Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 63, Number 1, April 2023 - Whack-a-Mole?: Ecologies of young adults with intellectual disabilities as they transition from school to open employment

Oct 15, 2026

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Paper examines why young Australians with intellectual disability remain underrepresented in open employment despite substantial investment from stakeholders. Using the Whack-a-Mole arcade analogy, it argues that tackling isolated barriers is unlikely to produce successful transitions. Drawing on Urie Bronfenbrenner’s work, the paper adapts an ecological model to map the transition ecologies from school to open employment, emphasizing complexity, stakeholder proliferation, and transition dependence beyond individual capabilities, and it raises questions for stakeholders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Goal of open employment after schooling

Limits of investment and common barriers

Whack-a-Mole analogy for transition complexity

Ecologies, stakeholders, and research focus

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 63, Number 1, April 2023 Whack-a-Mole?: Ecologies of young adults with intellectual disabilities as they transition from school to open employmnent Donna Rooney University of Technology Sydney Kirsty Young University of Technology Sydney This paper addresses the question of why young Australians with intellectual disability (ID) remain underrepresented in open employment despite significant investment by various stakeholders. It uses the analogy of Whack-a-Mole (an arcade game) to draw attention to the complexity young people face during transition, and to illustrate how addressing one barrier in isolation is unlikely to result in successful transitions. In response to repeated calls for more holistic understandings of the transition process for young adults with ID, the paper draws upon the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner to present an adaptation of his model to map the ecologies of young people with ID’sas they seek to transition from school to open employment. The model illustrates the complexity of transition, a proliferation of stakeholders, and traces how transition is contingent on much more than young adults with ID’s capabilities. It invites further consideration of, and utility for, an ecological model as a basis for imagining possibilities 10 Donna Rooney and Kirsty Young to increase the number of people withID in open employment and concludes by raising some questions that stakeholders might ask. Keywords: disability, school-work transition, ecological model, Bronfenbrenner, intellectual disability, young adults Introduction Gaining meaningful work on completing compulsory school education or post-school vocational education is a goal for many young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) . While supported workplaces are a common post-school employment option, some young adults with ID are shifting the goal to getting a job in open employment. By this, we mean in organisations where the raison d’être is not simply to provide opportunities for people with disabilities. Realising this goal can mean increased participation in economic society and social participation (Laragy, Fisher, Purcal & Jenkinson, 2015), greater self-determination (Donelly et al., 2010) and improved wellbeing (Meltzer, Robinson & Fisher 2018) . However, the goal of open employment is one that few young adults with ID achieve. Poor employment outcomes for people with disability are common (Gouvea & Li, 2021), and Australians with ID are even less likely to participate in open employment compared to those with sensory, speech and/or physical disability (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2020). Further, if young adults with ID do find a job, they are likely to be in insecure positions (Meltzer et al., 2018) . Overall, despite the efforts of individuals or organisations, it remains a dismal situation. In Australia, as elsewhere, there is significant investment in educational initiatives to support the transition of young people with ID from school to work (e.g., Dunn, Shannon, McCullough, Jenda & Qazi, 2018) . On completion of school education post-school initiatives include specialised employment programs focusing on skills development (e.g., Smith, Grigal & Shepard, 2018) and Disability Employment Services (DES) that provide dedicated support workers to advocate and support young people in the workplace. Yet, the under-and unemployment of people with ID belies the significant investment in these initiatives. Whack-a-Mole?: Ecologies of young adults with intellectual disabilities as they transition from 11 school to open employment This prompts us to ask why is it that young Australians with ID remain underrepresented in open employment? In response, we suggest that educational institutions are engaged in a game of‘whack-amole’. Whack-a-mole is a popular arcade game where a player uses a hammer to hit toy moles that randomly appear. However, the game is characterised by p

FAQs

What central question does the paper address about young adults with intellectual disabilities?

Why young Australians with intellectual disability remain underrepresented in open employment despite significant investment by stakeholders.

How does the Whack-a-Mole analogy explain the transition problem?

It highlights futile attempts to overcome barriers in isolation, where addressing one issue does not ensure successful transition because obstacles shift across contexts.

What model does the paper use to map transitions from school to open employment?

It adapts Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to map the ecologies of young people with intellectual disabilities as they seek open employment.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Franzy