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Dissertation_Strand FINAL Compliant.pdf (2.41 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Toward the Transformative Inclusion of Students with Nonvisible Disabilities in STEM: An Intersectional Exploration of Stigma Management and Self-Advocacy Enactments

Strand, Lauren Rose
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3060-3171
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1554920049665926

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Although self-determination theory has been used in studies pertaining to students with disabilities (SWD) in high school STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) very little self-determination research has focused on SWD in college STEM programs. Additionally, there is a paucity of research that examines how self-advocacy, one component of self-determination theory, is operationalized from the perspectives of STEM SWD themselves. Further, no research exists to date linking self-advocacy to stigma management, a critical concept for understanding SWD’s and other underrepresented groups’ navigation of educational environments. The dissertation examines how self-advocacy and stigma management are related to better explain pursuit of college STEM programs and degrees by students with nonvisible disabilities (SWND), the largest group of SWD (Newman et al., 2011). I explore the experiences of SWND majoring in STEM fields at The Ohio State University (Ohio State), using a mixed-method approach utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine student factors and learning environment conditions that enhance and/or thwart SWND’s learning and persistence. Over the course of the 2016-2017 academic year, I disseminated surveys, conducted in-depth interviews, and facilitated focus groups with twenty SWND to understand their experiences at Ohio State. The results of this research demonstrate a significant connection between stigma management and self-advocacy enactments among participants, which is then more thoroughly explored at the level of theory. This dissertation utilizes intersectionality and standpoint theories as lenses to interpret the data gathered through the quantitative and qualitative methods to explore reports of self-advocacy and stigma management. Foregrounding the experiences of SWND in STEM contributes to an understanding of how self-advocacy can be approached from a critical feminist disability studies perspective that is informed by intersectionality and standpoint theories. This exploratory study has the potential to set a foundation for more extensive research that will test its findings with larger and more diverse SWD populations in post-secondary STEM fields.
Jill Bystydzienski (Advisor)
Margaret Price (Committee Member)
Cynthia Burack (Committee Member)
Amy Shuman (Committee Member)
244 p.
Education; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Womens Studies
Nonvisible Disabilities; higher education; STEM fields; STEM education; disability studies; feminist disability studies; intersectionality; standpoint theory; students nonvisible disabilities; students disabilities; disability

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Strand, L. R. (2019). Toward the Transformative Inclusion of Students with Nonvisible Disabilities in STEM: An Intersectional Exploration of Stigma Management and Self-Advocacy Enactments [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1554920049665926

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Strand, Lauren. Toward the Transformative Inclusion of Students with Nonvisible Disabilities in STEM: An Intersectional Exploration of Stigma Management and Self-Advocacy Enactments. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1554920049665926.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Strand, Lauren. "Toward the Transformative Inclusion of Students with Nonvisible Disabilities in STEM: An Intersectional Exploration of Stigma Management and Self-Advocacy Enactments." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1554920049665926

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1554920049665926
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.