STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH ACCESSIBILITY: BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES

The positive outcomes of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are well established in science fields. However, little is known about how students become involved in these experiences. Exploring the opportunities and barriers students face when considering participating in an URE can help faculty and departments improve equity of access to these experiences.

A survey was disseminated at four institutions to identify opportunities and barriers to URE participation for undergraduate science majors. The respondents (n=833) addressed the impact of influences on URE participation on a Likert-type scale of extreme barrier (1) to extreme opportunity (7).

Challenges related to accessibility were identified as the largest barrier to URE participation by all participants regardless of disability status (M=3.50; SD=1.37). Seventy participants (8.40%) self-identified as having a disability. Independent-samples t-tests indicated two of the five scale factors, Who you know (p<.001) and How you think (p=.003) to be significantly greater opportunities for students reporting a disability than their peers. Significantly more researchers (12.92%) compared to non-researchers (6.77%) reported a disability (z-test, p=.004) indicating that these students are participating in research despite accessibility challenges they may face. To better understand their experiences, ten interview participants were purposely selected to allow for further explanation of student experience surrounding entry into UREs. Of these, four interview participants self-identified as having a disability. Each of these four participants described facing structural barriers to research participation and none of them described instances of positive communication about research experiences despite this being a common theme in students who did not identify a disability.

This work provides insight into the experiences of students with disabilities surrounding entry into UREs and identifies areas in which science departments can improve the accessibility of UREs for all students.