Resources

QOLIVET: Resources for VET and CC Services for Disabilities

In the course of the research and development processes carried out as a basis for producing the intellectual outputs of the QOLIVET project, a wide variety of resources were reviewed. Some of these were considered to have the potential to be of use to program developers, evaluators and others interested in exploring in greater depth the potential of vocational education and training (VET) and community care (CC) services to impact on the quality of life (QoL) of participants. This section of the QOLIVET portal hosts those that are judged to have the most relevance to QoL and VET and CC services and persons with disabilities.

Some of the resources have been referenced in the other publications of the QOLIVET partners such as the Synthesis Report and the Good Practice Guidelines or have been used in the development of the Online Training Course. Other are included on the basis that they add value to the overall aims of the project.

Resources are categorised into domains that have relevance to QoL. Those that are open access have been included as PDF documents. Links have been provided to those with restricted access. The main categories are:

Quality of Life

This section includes resources which relate to the three domains and eight dimensions of QoL that form the theoretical framework upon which the QOLIVET intellectual outputs are based including personal development, social inclusion and wellbeing.

Inclusive Strategies

This section includes resources relating to person-centred planning, inclusive learning, assistive technologies, universal design for learning and active participation.

Measuring Service Impact

This section includes resources relating to the assessment of QoL including other assessment tools that have been designed to measure QoL and publications that describe the challenges facing those who wish to evaluate the QoL impact of a service, support or intervention for a person with a disability.

Inclusive Learning

There is an onus on service providers in both the community care and VET sectors to create more accessible and inclusive learning environments and approaches. Inclusive lifelong learning is an important mechanism that can redress some of the disadvantages and vulnerabilities faced by persons with disabilities. Inclusive strategies and settings are best developed in collaboration with participants and their representatives in a co-production process. They need to address both the physical and psychosocial characteristics of the learning context including the ethos and attitude, the format of content, the accessibility of materials and resources, the flexibility of learning methods and the appropriateness of assessment procedures. A person-centred approach and ethos are the building blocks of an inclusive setting.

Person-Centred Planning

Given the diversity among persons with disabilities, it is essential to operate responsive processes that facilitate each person in the design of a context that meets their needs. An important mechanism that can support this approach is the personalisation of progression paths based on individual needs through person-centred planning. A person-centred mode of delivery can only be achieved within an organisational culture and ethos which prioritises the person’s right to choice, control, respect, dignity, and rights, uses valid indicators to monitor its person-centred processes and strives to enhance them through a continuous quest for improvement.

Quality of Life Background

QoL is a universal concept that is relevant to all people regardless of their personal characteristics or socioeconomic status. A broad consensus has evolved over the past two decades that QoL is an important impact of systems and services in both the community care and the VET sectors. All policies and tools that address QoL are based on models that characterise it as having multiple dimensions. It is also broadly recognised that a person’s view of what is valued is influenced by their values which are in turn influenced by their interaction with family, school, and community. It is widely accepted that conceptions of QoL cannot be separated from the cultural ethos in which a person lives. Although, specific life concerns and support needs may well differ, the same QoL domains and dimensions can be used to describe the extent to which a person is achieving their aspirations for a life well lived in terms of family life, friendships, work, housing, health, education, and standard of living.

Quality of Life Meaurement

A QoL informed approach is relevant across a wide variety of service performance indicators, mission statements, service contracts, and policy statements, regardless of the sector or the jurisdiction in which an organisation operates. A review of policy documents, research and measurement tools identified a range of indicators that related to QoL in community care and vocational education and training. Both objective and subjective measures of QoL are required to track the impact of systems and services. Quality management systems need to include key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the extent to which this impact is being achieved by participants.

Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design (UD) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide a useful basis for developing inclusive services and settings. The premise upon which they are based is that it is significantly more efficient and economical to incorporate the diverse characteristics of people into settings, services, products and procedures at the design stage rather than having to accommodate them retrospectively. Effective UD and UDL can only be achieved through collaboration and co-production with current and potential participants and their representatives.

Useful Content

QOLIVET - Summary Synthesis Report 2022