The College Experience of Stuttering: An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

This dissertation focused on the impact of stuttering within the university setting. Data were gathered and examined using a qualitative research methodology. This research design used several data collection procedures including participant observation, ethnographic interviews, and artifact analysis. These procedures captured the use of communicative strategies and barriers as they unfolded in authentic interactions within the university. They also served to illustrate how other social partners perceived PWS (persons who stutter) in the classroom and other relevant university contexts. The results of these data were examined using categorization of the context and culture of each environment, conversational strategies employed during social interactions, and the coping and supportive devices used during authentic interactions. The views, reactions, and affective reactions of PWS were also explored and discussed. Patterns emerged from the data that uncovered the types of strategies that PWS employed to overcome communicative barriers within the university setting. This study provides further evidence in support of strategies that consider the context within the university when examining PWS and the value in exploring the real-time behaviors that are implemented by PWS as they negotiate social action within these contexts. This study has important implications regarding the value of qualitative research paradigms in investigating social access and inclusion in PWS in the university setting and exploring the usefulness of partner and advocacy training in universities and other educational institutions