2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

“It is So Exhausting to Constantly Have to Explain to People”: Exploring the Effects of Faculty Interactions on Disabled Students

Presented at Supporting Students with Disabilities and Understanding Spatial Ability and Accessibility

This Research paper explores how disabled students' learning experiences are affected by faculty’s responses to their disability disclosure and requests for accommodations. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted during the Fall 2022 semester with ten disabled engineering undergraduate and graduate students. The purpose of these interviews was to gain a deeper understanding of these students' unique experiences navigating their engineering degree program with a disability. Data were analyzed using open coding and constant comparison methods. Individual quotes were represented in a single, composite narrative. The composite narrative illuminates disabled students’ experiences of their treatment by faculty and the ultimate impact of those experiences on the students. Understanding the ways in which faculty’s treatment of disabled students impact their experiences is an integral step needed to move closer toward disabled justice.

Authors

Ms. Rachel Figard http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1524-5778 Arizona State University [biography]

Dr. Rachel Figard is an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia in the Engineering Education Transformations Institute (EETI) and the Department of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering (ECAM). Her primary areas of research include disabled student experiences, design justice, the impact of institutional policy and practice on student experience, and accessible user experience design. She received a Ph.D. in Engineering Education Systems and Design from Arizona State University (ASU), an M.S. in User Experience from ASU, and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Samantha Ruth Brunhaver http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8607-5959 Arizona State University [biography]

Samantha Brunhaver, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor within The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her primary areas of research include engineering career pathways and decision-making, undergraduate student persistence, professional engineering practice, and faculty mentorship. Brunhaver graduated with her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
Dr. Jennifer M. Bekki Arizona State University [biography]

Jennifer M. Bekki is an Associate Professor in The Polytechnic School within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her research aims to understand and address systemic inequities within STEM graduate education.

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Advocacy and Policy
Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
disability
Faculty