Defining a Research Agenda for Women With Disabilities in Postsecondary STEM Fields

• In Event: Supporting Students With Disabilities in Higher Education

Abstract

This systematic review investigated the success and persistence of women with disabilities in post-secondary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) settings. Intersectionality was used as the conceptual framework to guide this research. The researchers reviewed the 52 empirical studies from peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings from 2005 to 2016 with a focus on the persistence of women, women of color, and students with disabilities in post-secondary STEM. The emerging themes included personal factors of self-efficacy and science identity, gender bias and stereotype threat; as well as environmental factors of institutional culture; and finally the interplay among personal, environmental, and behavioral factors. The intersectional framework provides guidance for defining a research agenda that will investigate this understudied and underrepresented student group.

Author

• Jingrong Xie, University of Missouri System