Hidden walls: STEM course barriers identified by students with disabilities

TL;DR

This study identifies social and structural barriers faced by students with disabilities in introductory STEM courses through interviews, highlighting challenges like time management and stress, and offers recommendations for better support.

Contribution

The paper applies a social relational model to identify specific disabling structures in STEM courses based on student interviews, providing new insights into social barriers.

Findings

Students face barriers that hinder engagement with course content.

Challenges include time management, stress, and anxiety.

Recommendations for improved support in STEM education.

Abstract

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.