Diminishing the Data Divide: Interrogating the State of Disability Data Collection and Reporting

Sage Maul; Rachel Figard

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Bridging Cultures, Advancing Justice: Fostering Inclusion and Sustainability in Engineering Education
Tagged Divisions: Equity and Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47194

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Paper Authors

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Sage Maul Purdue University

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Sage Maul (they/them) is a third year PhD student in Purdue University's School of Engineering Education. Sage's research explores structural factors on student experiences for disabled students and in electrical and computer engineering courses. Sage graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue and worked in industry for 5 years before starting graduate school. Their experiences with accommodations in undergrad and getting diagnosed with ADHD as an adult inform their research work.

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Rachel Figard Arizona State University orcid.org/0000-0002-1524-5778

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Rachel Figard is a Ph.D. candidate in Engineering Education and Systems Design at Arizona State University. She received her M.S. in User Experience from Arizona State University and B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.

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Abstract

This research paper explored the availability of data for disabled students in postsecondary engineering programs in the U.S (using [1]–[9]). The paper reviewed a variety of sources for the reporting of disability-related demographic information for these programs. Examples of these sources include funder reports (e.g., NSF Diversity and STEM, ASEE By the Numbers) and educational data repositories (e.g., NCSES, IES). We investigated first, if disability is at all included in the reporting of demographic information. If included, we looked at the criteria to count someone as disabled. Implications of our findings include (1) considerations for using existing data sources and (2) recommendations for improving the capture of demographic and identity-related information to include disability and its related nuances. The findings from this study underscore the need for the comprehensive inclusion of disability-related demographic data in postsecondary engineering programs, while highlighting existing challenges and opportunities for improvement in data collection methods. [1] National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and National Science Foundation, “Diversity and STEM: Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities 2023,” NSF 23-315, 2023. [2] U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, “Digest of education statistics, 2021,” National Center for Education Statistics, 2021. [3] V. Irwin, K. Wang, T. Tezil, J. Zhang, A. Filbey, J. Jung, F. B. Mann, R. Dilig, S. Parker, T. Nachazel, M. Barnett, and S. Purcell, “Report on the condition of education 2023,” National Center for Education Statistics at Institute of Education Sciences, Washington, DC, NCES 2023-144rev, 2023. [4] National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], “Education across America,” National Center for Education Statistics, Nov. 2023. [5] NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering 2021-2022 Biennial Report to Congress, “Making visible the invisible: Understanding intersectionality,” National Science Foundation, 2022 2021. [6] American Society for Engineering Education, “Engineering & engineering technology by the numbers, 2022,” American Society of Engineering Education, Washington, DC, 2023. [7] The Spencer Foundation, “The Spencer report 2021,” The Spencer Foundation, Jun. 2022. [8] S. Deitz and R. Henke, “Higher education in science and engineering,” National Science Board for the National Science Foundation, Nov. 2023. [9] A. Burke, A. Okrent, and K. Hale, “The state of U.S. science and engineering 2022,” The National Science Board for the National Science Foundation, Jan. 2022.

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Maul, S., & Figard, R. (2024, June), Diminishing the Data Divide: Interrogating the State of Disability Data Collection and Reporting Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47194

TY - CPAPER
AB - This research paper explored the availability of data for disabled students in postsecondary engineering programs in the U.S (using [1]–[9]). The paper reviewed a variety of sources for the reporting of disability-related demographic information for these programs. Examples of these sources include funder reports (e.g., NSF Diversity and STEM, ASEE By the Numbers) and educational data repositories (e.g., NCSES, IES). We investigated first, if disability is at all included in the reporting of demographic information. If included, we looked at the criteria to count someone as disabled. Implications of our findings include (1) considerations for using existing data sources and (2) recommendations for improving the capture of demographic and identity-related information to include disability and its related nuances. The findings from this study underscore the need for the comprehensive inclusion of disability-related demographic data in postsecondary engineering programs, while highlighting existing challenges and opportunities for improvement in data collection methods.
[1] National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, and National Science Foundation, “Diversity and STEM: Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities 2023,” NSF 23-315, 2023.
[2] U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, “Digest of education statistics, 2021,” National Center for Education Statistics, 2021.
[3] V. Irwin, K. Wang, T. Tezil, J. Zhang, A. Filbey, J. Jung, F. B. Mann, R. Dilig, S. Parker, T. Nachazel, M. Barnett, and S. Purcell, “Report on the condition of education 2023,” National Center for Education Statistics at Institute of Education Sciences, Washington, DC, NCES 2023-144rev, 2023.
[4] National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], “Education across America,” National Center for Education Statistics, Nov. 2023.
[5] NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering 2021-2022 Biennial Report to Congress, “Making visible the invisible: Understanding intersectionality,” National Science Foundation, 2022 2021.
[6] American Society for Engineering Education, “Engineering &amp;amp; engineering technology by the numbers, 2022,” American Society of Engineering Education, Washington, DC, 2023.
[7] The Spencer Foundation, “The Spencer report 2021,” The Spencer Foundation, Jun. 2022.
[8] S. Deitz and R. Henke, “Higher education in science and engineering,” National Science Board for the National Science Foundation, Nov. 2023.
[9] A. Burke, A. Okrent, and K. Hale, “The state of U.S. science and engineering 2022,” The National Science Board for the National Science Foundation, Jan. 2022.

AU - Sage Maul
AU - Rachel Figard
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Diminishing the Data Divide: Interrogating the State of Disability Data Collection and Reporting
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47194
ER -