TY - JOUR
T1 - Students with Disabilities in Life Science Undergraduate Research Experiences
T2 - Challenges and Opportunities
AU - Gin, Logan E.
AU - Pais, Danielle
AU - Cooper, Katelyn M.
AU - Brownell, Sara E.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the 20 undergraduate researchers with disabilities who interviewed with us and shared their thoughts and experiences. We also thank the ASU Research for Inclusive STEM Education (RISE) Center for feedback on earlier versions of this work. L.E.G. was supported by an NSF Graduate Fellowship
Funding Information:
We thank the 20 undergraduate researchers with disabilities who interviewed with us and shared their thoughts and experiences. We also thank the ASU Research for Inclusive STEM Education(RISE) Center for feedback on earlier versions of this work. L.E.G. was supported by an NSF Graduate Fellowship (DGE-1311230) and an NSF S-STEM Grant (1644236). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 L. E. Gin et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2022 The American Society for Cell Biology.
PY - 2022/6/1
Y1 - 2022/6/1
N2 - Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in postsecondary science education and in science careers, yet few studies have explored why this may be. A primary predictor of student persistence in science is participating in undergraduate research. However, it is unclear to what extent students with disabilities are participating in research and what the experiences of these students in research are. To address this gap in the literature, in study 1, we conducted a national survey of more than 1200 undergraduate researchers to determine the percent of students with disabilities participating in undergraduate research in the life sciences. We found that 12% of undergraduate researchers we surveyed self-identified as having a disability, which indicates that students with disabilities are likely underrepresented in undergraduate research. In study 2, we conducted semistructured interviews with 20 undergraduate researchers with disabilities. We identified unique challenges experienced by students with disabilities in undergraduate research, as well as some possible solutions to these challenges. Further, we found that students with disabilities perceived that they provide unique contributions to the research community. This work provides a foundation for creating undergraduate research experiences that are more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities.
AB - Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in postsecondary science education and in science careers, yet few studies have explored why this may be. A primary predictor of student persistence in science is participating in undergraduate research. However, it is unclear to what extent students with disabilities are participating in research and what the experiences of these students in research are. To address this gap in the literature, in study 1, we conducted a national survey of more than 1200 undergraduate researchers to determine the percent of students with disabilities participating in undergraduate research in the life sciences. We found that 12% of undergraduate researchers we surveyed self-identified as having a disability, which indicates that students with disabilities are likely underrepresented in undergraduate research. In study 2, we conducted semistructured interviews with 20 undergraduate researchers with disabilities. We identified unique challenges experienced by students with disabilities in undergraduate research, as well as some possible solutions to these challenges. Further, we found that students with disabilities perceived that they provide unique contributions to the research community. This work provides a foundation for creating undergraduate research experiences that are more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities.
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U2 - 10.1187/cbe.21-07-0196
DO - 10.1187/cbe.21-07-0196
M3 - Article
C2 - 35499822
AN - SCOPUS:85129780688
SN - 1931-7913
VL - 21
JO - CBE life sciences education
JF - CBE life sciences education
IS - 2
M1 - ar32
ER -