A futures outlook for vocational special needs education encompasses (1) identification of instructional goals and objectives that promote functional skills, (2) recognition of the importance of vocational evaluation, (3) emphasis on social development, (4) development of transferable skills, and (5) operation of a longitudinal service delivery…