A comparative analysis of directions, responses, and consequences involving persons with mental retardation in employment sites and vocational training programs
Gonzalez, Patricia Ann
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20111
Description
Title
A comparative analysis of directions, responses, and consequences involving persons with mental retardation in employment sites and vocational training programs
Author(s)
Gonzalez, Patricia Ann
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Chadsey-Rusch, Janis
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Special
Education, Vocational
Language
eng
Abstract
The primary focus of the transition initiative has been the attainment of employment outcomes for youths with disabilities. The expectation is that with the proper vocational training individuals with mental retardation can develop the survival skills necessary for competitive employment. The literature identifies compliance, or direction-following, as an essential social-vocational survival skill; yet, there is little empirical information on exactly what compliance responses to train and how to design the training environment.
This study compared the parameters of direction-relevant stimuli (i.e., directness, complexity), types of responses, and consequences occurring in competitive work sites with those in community vocational training sites. To accomplish this, direction sequences initiated by co-workers to a group of eight successfully employed individuals with mental retardation were examined with respect to various patterns of command, response, and consequence variables. These data were then compared to the sequences initiated by school personnel to a group of eight special education students involved in community-based vocational training. A total of 13 dependent variables representing types of directions, responses, and consequences were analyzed as two-event (e.g., command-response) and three-event sequences.
The results indicated that the majority of directions in either setting were direct/noncomplex in nature. In addition, most of the directions issued to students were direct, including both the complex and noncomplex variables. In contrast, there was a much larger proportion of indirect commands found in the employment setting. This between-group difference was confirmed in analyses using the chi-square statistic. The types of responses to directions found in both groups were proportionately similar. Motor compliance was the most frequent response, followed by positive acknowledgement and no response. Instances of no response were linked with complex commands in both settings. Negative acknowledgements were found to occur only in the student group. Finally, there were rarely any consequences contingent upon subject responses, particularly in the employment setting. In the training setting praise was found to follow motor compliance, while criticism was linked to no response by students. The implications of these results for the design of compliance training programs were discussed.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
