Breadcrumb Trail
Session D: Perceptions of Disability: Two 45 Minute Presentations.
- Date and Time
- Wednesday, April 23, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
- Description
"Stigma, Disability, and Technology Access in Schools." Presented by: Jason Ellis, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Schar College of Education; Ashland University; And Carla Abreu-Ellis, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Schar College of Education; Ashland University.
This presentation will provide an overview of the presenters' qualitative research whose focus was on teachers' perceptions of stigma related to disability and how this served to limit access to educational resources and opportunities in using technology in schools. The findings of this study will be discussed through narrative examples of the impact of socially constructed stigma on achievement and access. Lines of sight will be drawn to inbuilt opportunities within curriculum, instruction, and leadership that allow schools to provide positive support to the emotional well-being of young people with special educational needs.
The presentation will provide information on the stigma surrounding special education that serves to limit access to educational opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Hiebert, Wong, & Hunter (1983) observed that teachers had negative perceptions of, and low academic expectations for, adolescents with learning disabilities and that parents of adolescents with learning disabilities had lower academic expectations for their children than did parents of normally achieving adolescents for theirs. This effect may stem from a larger stigma associated with disability in general. Baker and Donnelly (2001) noted, "such perceptions result in barriers that divide the ‘worlds' of children with and without disability" (p. 72). Stigma also has a large effect on self-perception and academic performance. Children with less negative perceptions of their learning disabilities have been found to have higher achievement scores, perceive themselves more positively in terms of intellectual and behavioral competence, and feel more socially accepted (Rothman & Cosden, 1995).
Craig, Craig, Withers, Hatton & Limb (2002) wrote that "it is clear that stigma has a major impact on people with disabilities and that service-providers [such as teachers] . . . can play a role in maintaining stigma either by collusion or denial" (p. 63). Carpenter and Morgan (2003) have suggested that "There are inbuilt opportunities within curriculum that allow schools to give positive support to the emotional well-being of young people with special educational needs" (p. 203) and further that "these particularly rest in [the areas of] personal, social and health education and citizenship" (p. 203). Eisenman and Tascione (2002) discussed the role of instructors in mediating a discussion on disability issues and social stigma in finding that "the mediating influence of positive adult voices and concerns about social stigma were evident in students responses, which prompted us to question teachers' and families' responsibilities for engaging young people in dialogue about special education and disability" (p. 35). The stigma of individuals with disabilities being perceived as less intelligent (Scherer, 2004), without academic prowess, and incapable of having success in life (Hiebert, Wong, & Hunter, 1983) may lead non-special education service personnel and administration to restrict access to technology support materials and infrastructure.
"Access to Higher Education: The Narratives of Six Students with Learning Disabilities." Presented by: Carla Abreu-Ellis, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Schar College of Education; Ashland University; And Jason Ellils, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Schar College of Education; Ashland University.
There are indications that the challenge of meeting the educational needs of post-secondary students with disabilities is increasing. It is expected that the number of students with disabilities attending post-secondary institutions will continue to grow in the next decade. The growth of students with disabilities in general, and learning disabilities in particular, is a positive movement in extending social justice in higher education. Still, it must be recognized that accommodating students with disabilities requires a more sophisticated perspective toward how such students can best learn and what implications such practices have for providing necessary services. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and successes students with learning disabilities face in higher education.
This research used qualitative methods grounded within a constructivist paradigm to analyze the phenomenon of the experiences of students with learning disabilities in post-secondary education. In order to seek the essence of the experiences of students with learning disabilities in higher education, six university students were recruited to participate in this study. A face-to-face, individual in-depth interview was the main mode of data collection and individual interviews took approximately 50-90 minutes in duration.
Findings indicated that despite the essential fact that each of the participants in this study achieved a level of success in higher education, the academic journey for the students in this study was sometimes unpleasant, difficult, overwhelming, and challenging. While students were identified with a learning disability at different times during their academic careers, they all discussed their struggles to understand it and how they learned to accept their disabilities. They discussed issues of stigmatization by faculty, peers, and family members which acted as obstacles during their post-secondary experiences. The main elements that assisted in the academic success of students with learning disabilities in higher education who participated in this study were their personalities and their determination to succeed.