Disability, skills and employment: a review of recent statistics and literature on policy and initiatives (Research report 59)

"The Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Edinburgh was... commissioned to review the current literature, statistics and debates, in order to inform the Commission’s work aimed at narrowing the employment and skills gap between disabled and non-disabled people." - Page 1

Vulnerable Youth – Dependency or Independence? School Experiences, Transitions and Adaptation to and within Adult Life

This article examines the factors that influence the potential for independence among individuals experiencing special learning conditions in upper secondary school owing to psycho-social difficulties (PSDs) or general learning difficulties (general LDs). Using longitudinal data collected on 357 individuals from 1995/1996 through 2007, adaptation to adulthood is studied by the logistic regression analysis of two dependent variables – full-time employment and living situation. The situation of the students with PSDs and/or general LDs is compared with the situation of students with other types of difficulties. The results indicate that individuals with PSDs experience greater challenges in obtaining a job and a residence of their own. Having special educational support in schools, such as teaching assistants, seems to have a negative effect on achieving an independent life