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Persch_Dissertation_Final_7.17.2014.pdf (8.78 MB)

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The Model of Systematic Job Matching

Persch, Andrew Charles
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405612722

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Individuals with disabilities are employed at rates significantly below those for people without disabilities. The unemployment and/or underemployment of individuals with disabilities is strongly linked to decreased socioeconomic status, health, and quality of life. Further, the societal costs associated with the unemployment and underemployment are substantial. Current assessment and intervention techniques designed to improve postsecondary employment outcomes have limited effectiveness, thus new approached are needed. Job matching is the collaborative, data-based decision making process used by transition teams to determine the best fit between an individual’s abilities and preferences and the job’s environmental and occupational demands. The Vocational Fit Assessment (VFA) was developed to inform job matching decisions made with, or on behalf of, individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate current job matching practices in greater depth and determine the reliability and validity of the VFA. In chapter 2, a mixed methods sequential explanatory study design was used to explore current practices in job matching. The integration of quantitative and qualitative data revealed that job matching is a collaborative process, key stakeholders consider many different types of data when job matching, current practices in job matching are variable and lack consistency, and desired outcomes of the job matching process are poorly defined. These results suggested that additional resources are needed to support the efforts of key stakeholders who make job matching decisions with, or on behalf of, individuals with disabilities. Chapters 3 and 4 present the results of extensive psychometric testing of the VFA. First, latent parallel analysis and ordinal factor analysis revealed 10 unidimensional subscales composed of a total of 86 VFA items. Estimates of subscale internal consistency obtained using ordinal alpha were = 0.864 for the VFA-Worker (VFA-W) and = 0.634 for the VFA-Jobs (VFA-J). A total of 85 of 86 VFA items demonstrated good fit using Rasch analysis. Item-difficulty hierarchies included subscales with narrow-band coverage as well as subscales with wide-band coverage. The difference between observed point-measure correlations and expected point measure correlations was generally < 0.10. Rasch estimates of test reliability ranged from 0.62 to 0.91 for the VFA-W and from 0.58 to 0.85 for the VFA-J. Full scale estimate of reliability, obtained using Generalizability Theory, were 0.41 for assessment of worker abilities and 0.78 for assessment of job demands. Taken together, these data lend substantial evidence in support of VFA reliability and validity. Further research priorities include developing a systematic procedure for making job matching decisions, examination of the factors that facilitate and impede effective job matches, and evaluating the overall importance of the job matching process. Once these steps have been taken, the outcomes of more and less rigorous job matching procedures should be evaluated using comparative effectiveness methodologies.
Amy Darragh, PhD, OTR/L (Advisor)
Jimmy Onate, PhD, ATC (Committee Member)
P. Cristian Gugiu, PhD (Committee Member)
Helen Malone, PhD, BCBA-D (Committee Member)
Dennis Cleary, OTD, MS, OTR/L (Committee Member)
228 p.
Educational Tests and Measurements; Occupational Therapy; Vocational Education

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Persch, A. C. (2014). The Model of Systematic Job Matching [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405612722

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Persch, Andrew. The Model of Systematic Job Matching. 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405612722.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Persch, Andrew. "The Model of Systematic Job Matching." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405612722

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1405612722
988
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.