ERIC Number: EJ1259488
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2196-7822
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Speaking Up: A Model of Self-Advocacy for STEM Undergraduates with ADHD and/or Specific Learning Disabilities
Pfeifer, Mariel A.; Reiter, Eve Melanie; Hendrickson, McKenna; Stanton, Julie Dangremond
International Journal of STEM Education, v7 Article 33 2020
Background: Students with disabilities are underrepresented in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Students with disabilities who engage in self-advocacy earn higher GPAs and are more likely to graduate from college compared to students with disabilities who do not engage in self-advocacy. We utilized Test's conceptual framework of self-advocacy, which breaks self-advocacy into four components: knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership to investigate how students with invisible disabilities practice self-advocacy in undergraduate STEM courses. Through a partnership with a disability resource center (DRC), we recruited and interviewed 25 STEM majors who received accommodations for attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or a specific learning disorder (SLD). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Results: We found evidence of all components of Test's conceptual framework of self-advocacy and operationalize each based on our participants' experiences. We identified novel components of self-advocacy for students with ADHD/SLD in undergraduate STEM courses, including knowledge of STEM learning contexts and knowledge of accommodations and the process to obtain them, as well as, a novel self-advocacy behavior, filling gaps. Filling gaps involved participants taking action to mitigate a perceived limitation in either their formal accommodations from the DRC or a perceived limitation in the instructional practices used in a STEM course. We also identified beliefs, such as view of disability and agency, which influenced the self-advocacy of our participants. We incorporated the emergent forms of self-advocacy into Test's conceptual framework to propose a revised model of self-advocacy for students with ADHD/SLD in undergraduate STEM courses. Conclusions: We developed a revised conceptual model of self-advocacy for students with ADHD/SLD in undergraduate STEM courses. This conceptual model provides a foundation for researchers who wish to study self-advocacy in undergraduate STEM courses for students with ADHD/SLD in the future. It also offers insights for STEM instructors and service providers about the self-advocacy experiences of students with ADHD/SLD in undergraduate STEM courses. We propose hypotheses for additional study based on our conceptual model of self-advocacy. Implications for research and teaching are discussed.
Descriptors: Students with Disabilities, Undergraduate Students, STEM Education, Disproportionate Representation, Self Advocacy, Majors (Students), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disabilities, Knowledge Level, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities), Teaching Methods, Student Attitudes, Beliefs, Models
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1659423
Author Affiliations: N/A