Author

Wilson D. Mendoza*
Philippine Christian University, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines

Abstract

This study explored the employment perspectives and lived experiences of five graduate students with intellectual disabilities from Paaralang Pag-ibig at Pag-asa, a public special education school in San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines. Employing a qualitative, exploratory research design grounded in Pierre Bourdieu’s Capital Theory, the study utilized semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection instrument, with participants selected through snowball sampling. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis framework. The five participants, four males and one female aged 28 to 33, held either high school diplomas or vocational training credentials and were engaged in varied employment including paid and self-directed work across caretaking, retail, vending, funeral services, and hotel housekeeping. Three major themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme, cultivating confidence through self-efficacy and support mechanisms, revealed that participants reported moderate to high confidence in their workplace roles, substantially attributed to the active involvement of family and peer networks that served as social capital during the transition to employment. The second theme, bridging school and workforce through skill transfer and application, demonstrated that both soft skills such as communication and collaboration and technical competencies acquired at the school were directly and effectively applied in participants’ respective workplaces, affirming the role of specialized education in building cultural capital. The third theme, navigating change through emotional adaptation and future aspirations, showed that participants experienced predominantly positive emotions during their school-to-work transition and articulated clear ambitions for career advancement or entrepreneurial growth, countering stereotypes of passivity among individuals with intellectual disabilities. Collectively, the findings indicate that the primary barriers to employment for this population are systemic and external rather than inherent to their disability. The results underscore the critical importance of coordinated school-family-employer supports, context-sensitive transition programming, and inclusive employment policies. This study contributes localized, practice-oriented evidence to inform program design, employer engagement, and family training initiatives aimed at enhancing employment access, placement, and retention for graduates with intellectual disabilities in the Philippine context.

Keywords: Intellectual disability, employment experiences, school-to-work transition.

*Corresponding author / Email: wilson.mendoza.gse@pcu.edu.ph
DOI: http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS05021188

Recommended citation:
Mendoza, W. D. (2026). The employment of intellectual disability graduate students of Paaralang Pag-ibigat Pag-asa: Perspective and experiences. Pantao (International Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences) 5 (2), 4845-4859. http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS05021188

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