Developing an Original Theoretical Model for Understanding School-to-Work Transition Challenges Among Nigerian Youth with Disabilities

The school-to-work transition for young Nigerians with disabilities is shaped by disability-specific barriers that interact with Nigeria's broader labour market challenges, ethnic and religious discrimination, inadequate vocational counselling provision, and family-imposed limitations in ways that existing Western transition models do not adequately theorise. This study developed an original theoretical model for understanding school-to-work transition challenges among young Nigerians with disabilities, encompassing physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities. A theory-building methodology combining systematic review, grounded theory qualitative research, and expert validation was employed. Systematic review identified only 11 Nigerian-specific publications on transition for disabled youth, confirming a major evidence gap. Grounded theory research was conducted with 48 young Nigerians with disabilities aged 18 to 28 across Abuja, Enugu, Kano, and Port Harcourt, combining biographical interviews with policy document analysis. Constant comparative analysis generated 14 conceptual categories across three dimensions: structural barriers (physical environment exclusion, employer discrimination, policy inadequacy), relational barriers (family overprotection, peer marginalisation, employer stigma), and internal barriers (self-limiting disability identity, low career aspiration, limited vocational self-efficacy). The original Disability-Inclusive Transition Model for Nigerian Youth proposes seven theoretical mechanisms operating across these dimensions and specifies counselling intervention leverage points at each mechanism. The model uniquely integrates the moderating role of disability type, family economic status, and religious-cultural disability beliefs as contextual factors shaping transition difficulty. Expert review by 20 disability, counselling, and vocational rehabilitation specialists confirmed original contribution.

Keywords: school-to-work transition, youth with disabilities, Nigeria, theoretical model, vocational counselling