|
Research
1996-2001
Projects:
R-1: Pathways and Barriers
to Success in the Workplace: Perspectives from Consumers, Service
Providers, and Employers
R-2: Identifying Exemplary
Models of School to Work Initiatives for Students who are Deaf or
Hard of Hearing: Linking Schools with Employers, Rehabilitation, and
Other Key Partners to Enhance Career Preparation and Employability
R-3: Identifying and Developing
Employability Skills Training Curricula to Address Barriers to Job
Entry and Maintenance
R-4: Using Employer Input to
Design Services To Increase Workforce Participation of Workers who
are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Late Deaf (R-4)
R-5: Advocating for Communication
Access Using Technological Accommodations to Enhance Rehabilitation
Service Delivery to Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
1991-1996
a. Career Preparation
Research
b. Job
Entry and Placement Research
c. Career
Maintenance and Advancement
1986-1991
a. Prevocational
Career Development
b. Models for
Skill Development
c. Models
for Marketing Workers to Employers
d. Interpreter
Training, Policies, and Practices
1981-1986
a. Delivery
of Vocational Rehabilitation Services to Persons who are Deaf
b. Models
for Employment Interventions
c. Models
for Psychosocial Interventions
Dissemination
and Training
Research:
1981-2001
Since its beginning in September, 1981, RT-31 has focused its efforts
during the past 15 years on conducting programmatic research and training
activities in the priority problem areas of: (a) Enhancement of Employment
Outcomes with Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and (b) Enhancement
of the Psychosocial Adjustment of Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
1996-2001
Projects:
R-1:
Pathways and Barriers to Success in the Workplace: Perspectives from
Consumers, Service Providers, and Employers
R-2:
Identifying Exemplary Models of School to Work Initiatives for Students
who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Linking Schools with Employers, Rehabilitation,
and Other Key Partners to Enhance Career Preparation and Employability
R-3: Identifying
and Developing Employability Skills Training Curricula to Address
Barriers to Job Entry and Maintenance
R-4:
Using Employer Input to Design Services To Increase Workforce Participation
of Workers who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Late Deaf (R-4)
R-5:
Advocating for Communication Access Using Technological Accommodations
to Enhance Rehabilitation Service Delivery to Persons who are Deaf
or Hard of Hearing
1991-1996
Research faculty at RT-31 recently completed a 5-year grant period that
included eight discrete projects based on a comprehensive concept of the
employability enhancement needs of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing,
targeted to the three core areas of career preparation, job entry and
placement, and career maintenance and advancement. Significant research
for this period has included:
a. Career Preparation Research
School to Community
Transition Experiences of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals who are
Members of Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups. On-site interviews
with 74 seniors from minority groups yielded insights into their experiences
in postsecondary training, employment, and development of independent
living skills. The project identified focal points for facilitating the
transition of other such students in the future.
National Agenda for
Enhancing the Rehabilitation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Members of Racial/Ethnic
Minority Groups. Public hearings were held with members of Black,
Hispanic, Native American, and Asian racial/ethnic groups. Barriers in
education, employment, and empowerment were identified. The project developed
resource materials useful for formulating a more coherent and coordinated
national policy for these citizens.
Profile 2000: Assessing
Trends Impacting the Career Preparation and Employment of Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Workers for the Jobs of Tomorrow. The project resulted
in a published series of employment trends briefs designed to give career
counselors and consumers a practical and user-friendly approach to discussing
occupational forecasting information in career decision making. Counselor
feedback indicates that both the format and content of the briefs facilitated
learning about and seeking employment in growth jobs.
Back to Top of Page
b. Job
Entry and Placement Research
Developing and Evaluating Job Entry Skills Assessment and Training Curricula
for Persons Who are Hard of Hearing or Deaf. This project surveyed
national samples of persons who were late deafened or hard of hearing
to identify the problems they faced in job interviews. Results guided
development of a video-based Job Seeking Skills Training Program
to meet the unique needs of these job seekers.
Accommodating Workers
Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Current Practices and Needs.
This project identified gaps in knowledge of accommodations exhibited
by deaf and hard of hearing workers and their employers. Print and computerized
Job Accommodations Resource Curricula were developed to assist
workers to identify, choose, and negotiate for needed accommodations.
Assessing and Improving Community Services to Persons Who are
Deaf or Hard of Hearing. The Center conducted a national survey
of 800 community-based rehabilitation centers serving deaf and hard of
hearing persons. The project yielded information on services provided,
type of clientele, and staffing patterns at these centers, with a special
focus on employment.
Back to Top of Page
c. Career Maintenance and
Advancement
Enhancing the Job Advancement of Persons Who are Hard of Hearing or Deaf
Through the Development and Evaluation of Assessment and Training Curricula.
This project developed a video-based curriculum to train workers who are
deaf or hard of hearing to acquire skills that enhance career and work
advancement. Content for the curricula were identified in the literature
and validated with national samples of deaf, late deaf and hard of hearing
persons.
Career Stability and Career Advancement of Postsecondary Alumni Who are
Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Ten-Year Follow-up. This longitudinal
study gathered employment and career data on 325 college alumni in 1989
and 1994. Results provided information on trends in career advancement
and improved socioeconomic status among these workers.
Back to Top of Page
1986-1991
In their second 5-year grant from NIDRR, beginning September
29, 1986 and concluding September 30, 1991, RT-31 faculty undertook and
completed work on 11 projects. Significant research focused on:
a. Prevocational Career Development
Conducted a study of the factors that influenced and shaped the career
aspirations of 200 youth who are deaf and or hard of hearing at 7 residential
and 9 day high schools. Developed guidelines for the use of promising
interventions by school personnel in career information, exploration,
and guidance of these youth.
Developed guidelines for
use by rehabilitation and other counselors to assist parents and families
as their young adult family member who makes the transition from school
to work or postsecondary training.
Conducted a 5-year postgraduation follow-up of over 500 graduates who
are deaf or hard of hearing from 46 postsecondary programs in the classes
of 1983, 1984, and 1985 to identify factors that promote successful transitions
from postsecondary programs to the work setting and career establishment.
Back to Top of Page
b. Models for Skill Development
Adapted the Interpersonal (Social) Problem Solving Curriculum for use
with persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and validated the use of
these assessment and training devices with independent living and rehabilitation
clients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Developed and validated the use of a Job Seeking Skills Training package,
including training curricula, training videos, and supporting assessment
materials for use with persons who are deaf.
Back to Top of Page
c. Models for Marketing
Workers to Employers
Surveyed over 1,000 employers nationwide to identify the kinds of services
they need from counselors in order to employ workers who are deaf or hard
of hearing. Developed and validated a skills training package for counselors,
including curricula, training videos, and assessment materials, to use
proven marketing methods in face-to-face contacts with employers.
Surveyed over 480 Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf nationwide to
identify materials they needed to interact effectively with employers.
Developed and validated a resource manual, video, and brochure to guide
RCD's organization and to conduct employer development activities.
Conducted a qualitative study
of 50 employed and/or unemployed adults who are deaf to obtain their experiential
and perceptual insight into past and current rehabilitation practices
used with VR clients who are deaf, as well as their attitudes and insights
about working or not working.
Back to Top of Page
d. Interpreter
Training, Policies, and Practices
Conducted a national study that resulted in the development of a database
for use by the states in setting standards for interpreter training programs,
as mandated by Federal legislation.
Surveyed the 50 state VR agencies to identify their needs and priorities
for improving interpreting services in the Federal/State VR program. Findings
and recommendations were disseminated to the 50 state VR agencies to guide
their efforts to improve the use and purchase of interpreting services.
Back to Top of Page
1981-1986
In their first 5-year grant cycle, beginning September 29, 1981 and concluding
September 30, 1986, Center faculty conducted 14 interrelated research
projects resulting in products that focused on:
a. Delivery
of Vocational Rehabilitation Services to Persons who are Deaf
Developed a cross-classification system for the RSA R-300 data on occupational
outcomes of clients who are deaf or hard of hearing, providing a model
that permitted more accurate use of R-300 data for VR policy and program
planning.
Assessed the longitudinal occupational attainments and life adjustments
of deaf persons 1 to 15 years following VR closure. The findings presented
implications for VR policy and program changes in service, especially
to low-functioning clients.
Surveyed over 5,000 evaluation
and adjustment programs in the U.S. and published a directory listing
the 126 that offered an organized program of services for persons who
are deaf or hard of hearing. The directory was the first national guide
to programs targeted to serve these client groups.
Back to Top of Page
b. Models for Employment
Interventions
Demonstrated the advantages
of using innovative career education curricula in career exploration and
guidance of young adults who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Researched and demonstrated
the effective adaptation of existing computer-assisted Career Information
Delivery Systems (CIDS) for productive use with young adults who are deaf
or hard of hearing.
Demonstrated the effectiveness
of the job club approach to enhancing the job-seeking success of persons
who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Back to Top of Page
c. Models for Psychosocial
Interventions
Developed a model for training deafness rehabilitation personnel to use
more effective interpersonal skills in the counseling relationship.
Developed a model for teaching personal adjustment
skills.
Developed a model for teaching assertiveness
skills to children and youth.
Developed a resource manual of behavioral
interventions for practitioners serving deaf youth.
For a more complete listing
of the titles and dates of the 33 RTC research projects conducted by RT-31
during the past 15 years, contact our Center. Research findings and reports
based on these studies have been widely disseminated. Faculty members
have authored a total of 325 research publications during the period of
1981-1996. Our faculty had 84 publications in the first 5 years of operation,
128 publications during the second 5 years, and another 113 publications
during the most recent grant period. Of these 113 publications, 34 were
books or monographs written or edited by center faculty, 43 were journal
articles or book chapters, 27 were technical research reports, 5 were
training packages, and 4 were videotapes/films to accompany training packages.
Back to Top of Page
Dissemination
and Training
A second major thrust in
RT-31's mission has been conducting Materials Development, Training, and
Technical Assistance projects directed to the timely translation of knowledge
and findings of our employment and other research into tangible, useable
products for training of rehabilitation practitioners. These bridges between
research and practice are fundamental to research utilization efforts
and consequently very important in the work of the Center.
During the 1981-1996 time period, Center faculty have conducted over 35
materials development projects related to enhancing employment and psychosocial
outcomes of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. A full listing of
the dates and titles of these projects is available upon request.
These and other materials
developed by the faculty have been disseminated through a broad and varied
program of dissemination and training, including one or more training
programs in 43 of the 50 states, with at least two or more major training
activities conducted in each of the 10 RSA geographical regions. A partial
listing of the titles for 224 in-service training workshops RT-31 conducted
for a total of 11,694 trainees during the period of 1981-1996 is available
upon request. The 79 in-service training activities for 3,810 participants
during the 5-year grant period of 1991-1996 were conducted under nine
broad training project titles and nine technical assistance projects.
Although the training topics and participants varied, most of the programs
revolved around the major theme of improving rehabilitation evaluation,
adjustment, training, and employment service delivery to individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing.
Center faculty also maintain
a continuing involvement in the preservice training of rehabilitation
graduate students. Awarded RSA long-term training grants to train Rehabilitation
Counselors for the Deaf and Independent Living Rehabilitation Specialists
in Deafness (a total of eight different 3-year RSA grant awards), faculty
teach nine University of Arkansas graduate courses each year. These two
degree training programs permit the timely integration of new and developing
knowledge from the Center's employment and psychosocial research programs
into the graduate training experiences of students preparing for professional
careers in deafness rehabilitation. To date, a more than 500 undergraduate
and/or graduate students have enrolled in university courses taught by
RT-31 faculty at our Little Rock location, with over 100 graduate students
completing their masters degree with a specialization in rehabilitation
of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
In addition to dissemination and training activities sponsored by the
Center itself, faculty also made a total of 460 national, regional, or
state conference presentations during the period of 1981-1996. Most of
the presentations revolved around the organizing theme of employment,
evaluation, adjustment, transition, and postsecondary training of individuals
who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Center's programmatic research on career selection, planning, and
preparation will be continued during 1996-2001. Our prior studies to enhance
the job-seeking skills of job applicants who are deaf, hard of hearing,
or late deafened will be extended and/or modified for appropriate usage
by low functioning deaf individuals with specific attention to those from
diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. The emphasis will be to develop and
demonstrate interventions that service providers can use in the areas
of employer development, job placement, employer accommodations, and follow-along
support services in the workplace.
You are visitor #
37,861
Back to Top of Page
|
The Center 
We welcome your
questions or comments!