The transition from secondary school to post-secondary education can be challenging for any young person. People with intellectual disability may face more challenges during their transition to mainstream post-secondary education.

What are the experiences and outcomes of post-secondary education for people with intellectual disability who succeed in completing mainstream post-secondary education in Malta?

These issues have motivated Lorraine Pleven to research this topic for her MA in Disability Studies dissertation.

The main findings of this research show that people with intellectual disability have restricted available options of mainstream post-secondary education. Therefore, together with more options, there is also a need for more awareness on their availability.

Most participants remarked positively on their Mcast Pathway Programme and ITS Key Skills course experiences. However, some mentioned challenges they encountered when they started more mainstream courses at Mcast, including bullying by students and a difficult course content.

This indicates that students with intellectual disability attending mainstream courses at the college need more support. Disability awareness training for students at Mcast and ITS, as well as teaching basic skills, such as using public transport and self-advocacy skills to people with intellectual disability, are also very important.

Regarding the outcomes of mainstream post-secondary education, most participants remarked that the courses they followed further prepared them for employment. Three of the participants who took part is this research are currently employed, with some experiencing difficulties at the workplace.

Three participants are on a job-exposure scheme and another two are unemployed. This indicates that more awareness on disability issues is required to combat some of the barriers by employers together with support.

Ms Pleven’s research entitled ‘’The outcomes of mainstream post-secondary education for people with intellectual disability’ was carried out in partial fulfilment of the requirements of an MA in Disability Studies and partially funded by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme grant.

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