Understanding career development pathways of college students with disabilities using crip theory and the theory of whole self.

Abstract

Despite their growing numbers, college students with disabilities (SWD) are often overlooked in the context of campus support for career development. The purpose of this practice brief is to provide a framework and a set of recommended actions for higher education leaders, administrators, and staff in disability and career services in order to better support the unique needs of SWD in their career development. Through a combined lens of crip theory and the theory of whole self, we call for higher education institutions to (a) provide targeted career services for SWD, (b) build business partnerships through which SWD can develop careers, and (c) incorporate disability as a critical diversity factor of the institution for service effectiveness and sustainability.

Resistance from the margin: An autoethnographic account of academic ableism

“…At my previous institution, I was responsible for leading an initiative that seeks to develop the careers of college students with disabilities, who have been historically marginalized in equal employment opportunities. In this capacity, my team and I worked on developing programs and services that aim to help these students become more self‐authoring in their career choices and design their lives based on one's passion and interests, more so than what society deems appropriate for them (Kwon, 2019; Kwon et al, in press). Building on this work, at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign where I recently joined as an assistant professor, I was able to quickly identify faculty on campus in special education and vocational rehabilitation with similar interests and start to collaborate with them.…”