Exploring the transitions of young adults with SEND from education to work

本文旨在探讨特殊教育需要及残疾青年的教育向工作的转变。在全国范围内，老年人口的就业率只有6%。作为解决这一问题的一项策略，教育部最近在一项名为“支持实习”的工作计划中引入了为期一年的教育，该计划旨在为16-24岁的SEND学生做好就业竞争准备。这些课程由教育机构提供，在东道国雇主的工作场所全日制授课。迄今为止，关于支持实习的研究主要集中在结果和成本效益等实际问题上，很少深入了解参与这些项目的年轻人的第一手观点。我提出的博士论文将通过与正在完成支持实习（实习生）和已通过该计划取得进展的年轻人（毕业生）进行接触，寻求解决这一研究差距。这项工作将探讨这些年轻人如何理解他们的过渡经历，因为他们离开了教育，进入了工作场所，并试图在那里维持自己。借鉴这两个群体的观点可以为这一相对较新的领域的政策和实践的发展提供信息，并为SEND患者在就业方面的持续需求提供有价值的见解。拟议研究的主要地点是基于NHS医院的多机构支持实习计划，预期参与者是16-27岁的年轻人，患有各种SEND，包括自闭症，学习障碍和感觉障碍。一个由三项研究组成的项目将解决以下研究问题：“有特殊教育需要和残疾的年轻人如何从教育过渡到就业？”人们认为，采用归纳、定性的方法，寻求第一人称视角，可以为这些年轻人的生活提供丰富而有意义的见解。研究1将使用人种学方法，在实习生的日常工作环境中观察和互动。叙述性访谈将用于从实习生（研究2）和毕业生（研究3）中产生深入的描述。将使用主题叙事分析方法来分析这些数据，并在参与者帐户内部和跨帐户开发丰富的分析框架。在整个过程中，将采取谨慎措施，确保研究过程是可访问的，并响应参与者的需求。采用参与式精神，本研究将寻求任命一个由实习生和毕业生组成的项目咨询小组，目的是让他们参与整个项目，共同塑造、解释和传播工作。

The thesis will explore the education to work transitions of young adults with SpecialEducational Needs and Disability (SEND). Nationally, the employment rates of SENDpopulations are just 6%. As one strategy to address this issue, the Department for Educationhas recently introduced year-long education to work programmes called SupportedInternships, which aim to prepare 16-24 year olds with SEND for competitive employment.The programmes are delivered by education providers and based full-time at a host employerworkplace site.Research on Supported Internships to date has predominantly focused on practical concernssuch as outcomes, and cost-effectiveness, with little in-depth insight generated into thefirst-hand perspectives of young people who have participated in the programmes. Myproposed doctoral thesis will seek to address this research gap by engaging with youngpeople who are completing Supported Internships (Interns) and those who have progressedthrough the programme (Graduates). This work will explore how these young people makesense of their transition experiences as they leave education, enter the workplace and3 / 19attempt to sustain themselves there. Drawing on perspectives from both these groups caninform the development of policy and practice in this relatively new area, as well as providevaluable insight into the ongoing needs of people with SEND in employment. The intendedprimary site of the proposed research is a multiagency Supported Internship programmebased at an NHS hospital, and prospective participants are young adults aged 16-27 withdiverse SEND, including autism, learning disabilities and sensory impairment.A programme of three studies will address the following research question: "How aretransitions from education to employment constructed by young adults with SpecialEducational Needs and Disability?". It is felt that an inductive, qualitative approach seekingfirst-person perspectives can facilitate rich and meaningful insight into these young people'slives. Study 1 will use an ethnographic approach, observing and interacting with Interns intheir everyday workplace setting. Narrative interviews will be used to generate in-depthaccounts from Interns (Study 2) and Graduates (Study 3). A Thematic Narrative Analysisapproach will be utilized to analyse these data and develop a rich analytical frameworkwithin and across participant accounts. Care will be taken throughout to ensure that theresearch process is accessible and responsive to the needs of participants.Adopting a participatory ethos, this study will seek to appoint a Project Advisory Groupcomprised of Interns and Graduates, and it is intended that they will be involved throughoutthe project, collaboratively shaping, interpreting and disseminating the work.