Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Diane S. Bloom
Committee Member
James Davis
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
assessment criteria, curriculum development, developmentally handicapped students, disabilities, employment programs, high school students, job coaches, job placement, job skills, Kennedy Work Study Program, lesson plans, personnel, program development, program evaluation, secondary education, special education, students, teachers, urban schools, work study programs, work-based learning, workforce preparation
Abstract
This dissertation describes the extension of a program designed to help teachers enhance lesson plans and to direct developmentally handicapped (DH) high school students in an urban district obtain employment in their local community. The study focused on the establishment of the Kennedy Work Study Program designed to help teachers and 11th- and 12th-grade high functioning DH students at a comprehensive high school that did not have a work study program conducive to meet their specific needs. The newly formed and prescribed program offered a course previously approved in the school district’s program catalogue for special education students that taught job skills. The existing curriculum for the previous course was minimal, at best, so for this study, the curriculum was extended to allow a certified special education teacher (job coach) to teach the necessary job skills in the classroom environment and to place students in jobs within the local community. The alternative work study program allowed DH students to attend school to take their major courses for 3/4 of the school day and, later, allowed students to leave to go to work the remainder of the school day.
The goal of the program was also designed to establish guidelines for the new program and develop appropriate assessment criteria of the current program so that teachers could enhance their objectives and methodology within their lesson plans. The program increased the number of DH students participating in work study programs from less than 1% to 48% of the total population of eligible DH students. The results and 13 recommendations were shared with the administration and special education department, and the discussion of a permanent work study program began.