JOB-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS INTERVENTIONS - SUGGESTIONS FROM MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES

This study was conducted to examine the abilities of managers and entry-level employees of community businesses to suggest appropriate interventions for job-related social skill problems of students with mild, moderate, or learning handicaps. A survey of 202 managers and employees was used to obtain suggestions for intervening on 14 job-related social skill problems. The suggestions were evaluated by two special education experts regarding their appropriateness for the students and situations presented. The results of the study were interpreted to indicate that managers and employees can provide appropriate strategies for remediating job-related social skill problems. Managers had a significantly higher proportion of responses rated appropriate than employees and some of the job-related skills had higher percentages of interventions rated as appropriate than others. The discussion reviews these results and describes the importance of these findings and future research for addressing job-related social skill problems of students with mild, moderate, and learning handicaps in community work sites.