Earning a living for former students with special educational needs. Does class placement matter?

Abstract

This article discusses the extent to which former special needs students – now in their late 20s – achieve economic independence. The emphasis is on class placement – that is, whether being educated in special or regular classes in upper secondary school contributes to favourable occupational outcomes. The empirical evidence is based on interviews of 373 young Norwegians who were surveyed regularly for more than 10 years. The analyses reveal that nearly half of the young adults found jobs that made them economically independent. Students schooled in regular classes attained vocational or academic competence and obtained a driving licence to a much greater degree than did students educated in special classes. In turn this increased the chances of earning a living. That is the indirect effect of class placement. The direct positive effect of schooling in regular classes was observed among people with rather low functional abilities and among those who did not succeed in attaining competence or obtaining a driving licence.