Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2015, 3, 35-42 35 E-ISSN: 2292-2598/15 © 2015 Lifescience Global Functional Measurement of Special Education Teachers’ and Students’ Expectations Toward Job Training for Persons with Intellectual Disability Guadalupe Elizabeth Morales-Martinez 1,* , Ernesto Octavio Lopez-Ramirez 2 , Maria Guadalupe Villarreal-Treviño 2 and Yanko Norberto Mezquita-Hoyos 3 1 Research Institute for the University and Education, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico 2 Department of Psychology, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey City, Mexico 3 Department of Psychology, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatán, Mérida City, Mexico Abstract: Persons with intellectual disability (PWID) have fewer opportunities for enrolment in school programs and post-school employment than do their peers with typical development. Evidence suggests that attitude toward PWID is a main factor in either promoting or limiting better life conditions for this population. In this paper, the goal was to determine the cognitive information integration rules underlying the expectations of 174 special education teachers and students with regard to job training for PWID. In order to accomplish this goal, four factors (Gender, Severity of disability, Type of task, and Emotional traits) were orthogonally combined to implement a cognitive algebra study design. We obtained 48 experimental conditions, with each one presented as a scenario describing a PWID in a work training situation. Participants read these scenarios and were asked to judge the probability of the success of PWID with regard to learning the skills needed to complete the required work. Patterns of response allowed us to identify low, moderate, and high viewpoints with regard to participants’ judgments of predicted success. Personal factors (Emotional traits and Severity of disability) and the Type of task factor were considered the most important in influencing the participants’ judgment. These factors seemed to be integrated in a complex systematic cognitive pattern. Implications from this type of result with regard to PWID and work training are discussed in this paper. Keywords: Intellectual disability, attitudes, special education teachers, work training, cognitive algebra. To many adults, the idea of getting a job is a meaningful aspect of our basic life expectancy. Generally speaking, paid employment is not only a well-evaluated social concept associated with wealth, health, economic benefits, and good use of time [1] but it is also associated with psychological dimensions like self-esteem and self-concept [2,3], and strengthens both identity and the sense of self-value [4,5]. Moreover, paid employment seems to be associated with life satisfaction [6] and, even more importantly, it imposes a sense of purpose on people’s daily experiences [7]. Unfortunately, not all people have the opportunity to gain dignified, paid work. This is frequently the case for people with intellectual disability (PWID), many of whom are underemployed or, as a worst case scenario, jobless [8]. Compared to typical individuals, the PWID population is three to four times less likely to obtain a job [9]. Usually, PWID face tremendous problems regarding job inclusion as well as maintaining employment. *Address correspondence to this author at the Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre la Universidad y la Educación, UNAM. Circuito Cultural Universitario, Coyoacán 04510, D.F., México; Tel: (55) 5622 6986/95; Fax: (55) 5665 0123; E-mail: gemoramar@hotmail.com, moramar24@yahoo.com.mx Academically speaking, not much is known about the nature of factors determining this phenomenon (e.g., moving from school to job inclusion [10], job selection [11], getting and maintaining a job [9], PWID job experiences [12], employers’ experiences with hiring PWID). Overall, previous research addressing this topic has pointed out that the employment-related variables of PWID (e.g., job preferences [13], personal preferences [14], employee demographic profiles [13], motivation and expectations about job attributes [9]), as well as contextual factors (family composition during formative years, school-based staff, early employment experiences, and the community’s rehabilitation culture [14]) affect their job opportunities. In addition, some research suggests that the expectations of PWID with regard to having a job in the future have a profound impact throughout their lives on their rights to access job opportunities, as well as their job conditions. For instance, Doren, Gau, and Lindstrom [15] suggested that parents’ expectations about job inclusion significantly predict the capacity of PWID to be independent and that that, in turn, predicts achievement after graduation from school (e.g., obtaining a well-paid job). Complementary research by