WORK IN PROGRESS: EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH RESEARCH INVOLVEMENT

Sarah Furtney; Caroline Doyle

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Disability, Neurodivergence, and Sense of Belonging in STEM: Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division Technical Session 5
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41798
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41798
Download Count: 359

Paper Authors

biography

Sarah Furtney University of Florida

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Instructional Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida

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biography

Caroline Doyle University of Florida

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I am a recent graduate with my Bachelor's and Master's in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida. During my time at UF, I focused my studies on both Biomaterials and Cellular/Regenerative medicine. I have a passion for making voices heard and getting individuals involved in research to better their community! This interest is what helped spark the inspiration for my submission to the ASEE National Conference as I worked with those around me to impact change for the involvement of students with disabilities at the University of Florida. I hope to be able to continue to influence change by advocating for diversity and inclusion as I transition into my new career in the biomedical industry!

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Abstract

While recent calls throughout the engineering education community have focused on increasing diversity and broadening participation in STEM, these conversations typically center on gender and race with little to no work addressing disability. But research in higher education broadly suggests that cognitive, physical, and learning disabilities can markedly impact the ways in which students perceive and experience school, develop professional identities, and move into the engineering workforce. Despite recent postsecondary enrollment gains for students with disabilities, barriers to success persist, particularly for students in STEM. These barriers stem from both institutional factors such as lack of faculty awareness of disabilities and disability services, inaccessible facilities, and inadequate disabilities services and personal factors such as lack of student disclosure, stigma, feelings of “otherness,” and feelings of inadequacy. Astin’s seminal theory of student involvement suggests that students are more likely to persist in college if they engage in extracurricular activities. However, students with invisible disabilities such as emotional and behavioral disorders as well as physical disabilities may be less likely or able to engage in campus activities or organizations.

At the University of Florida we currently have 5,197 students (9% of the student population) enrolled with the campus Disability Resource Center (DRC). Of those 5,197 students, 693 are enrolled in an Engineering major (7.2% of the Engineering student population). The DRC is primarily responsible for providing academic and residential support in the form of resources and accommodations. There is currently a lack of support, and therefore an opportunity, in empowering these students outside the classroom and residence.

The aims of our project include (1) conduct an analysis of research programs across the university campus and identify which programs have high or moderate alignment with disability topics, (2) create and share our analysis as a resource for disabled students, (3) understand the current landscape of disabled student participation in disability-aligned research, and (4) investigate how our empowerment initiative impacts disabled student participation in disability-themed research.

The University of Florida is a comprehensive campus; consisting of arts and sciences degrees awarded at undergraduate and graduate levels, and schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, dentistry, and law. Our analysis methodology for research program alignment with DRC-covered disabilities involves two classifications; “high” for those that explicitly investigate a covered disability and “moderate” for those that directly relate to a covered disability. To date, we have surveyed 1836 research programs across 6 colleges, with 10 colleges remaining for further analysis. Disability-related research, whether moderate, high, or combined relevance is represented in 7.2% of the total research programs we surveyed.

With intentional dissemination of our findings with the UF community, we hope to empower disabled students to scientifically contribute to a topic that greatly impacts their lives. Long-term impacts from this work could include formation of disabled research identity, persistence, and belongingness.

Citation
Format

Furtney, S., & Doyle, C. (2022, August), WORK IN PROGRESS: EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH RESEARCH INVOLVEMENT Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41798

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - While recent calls throughout the engineering education community have focused on increasing diversity and broadening participation in STEM, these conversations typically center on gender and race with little to no work addressing disability. But research in higher education broadly suggests that cognitive, physical, and learning disabilities can markedly impact the ways in which students perceive and experience school, develop professional identities, and move into the engineering workforce. Despite recent postsecondary enrollment gains for students with disabilities, barriers to success persist, particularly for students in STEM. These barriers stem from both institutional factors such as lack of faculty awareness of disabilities and disability services, inaccessible facilities, and inadequate disabilities services and personal factors such as lack of student disclosure, stigma, feelings of “otherness,” and feelings of inadequacy. Astin’s seminal theory of student involvement suggests that students are more likely to persist in college if they engage in extracurricular activities. However, students with invisible disabilities such as emotional and behavioral disorders as well as physical disabilities may be less likely or able to engage in campus activities or organizations. 

At the University of Florida we currently have 5,197 students (9% of the student population) enrolled with the campus Disability Resource Center (DRC). Of those 5,197 students, 693 are enrolled in an Engineering major (7.2% of the Engineering student population). The DRC is primarily responsible for providing academic and residential support in the form of resources and accommodations. There is currently a lack of support, and therefore an opportunity, in empowering these students outside the classroom and residence. 

The aims of our project include (1) conduct an analysis of research programs across the university campus and identify which programs have high or moderate alignment with disability topics, (2) create and share our analysis as a resource for disabled students, (3) understand the current landscape of disabled student participation in disability-aligned research, and (4) investigate how our empowerment initiative impacts disabled student participation in disability-themed research. 

The University of Florida is a comprehensive campus; consisting of arts and sciences degrees awarded at undergraduate and graduate levels, and schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, dentistry, and law. Our analysis methodology for research program alignment with DRC-covered disabilities involves two classifications; “high” for those that explicitly investigate a covered disability and “moderate” for those that directly relate to a covered disability. To date, we have surveyed 1836 research programs across 6 colleges, with 10 colleges remaining for further analysis. Disability-related research, whether moderate, high, or combined relevance is represented in 7.2% of the total research programs we surveyed.  

With intentional dissemination of our findings with the UF community, we hope to empower disabled students to scientifically contribute to a topic that greatly impacts their lives. Long-term impacts from this work could include formation of disabled research identity, persistence, and belongingness. 

AU  - Sarah Furtney
AU  - Caroline Doyle
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - WORK IN PROGRESS: EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH RESEARCH INVOLVEMENT
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41798
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41798
ER  -