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“It is So Exhausting to Constantly Have to Explain to People”: Exploring the Effects of Faculty Interactions on Disabled Students

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Supporting Students with Disabilities and Understanding Spatial Ability and Accessibility

Tagged Division

Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42321

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42321

Download Count

489

Paper Authors

biography

Rachel Figard Arizona State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-1524-5778

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Rachel Figard is a doctoral student 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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biography

Samantha Ruth Brunhaver Arizona State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-8607-5959

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Samantha Brunhaver, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor within The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her primary areas of research include engineering career pathways and decision-making, undergraduate student persistence, professional engineering practice, and faculty mentorship. Brunhaver graduated with her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

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Jennifer M. Bekki Arizona State University

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Jennifer M. Bekki is an Associate Professor in The Polytechnic School within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her research aims to understand and address systemic inequities within STEM graduate education.

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Abstract

This Research paper explores how disabled students' learning experiences are affected by faculty’s responses to their disability disclosure and requests for accommodations. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted during the Fall 2022 semester with ten disabled engineering undergraduate and graduate students. The purpose of these interviews was to gain a deeper understanding of these students' unique experiences navigating their engineering degree program with a disability. Data were analyzed using open coding and constant comparison methods. Individual quotes were represented in a single, composite narrative. The composite narrative illuminates disabled students’ experiences of their treatment by faculty and the ultimate impact of those experiences on the students. Understanding the ways in which faculty’s treatment of disabled students impact their experiences is an integral step needed to move closer toward disabled justice.

Figard, R., & Brunhaver, S. R., & Bekki, J. M. (2023, June), “It is So Exhausting to Constantly Have to Explain to People”: Exploring the Effects of Faculty Interactions on Disabled Students Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42321

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