Disabilities Empowering Tinkering: Stories of Learners With Disabilities at Library Makerspaces (Poster 9)

• In Event: (Re)Imagining Different Educational Realities: Anti-Deficit Approaches in Informal Learning Environments Research

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework 

Maker education has promoted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for various groups of learners, but it has also been criticized for not including "all" populations (Melo & Nichols, 2020). With a few exceptions (e.g., Anderson, 2018; Seo, 2019), youth with disabilities is one group that has often been excluded from discussions on maker education. While previous studies have provided insights into accessible environments of makerspaces or maker technology, few studies focused on how a learning experience can be more creative -- beyond accessible -- when learners with disabilities engage in making.  

 

A strength-based approach was adopted for supporting learners with disabilities and their caregivers to emphasize their strengths instead of their deficits and satisfy their individual needs (e.g., Elder et al., 2018; Steiner, 2011). Yet, few studies examined how the strengths of learners with disabilities could be highlighted and empowered in makerspaces or maker education programs. In this study, we aim to understand (a) how learners with disabilities tinkered with ideas from their unique situations and (b) how informal educators (e.g., makerspace staff) supported the strengths of youth with disabilities. 

 

Methods 

This study focused on makerspaces and maker programs in public libraries, considering that public libraries often provide services for various populations at no charge. We conducted group and individual interviews with library staff (12 in total from 11 libraries nationwide in the USA) who were in charge of makerspaces or maker programs in their libraries. Our semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom for about 1 to 1.5 hours each and fully transcribed. During the interviews, participants shared about their education settings as well as their experiences when they directly interacted with learners with disabilities in their maker programs and/or makerspaces. Interview transcripts were reviewed and coded by three researchers using the thematic analysis approach (Glesne, 2016).  

 

Findings 

Based on the strength-based approach, we found some themes that how disabilities were approached in makerspaces and maker programs and how learners with disabilities engage in their learning. First, in some cases, maker technology was used as a cultural tool (Pea, 1993) that helped learners understand the world. For example, one participant reported that their makerspace created a 3D map of their town for visually impaired learners to interpret the map. In some other cases, it was reported that learners actively tinkered with creative ideas based on their own unique situations (i.e., disabilities), such as making a creative hand with a potato smasher for sewing activities. However, while all our participants as informal educators recognized the importance of accessibility, some participants considered "making it easier" would be the same as accessible, which could be apart from the strength-based approach.  

 

Discussion 

Our analysis highlighted how the strengths of learners with disabilities could be empowered (and not empowered) in informal maker education settings. We acknowledge that our study did not include the first-hand voices of learners with disabilities, but our future study will collect observational and conversational data from learners with disabilities and/or their caregivers.   

Authors

• Yong Ju Jung, University of Oklahoma

• June Abbas, University of Oklahoma

• Nazmin Sultana, University of Oklahoma