The Effect of Career Mentoring on Employment Outcomes for College Students who Are Legally Blind

Abstract

Introduction

College graduates with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) often face challenges in securing competitive employment after graduation. Working with a mentor who is also visually impaired, and working in the same field, can provide important benefits to overcome these barriers.

Methods

A nationwide longitudinal study, involving random assignment to an intervention group working with a mentor or a comparison group given traditional career resources, evaluated changes in job-seeking self-efficacy, assertiveness in job hunting, and career adaptability over the course of one year as legally blind college students prepared to graduate and enter the job market. Employment outcomes, job satisfaction, and evaluation of the mentoring program were also measured.

Results

Those working with mentors demonstrated increased job-seeking self-efficacy, career adaptability, and significant gains in assertiveness in job-hunting compared to those receiving only traditional job-search resources. Although no significant differences were found between groups for employment rate or job satisfaction, participants reported high satisfaction with the program.

Discussion

Working with a mentor demonstrated positive trends for self-efficacy, career adaptability, and significant increases in job-hunting assertiveness among visually impaired college students with legal blindness. Participants were highly committed and found the program beneficial. Small sample size may have limited the ability to detect significant differences in employment outcomes.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Foundation for the Blind. (AFB). (2015). CareerConnect: For job seekers who are blind or visually impaired. Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/for-job-seekers/12

Bandura

(1994). Self-efficacy. In Ramachudran

V.S.

(Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior. New York: Academic Press. (Reprinted in H. Friedman [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998).

Barlow

Wright

, & Cullen

(2002). A job-seeking self-efficacy scale for people with physical disabilities: Preliminary development and psychometric testing. British Journal of Guidance & Counseling, 30(1), 37–53.

Becker

H. A.

(1980). The Assertive Job-Hunting Survey. Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance, 13(1), 43–48.

Bell

E. C.

(2012). Mentoring transition-age youth with blindness. The Journal of Special Education, 46(3), 170–179.

Briel

L. W.

, & Getzel

E. E.

(2001). Internships in higher education: Promoting success for students with disabilities. Disability Studies Quarterly, 21(1), 1–10.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). Unpublished data tables of specific disability questions in the Current Population Survey. Washington, DC: Author.

Burgstahler

(2001). A collaborative model to promote career success for students with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 16, 209–215.

Burgstahler

, & Crawford

(2007). Mentoring an e-mentoring community to support students with disabilities: A case study. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education Journal, 15(2), 97–114.

10.

Burgstahler

, & Cronheim

(2001). Supporting peer-peer and mentor-to-mentor relationships on the Internet. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(1), 59–74.

11.

Cavenaugh

McDonnall

, & Giesen

J. M.

(2010). National Center for Mentoring Excellence: Final evaluation report (year 5). Mississippi State: Mississippi State University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision.

12.

Coffey

Coufopoulos

, & Kinghom

(2014). Barriers to employment for visually impaired women. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 7(3), 171–185.

13.

Crudden

, & McBroom

L. W.

(1999). Barriers to employment: A survey of employed persons who are visually impaired. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 93(6), 341–350.

14.

Davis

Kimball

, & Gould

(2015, May 27). The class of 2015: Despite an improving economy, young grads still face an uphill climb. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/publication/the-class-of-2015

15.

Getzel

E. E.

, & Briel

L. W.

(2008). Experiences of college students with disabilities and the importance of a business mentoring program. In Wehman

Kregel

, & Brooke

(Eds.), Workplace supports and job retention (pp. 157–166). Retrieved from http://www.worksupport.com/documents/Research%20Monograph%20June%202008.pdf#page=171

16.

Getzel

E. E.

Briel

L. W.

, & Kregel

(2000). Comprehensive career planning: The VCU career connections program. Journal of Work, 14, 41–49.

17.

Hagner

D. C.

(2000). Coffee breaks and birthday cakes: Evaluating workplace cultures to develop natural supports for employees with disabilities. St. Augustine, FL: Training Resource Network.

18.

Harmon

L. W.

Hansen

J. C.

Borgen

F. H.

, & Hammer

A. L.

(1994). Strong Interest Inventory: Applications and technical guide. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

19.

Heppner

P. P.

(1988). The problem-solving inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

20.

Knouse

S. B.

(2001). Virtual mentors: Mentoring on the Internet. Journal of Employment Counseling, 38(4), 162–170.

21.

Landmark

L. J.

, & Zhang

(2010). Substantiated best practices in transition: Fifteen plus years later. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 33(3), 165–176.

22.

McBroom

L. W.

(1995). Transition to work following graduation from college: Experiences of employees with visual impairments and their employers (technical report). Mississippi State, Mississippi State University, RRTC on Blindness and Low Vision.

23.

McDonnall

M. C.

(2010). Factors predicting post-high school employment for young adults with visual impairments. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 54(1), 36–45.

24.

McDonnall

M. C.

(2011). Predictors of employment for youth with visual impairments: Findings from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 105(8), 453–466.

25.

McDonnall

M. C.

, & Crudden

(2009). Factors affecting the successful employment of transition-age youth with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 103(6), 329–341.

26.

McDonnall

M. C.

, & O'Mally

(2012). Characteristics of early work experience and their association with future employment. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 106(3), 133–141.

27.

McDonnall

M. C.

Zhou

, & Crudden

(2013). Employer attitudes towards persons who are blind or visually impaired: Perspectives and recommendations from vocational rehabilitation personnel. Journal of Rehabilitation, 79(3), 17–24.

28.

Nagle

K. M.

(2001). Transition to employment and community life for youths with visual impairments: Current status and future directions. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 95(12), 725–738.

29.

Newman

Wagner

Cameto

, & Knokey

A.-M.

(2009). The post–high school outcomes of youth with disabilities up to 4 years after high school. A report of findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2009–3017). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Retrieved from www.nlts2.org/reports/2009_04/nlts2_report_2009_04_complete.pdf

30.

NRTC. (2016). Employment Mentoring Manual. National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision. Mississippi State University, MS. Retrieved from http://blind.msstate.edu/docs/employment_mentoring_manual.pdf

31.

O'Reilly

Chatman

, & Caldwell

D. F.

(1991). People and organizational culture: A profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 487–516.

32.

Parra

L. F.

(1995). Development of an intention to quit scale (Unpublished manuscript). Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University.

33.

Powers

L. E.

Sowers

, & Stevens

(1995). An exploratory, randomized study of the impact of mentoring on the self-efficacy and community-based knowledge of adolescents with severe physical challenges. Journal of Rehabilitation, 61(1), 33–41.

34.

Roessler

R. T.

Hennessey

M. L.

, & Rumrill

P. D.

(2007). Strategies for improving career services for postsecondary students with disabilities: Results of a focus group study of key stakeholders. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 30, 158–170.

35.

Rottinghaus

P. J.

Day

S. X.

, & Borgen

F. H.

(2005). The Career Futures Inventory: A measure of career-related adaptability and optimism. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(1), 3–24.

36.

Russell

S. S.

Spitzmüller

Lin

L. F.

Stanton

J. M.

Smith

P. C.

, & Ironson

G. H.

(2004). Shorter can also be better: The Abridged Job in General Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(5), 878–893.

37.

Scheier

M. F.

Carver

C. S.

, & Bridges

M. W.

(1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.

38.

Stanton

J. M.

Sinar

E. F.

Balzer

W. K.

Julian

A. L.

Thoresen

Aziz

, … Smith

P. C.

(2002). Development of a compact measure of job satisfaction: The Abridged Job Descriptive Index. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(1), 173–191.

39.

Strauser

D. R.

, & Berven

N. L.

(2006). Construction and field testing of the Job Seeking Self-Efficacy Scale. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 49(4), 207–218.

40.

Whelley

T. A.

Radtke

Burgstahler

, & Christ

T. W.

(2003). Mentors, advisors, role models, & peer supporters: Career development relationships and individuals with disabilities. American Rehabilitation, 27(1), 42–49.

41.

Wilson

(2003). Mentors: Paving the way from school to adulthood for students with disabilities. American Rehabilitation, 27(1), 2, 52.