From classroom to career: Self-efficacy and employment success of graduates with disabilities

Abstract

This qualitative biographical-narrative study analyses the discourses of 15 university graduates with disabilities who have been successful in their careers. The participants have various types of disabilities and come from 15 public universities in Spain, covering different areas of knowledge. The study analyses (1) the self-efficacy-related competencies of graduates with disabilities that have led to success at university; (2) the relationship between self-efficacy and success in the transition from university to employment; and (3) the skills associated with self-efficacy that are essential to employment success. The results reveal that success at university and in the workplace are related to strategies and skills linked to self-efficacy, such as proactivity, self-awareness, consistency, and perseverance, and especially confidence in one’s own abilities to achieve objectives, relying on the development of organisational and planning skills being effective in managing the resources offered by universities and employers. These results highlight the need to implement training and mentoring programmes for self-efficacy skills that promote university and workplace success for students and graduates with disabilities.