Beyond Accessibility: Black Disabled Students’ University Experiences

• In Event: AERA Research-in-Progress Roundtable Session 1
  In Invited Roundtable: Understanding the Experiences of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education (Table 4)

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of Black undergraduate students with disabilities navigating Canadian universities, focusing on how intersecting factors such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and disability impact their academic journeys. Using Critical Narrative Analysis, Critical Race Theory, and Disability Studies in Education as its theoretical framework, this research examines institutional barriers, stereotyping, and marginalization these students face. Findings from this project aim to fill critical research gaps, inform equity-focused policies, and improve retention and graduation rates. The significance of this study highlights the nuanced ways institutional structures fail to support Black disabled students as they navigate multiple axes of marginalization, offering a critical framework that U.S. scholars and practitioners can adapt to their own contexts.

Author

• Prilly Bicknell-Hersco, York University