THE FIGHT FOR INCLUSION: UNDERSTANDING ACCESSIBILITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Numerous scientific groups and organizations have attempted to promote efforts to recruit a more diverse group of individuals to participate in the geosciences. Despite these efforts, students with disabilities (SWDs) remain underrepresented in the discipline. Researchers surmise that this underrepresentation is primarily due to the physically strenuous nature of traditional, field-based instruction. However, field-based instruction is not the only aspect of geoscience education that can present barriers to participation. Despite additional physical barriers from inaccessible laboratory environments, SWDs are also susceptible to experience nonphysical barriers such as prejudice and bias in the geosciences. This proposed study intends to expand on available education literature by understanding the experiences of SWDs who have participated in the geosciences to identify exclusive instructional practices.

This proposed study intends to use qualitative research methods to identify exclusive aspects of current geoscience instructional practice from perspective of SWDs. Current students and recent (<2 years) graduates of geoscience programs who identify as having a mobility and/or sensory disability will be recruited to participate. This study will use maximum variation sampling to select a wide variety of participants with diverse physical and sensory abilities. Study promotion and participant selection will be conducted with the assistance of the International Association for Geoscience Diversity (IAGD), an organization dedicated to promoting geoscience accessibility. A minimum of 30 individuals will be recruited to participate. Surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions will provide the evidence to support this study. These data will provide a unique perspective on issues regarding accommodations in laboratory or in-field learning experiences and be fundamental to the creation of geoscience accessibility guidelines.