Job readiness and employment among youth with intellectual disabilities in Lebanon
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The majority of young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the world remain excluded from the open job market, facing discriminatory societal attitudes, policies and practices. Factors contributing to integrated employment of adults with intellectual disabilities have not been sufficiently researched in complex crisis-loaded Global South contexts such as Lebanon. Additionally, mainstream education and career literature portrays job readiness as a prerequisite for employment, but there is not enough evidence of whether this assumption applies to people with intellectual disabilities. This research aims to explore how young people with intellectual disabilities can become job ready and how they can become employed in the open job market in Lebanon. The methodology adopts an integrative approach, drawing on inclusive research, activist ethnography and community-engaged critical participatory action research. Data collection was carried out in two phases between November 2019 and December 2022 and analysed using an adapted multisystem socio-ecological model. Phase 1 was exploratory and consisted of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with young people with intellectual disabilities graduating from a post-secondary education program in Lebanon, their parents, and institutions, organisations, activists and self-advocates. Phase 2 was action-research oriented and involved cyclical action-reflection with young people with intellectual disabilities, their parents, employers, two universities and two local non-governmental organizations. It led to the co-development of a contextual school-to-work model for integrated employment in Lebanon. The thesis suggests that job readiness for young people with intellectual disabilities can be acquired on-the-job, rather than being a prerequisite for employment. It also uncovers the critical role of job coaches, affirmative action, workplace accommodations and community partnerships in complex crisis contexts to facilitate employment. Lastly, it is the first study in Lebanon seeking the voices of youth with intellectual disabilities in post-secondary education and employment. The research offers contributions to knowledge that are theoretical, methodological, and policy and practice-related, including the creation of contextual model of job readiness and integrated employment, with implications for policy development.
DOI: 10.24384/gxv6-yz95
Author: Khawam, Grace
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7207529773