Gatto, L. E., Pearce, H., Plesca, M., & Antonie, L. (2021). Students with disabilities: Relationship between participation rates and perceptions of work-integrated learning by disability type. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 22(3), 287-306.
There is limited research available that examines students with disabilities' participation rates and perceptions of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) while in post-secondary. This is problematic as universities in Canada are growing their WIL programs to improve school to work transition rates. This research finds that 23% of students who are registered with the Disability Services Office for academic accommodations have engaged in WIL. For those who have not engaged in WIL, almost 50% strongly or somewhat agreed that their disability was a factor. Furthermore, students with mental health disorders are 3.3 times less likely to have had a WIL experience. Participation in WIL increases students with disabilities’ probability of reporting more positively that they understand the accommodations they may need in WIL. However, only 17% of students with disabilities in a co-operative education program reported requesting accommodations in a co-op work term.