Work motivation perceptions of students with intellectual disabilities before and after participation in a short-term...

A small group of transition-aged students with intellectual disabilities participated in a short-term summer work experience programme under the mentorship of a job coach.

Dyadic interview technique was used to identify student and mentor participants' perceptions of student participant work motivation pre- and post-programme. Themes were identified and interpreted.

Student participants reported becoming more intrinsically motivated and future-focused by programme completion. They noted a broader outlook about the meaning of employment; moving from a narrow, financial-focused, short-term perception to a longer-term, more holistic view of work. Although student participants reported high confidence levels for obtaining and keeping employment by programme completion, mentors voiced concerns about realism of their goals due to employment barriers for people with disabilities.

Work motivation has been previously associated with positive employment participation. Findings provide some support for assessment of work motivation in school-to-work transition planning.