ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
This article is part of the Research TopicEducation To Enhance The Inclusion Of All LearnersView all 21 articles
Career Future Perceptions of University Students with Disabilities: A Cross-Sectional Study in Turkiye
Provisionally accepted
- Beykent University, Büyükçekmece, Türkiye
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University students with disabilities often face unique barriers when envisioning and preparing for their career futures, making it important to understand the factors shaping their perceptions. This cross-sectional descriptive study investigated the career future perceptions of 121 disabled students enrolled at a private university in Istanbul, Türkiye. Data were collected through a demographic information form and the Career Future Scale (CFS), which measures adaptability, optimism, and perceived knowledge. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and post-hoc tests. The mean total CFS score was 85.26 ± 15.61, with subscale means of 38.26 ± 8.25 for adaptability, 38.29 ± 7.69 for optimism, and 8.72 ± 2.96 for perceived knowledge. Significant differences emerged across demographic and disability-related variables: age and disability type were associated with total scores; age, living arrangement, disability type, and severity influenced adaptability; age and disability type influenced optimism; and age, gender, region of upbringing, and disability type influenced perceived knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of tailored career counseling, mentorship, and accessible resources to support the career development and equity of disabled university students.
Keywords: Disability, Career adaptability, Career optimism, Perceived knowledge, higher education, türkiye
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 18 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Karaca, Baykara Mat and Bastarcan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Seda Tugba Baykara Mat
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