Hidden walls: STEM course barriers identified by students with disabilities

Historically, non-disabled individuals have viewed disability as a personal deficit requiring change to the disabled individual. However, models have emerged from disability activists and disabled intellectuals that emphasize the role of disabling social structures in preventing or hindering equal access across the ability continuum. We used the social relational proposition, which situates disability within the interaction of impairments and particular social structures, to identify disabling structures in introductory STEM courses. We conducted interviews with nine students who identified with a range of impairments about their experiences in introductory STEM courses. We assembled a diverse research team and analyzed the interviews through phenomenological analysis. Participants reported course barriers that prevented effective engagement with course content. These barriers resulted in challenges with time management as well as feelings of stress and anxiety. We discuss recommendations for supporting students to more effectively engage with introductory STEM courses

Beyond Disability As Weakness: Perspectives From Students With Disabilities

Little research in physics education has explored the experiences of postsecondary students with disabilities (SWDs). Perspectives on disability vary in the extent to which they locate disability within the individual or within society. We conducted interviews with SWDs to explore their perspectives on disability and their experiences in STEM-specific courses. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we identified how the participants\u27 experiences of impairment impacted their learning, often resulting in use of accommodations, such as extra test time. While accommodations allowed the participants to demonstrate content mastery, accommodation use also made them susceptible to disability stigma from peers and instructors who held an individual view of disability. Participants expressed that these feelings of stigma led them to value confidentiality. We argue that instructors who hold a social perspective of disability are in a better position to address barriers in the learning environment and to support SWDs