Citation: Hong, Barbara S. S. "Project MUSE - Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers College Students With Disabilities Experience in Higher Education." Project MUSE - Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers College Students With Disabilities Experience in Higher Education. Johns Hopkins University Press, Apr. 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Question: Why might a disabled college student's academic experience differ from that of a normal, healthy student?
My thoughts before reading the source: Every college student has a unique academic experience, however, students living with disabilities have experiences even more unique compared to the regular student's. Personalized accommodations are available within colleges in order to help these students succeed in their classes, but I am not convinced that this is enough to provide a normal college experience. Many disabled students have a harder time concentrating and completing work may take them longer than others. School feels like extra work because they have to balance academics and taking care of their physical needs.
Why I think this source will be useful: The title of this source is "Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers College Students with Disabilities Experience in Higher Education". This intrigues me because it will not all be based on experiments, as many articles are, speaking qualitatively, which will hopefully give a good point of stasis that I can find things to agree with and question. (Edit: I was wrong about the experimental data, but it was still followed up by a good opinion that I could synthesize.)
Summarize- This source summarized a study of 16 college students with disabilities and their everyday experiences for ten weeks. Students reported a variety of struggles, including that of communicating with instructors, trying to control their symptoms while in class, living with side-effects of required medications, and more. The author concludes these findings to illustrate the disabled students' lack of self-awareness, self-advocacy, self-regulation, and self-determination.
Think- Many of the barriers discussed in this source made a lot of sense, as they were first-hand from those dealing with them. The author explains these things to illustrate what these disabled students lack, however I do not fully agree with these. Yes they may be less likely to communicate their needs to others (self-advocacy), but I think that these students may know themselves and their needs more than any other, therefore showing an abundance of self-awareness. Also, the fact that they are coming to college and working hard through the difficulties of their disability shows that the students does have their own self-regulation and determination to work through their struggles toward their degree.
Synthesize- My response to my question seems to branch off instead of giving a direct answer. To fit my findings better, I will change my question to ask, "What special attributes or characteristics of a disabled college student might influence the way they approach their educational and academic challenges?" I can then say how Hong believes there to be a lack of the characteristics listed above, but how I see it differently in that these students may have more of these than most others, and that these characteristics can help them stay strong as they work through their experience in higher education.
Question and Plan- I plan to lead my findings to ask how these characteristics that are unique to those who live with a disability, such as determination and empathy, might influence one's ability to perform in their future careers. This approach seems unique compared to what the reader will be expecting, which is what physical parts of college will make a difference on a disabled student's future career opportunities. Instead, I will show the emotional and internal things that could make someone living with a disability special in what they can provide in their workplace as a result of the things they have lived with and learned to overcome and push through.
While researching this topic, not only did this sub-question change but I also changed the main exploratory question of my paper. It was, "What does disability mean socially for students familiar and unfamiliar with disability as a process and a lifestyle?" and is now going to be "What does disability mean for a person's career opportunities after college?" This question seemed easier to find different points of stasis over, and I think I can take it in a unique approach by referring to the emotional and inner characteristics that a student builds through their experiences of dealing with disability throughout college. The challenges they learn to overcome could form important characteristics and an amazing work ethic that could overcome the stigma that others typically see when they see disabled people, proving them to be just as good, if not better, employees than the able-bodied.
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