Participatory Action Research with College Students with Disabilities

College students with disabilities face various barriers to academic and social engagement. The present project was conducted based on principles of participatory action research (PAR) using Photovoice method with six students, gathering images representing such barriers, and developing narratives to describe the problems as well as possible ways to address them. With follow-up actions, the project prompted a number of attitudinal and architectural changes on campus. In addition, the participating students reported empowering effects of the project on themselves, consistent with the premise of PAR, indicating a potential of PAR with Photovoice methodology in both empowering students with disabilities and transforming university campuses to more inclusive environment. Photovoice can be employed by disability service providers to encourage students to be their own advocates to tell their stories about campus accessibility. Students\u27 perspectives can inform public policy to address barriers to be more inclusive to higher education that they experience

Participatory Action Research with College Students with Disabilities: Photovoice for an Inclusive Campus

College students with disabilities face various barriers to academic and social engagement. The present project was conducted based on principles of participatory action research (PAR) using Photovoice method with six students, gathering images representing such barriers, and developing narratives to describe the problems as well as possible ways to address them. With follow-up actions, the project prompted a number of attitudinal and architectural changes on campus. In addition, the participating students reported empowering effects of the project on themselves, consistent with the premise of PAR, indicating a potential of PAR with Photovoice methodology in both empowering students with disabilities and transforming university campuses to more inclusive environment. Photovoice can be employed by disability service providers to encourage students to be their own advocates to tell their stories about campus accessibility. Students’ perspectives can inform public policy to address barriers to be more inclusive to higher education that they experience