This presentation from the OECD Disrupted Futures 2023: International lessons on how schools can best equip students for their working lives conference looks at Career guidance for students with disabilities & enabling well-being “Work experiences of adolescents with severe learning disabilities and ADHD”. Presented by Galia Ran and Gali Cinamon. Discover the videos and other sessions from the OECD Disrupted Futures 2023 conference at https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/conferences-webinars/disrupted-futures-2023.htm Find out more about our work on Career Readiness https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/

1. Work experiences of adolescents
with sever learning disabilities
and ADHD
Galia Ran and Rachel Gali Cinamon
School of Education
Tel Aviv University
Israel

2. Rationale
• Youth employment rates along with their studies have been increase in many
western countries.
• Youth employment can have various outcomes, both positive and negative,
which can depend on factors such as the quality of the job, level of
education, skills, and support systems available.
• Positive outcomes – economic independence, skills development, career
exploration, network building, enhance self confidence
• Negative outcomes- education disruption, exploitation and precarious work,
"trap" of low-skilled and low-paid jobs, limiting long-term career prospects.
• (Cinamon, 2018)

3. • Research on career development has mostly focused on privileged groups
and people with typical development, limiting our knowledge and ability
to offer evidence-based practices to enhance the career development of
vulnerable groups.
• Goal of the current study: to explore the unique perspectives of working
adolescents with learning disabilities and ADHD.

4. Participants
• Nine Jewish Israeli adolescence aged M=17.98; SD=.50
• 3 female
• All are in special classes for children with sever learning disabilities and
ADHD

5. Method
• Snow ball sampling
• Voluntary participation
• Semi structure interview of 60-90 min
• Leading questions:

6. Theme 1: Interest and work meaning
• Paid work holds significant importance for youth participants. It serves as
a platform where they can express themselves and feel a sense of
belonging, being treated equally with their peers. The workplace is seen
as a space that does not primarily focus on their disabilities, allowing
them to showcase their abilities and potential. Moreover, receiving
adequate compensation is crucial to them. A fair and decent payment is
viewed as an indicator of respect and recognition for their capabilities.

7. Interest and work meaning
• For example, A. says "I have a bank account and the salary goes straight
there. I like to spend money on restaurants, movies, clothes... but I also
know how to save money... 'like the big ones', like my older brothers." T.
says, "The 'big thing' I want to do is buy a phone or an electric bicycle, so I
calculate my steps“. And N. emphasizes in her words future plans and says,
"The money goes into the bank, and I try not to spend it... If I see a nice shirt
I will buy it, but I want to save money to fulfill my plans for after the army. I
also talk about it with my parents, and it feels good, I feel mature and
strong!"

8. Theme 2: Safety and Protection
• This theme emphasizes the necessity for safe and supportive
interpersonal conditions within the workplace. The youth participants are
conscious of their special needs and vulnerability and express a desire for
continued care and support in their work environment. They hope for an
extension of the protective measures provided in special education
frameworks to be present at their workplace as well.

9. Safety and Protection
• For example, H. talks about his employers and says, "They understood me
even with my difficulties in reading and helped me...". Similarly, A. says that
"he (the employer) really appreciates me, if, for example, I'm late for work,
he asks me 'why were you late', he understands that it's because of the bus
and my difficulties in getting organized on time, and he accepts it and
doesn't terrorize" . Also N. says that "they (the employers) take my wishes
into account. If, for example, I tell them that I can't work on weekends, they
take that into account..."

10. Discussion
• The findings emphasize the potential of adolescents’ work to harm and
also to improve their development.
• Adolescents expect and need the support and care of their families and
their teachers through this work experiences.
• The importance of external supervising on employers.
• The potential of work experiences to enhance the development of to
citizen identity and political awareness.

11. Suggested Ecological Career educational
Intervention
• The ecological model of career educational intervention fosters a holistic approach
to career development, empowering adolescents, parents, teachers, and employers
to work together towards building successful and fulfilling society.
• The intervention applied a broad definition of the concept of career that
incorporates at least four life roles: work, family, community, and leisure, and the
interfaces between them (Cinamon, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014).
• Emphasizing the importance of teaching adolescents, parents and teachers the
developmental nature of the career development process, along with the role of
contextual factors, such as social support and cultural capital.

12. Suggested Ecological Career educational
Intervention
• The intervention included three main components: knowledge about the self (for
example, activities encouraging values exploration, interests and preferences in
different life roles), knowledge of the world of work and the community (e.g., types
of occupations, families, social communities and leisure activities), and skills training
(time management, critical thinking, critical reflection) (Cinamon, 2015).
• School counselors met with the teachers for at least two hours monthly to guide
and support their role in the program.

13. Employers Parents
Adolescents Teachers

14. Adolescents' unit
• knowledge about the self : for example, activities encouraging values
exploration, interests and preferences in different life roles.
• knowledge of the world of work and the community (e.g., types of
occupations, families, social communities and leisure activities. The
developmental nature of career.
• skills training : time management, critical thinking, critical reflection.
(Cinamon, 2015).

15. Teachers’ unite
• knowledge about the self : activities encouraging values exploration,
interests and preferences in different life roles, and expanding on
teachers' roles a guiding and supporting work experiences.
• knowledge of the current world of work and recants studies on youth
employment. Exploration of relevant nearby work opportunity for
adolescents.
• skills training : time management, critical thinking, critical reflection, basic
guidance and counseling skills of communication.

16. Parents’ unite
• knowledge about the self : activities encouraging values exploration,
interests and preferences in different life roles, and expanding on parents'
role toward guiding and supporting their children’s work experiences.
• knowledge of the current world of work and recants studies on youth
employment. Expanding on parents role in children career development.
• skills training : time management, critical thinking, critical reflection, basic
guidance and counseling skills of communication.

17. Employers unite
• Municipality acknowledge and possible benefits in participating in the
intervention.
• One day short Seminar at the evening focusing on community solidarity,
youth employment, ADHD and employers’ role as community leaders.
• Meeting with the teachers in small groups discussing typical behaviors of
youth with ADHD and crucial needed supporting behaviors of the
employers.
• Once a month fooloup meeting (phone, zoon or real) on needs and
challenges.

18. Thank you for you attention.
We’d love to hear from you and discuss our presentation!
Rachel Gali Cinamon Ran Galia
cinamon@tauex.tau.ac.il rangaloa@gmail.com