Individual and School Contributors to Disparities by Disability Status in STEM Achievement, Attitudes, and Choices

• In Event: 15.055 - Experiences in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

This study investigates the origins of disparities by disability status in postsecondary STEM choices using nationally representative data on over 20,000 adolescents from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS). Regardless of disability status, adolescents’ postsecondary STEM choices are a product of both achievement and attitudes. GPA in STEM coursework associates more closely than other measures of achievement and attitudes with intending postsecondary education for the largest number of adolescents, and science identity/self-efficacy associates most closely with intending a STEM major. The negative effect of a disability classification is best explained by the lower socioeconomic status of youth with disability classifications, as well as the heightened prevalence of special education placements and of negative student body issues at their schools.

Authors

• Dara Shifrer, Portland State University

• Daniel Mackin Freeman, Portland State University