“Education Was Always My Ticket to Something More”: Disabled Transfer Students’ Educational Pursuits Across Contexts

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Supporting Disabled Students in Higher Education (Table 33)

Abstract

Although literature has explored how community college students make sense of their transfer journeys in relationship to their identities and contextual factors, minimal scholarship has specifically explored disabled students’ experiences. This narrative inquiry study involving 14 participants explores how disabled transfer students navigate their identities across time, context, and place, as well as make sense of their independence. We applied the Reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (Jones & Abes, 2013) to contextualize their experiences. In this proposal, we highlight one of the key findings: a continuum of independence and interdependence as disabled students seek out relationships and resources that support their success. Implications call for greater partnerships across educational institutions to facilitate disabled students’ resource attainment.

Authors

• Brett Ranon Nachman, University of Pittsburgh

• Ryan A. Miller, University of Tennessee

• Tynsley Gilchrist, University of North Carolina - Charlotte