Presenters – (Virtual)
Tongriang Daspan and Dr. Brandy Pleasants,
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Abstract
Despite the emphasis on equity and the need for science for all citizens, Students with Disabilities (SwDs) encounter persistent barriers in college science education. Existing research has addressed challenges SwDs face in science learning, but a comprehensive synthesis of the disciplinary landscape is lacking. This study mapped the trends and patterns of disciplinary affiliations of the existing body of research on SwDs in science learning spaces from 2003 to 2023. Bibliometric and content analysis were used to synthesize research trends on SwDs in postsecondary STEM disciplines indexed in the Scopus database. A total of 55 articles were synthesized. Most of the articles reviewed situated their work within a broadly defined STEM context, rather than within distinct disciplines such as Chemistry or Biology. Likewise, most focused on students with unspecified disabilities; however, among those specifying a disability, visual impairment was the most frequently studied. Most of the research was conducted in traditional learning environments, such as classrooms and laboratories, and authors were concentrated within regions and institutions. We recommend areas where attention would work to build a more cohesive body of globally relevant insights and solutions with respect to SwDs in college science learning spaces.