ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sociol.
Sec. Work, Employment and Organizations
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1627946
This article is part of the Research TopicEducation to Employment: Toward A Better InclusionView all 5 articles
A Life Course Perspective on Disability: Education-to-Work Transitions of People with Visual Impairments in China
Provisionally accepted
- University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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This study employs a life course perspective to explore the educational and career trajectories of 26 people with visual impairments in Henan Province, China, focusing on transitions into the massage industry and alternative vocational paths. Through qualitative interviews, it examines five patterns of education-to-work transitions. Findings reveal delayed educational transitions, high dropout rates (53.88% during compulsory education), and predominant employment in the massage industry, driven by societal stereotypes and structural constraints. Urban participants accessed non-massage skills through family support, while rural participants faced pressures to pursue tuina (Chinese medicine massage) for financial stability, highlighting the life course principle of linked lives. The study contributes to Chinese disability studies by applying life course theory to a non-Western context, revealing how timing, sequence, and agency interact with social forces. Policy implications include expanding inclusive preschool access, mainstream school accommodations, and diverse tertiary programs to enhance career options and challenge vocational stereotypes. Future research should prioritize women with visual impairments to address gender disparities in educational access.
Keywords: Education, life course, Transition, People with visual impairment, Work
Received: 07 Jul 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen. 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: Minjie Chen, minjiechen2025@gmail.com
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