An Exploratory Analysis of Employment-Related Experiences of Educators with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the general professional experiences of educators with learning disabilities, the unique skills and challenges among this group attributable to their experience as persons with learning disabilities, and their experience of schools as an employment context. There are several important reasons to develop a further understanding about the professional lives of educators with learning disabilities. First, a number of studies have found that adults with learning disabilities have lower rates of employment, lower earnings, and lower rates of postsecondary school attendance than adults without disabilities. On the other hand, other researchers have reported that some adults with learning disabilities had achieved equivalent or better employment outcomes than adults without disabilities. In light of these findings, the authors believe that developing a further understanding of the lives of adults with learning disabilities who are employed, particularly as teachers, is a valuable endeavor because results of such investigations may provide insights that can lead to enhanced services and improved outcomes among future generations of children, youth, and adults with learning disabilities. (Contains 2 tables and 8 endnotes.)