What About Disabled Latinos in Engineering? (Poster 9)

• In Event: Constructing Educational Possibilities for Latin* Engineering Students: Call to Action for the Institutions and Systems That Serve Them

Abstract

Objectives
The objective of our paper is to unveil the dearth of engineering education literature dedicated to the intersection of race/ethnicity and disability by engaging in a critical analysis of the lived experiences of disabled Latino/a/xs in engineering. With an emphasis on the fact that the Latino/a/x community is not a monolith, we call for the collection and analysis of disaggregated data by race/ethnicity, gender, and disability for students within engineering.

Theoretical framework
The study is an initial scoping review that is guided by the theoretical framework of LatDisCrit (Padilla, 2021), which is an integration of LatCrit theory (Bernal, 2002; Dávila & de Bradley, 2010) and DisCrit (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2016) within the broader Critical Race Theory (CRT) lineage. Both LatCrit and DisCrit interrogate the interplay of race/ethnicity, diasporic cultures, historical social and political factors, and disability. LatDisCrit, in particular, honors and complicates the multidimensional nature of Latino/a/x identities.

Modes of inquiry
We conducted multiple literature searches utilizing Google Scholar, which has been demonstrated to return “more results and more citations, the fewest duplicate results and empty searches, and the broadest range of literature types” (Ong et al., 2020, p. 6). We attempted to understand how race/ethnicity and disability influence disabled Latino/a/x undergraduate engineering students by threading together isolated engineering education research findings that pertained to disability and Latino/a/xs. Our hope was to highlight the research gaps that need to be addressed, and we argue that an intersectional approach to engineering and STEM education research, in general, needs to include disability.

Data sources
Our research synthesizes knowledge from an array of scholarly works focused on Latino/a/x engineering undergraduate students and engineering undergraduate students with disabilities.

Results
Despite conducting an exhaustive search, we found that the engineering education and STEM education literature on Latino/a/x engineering undergraduates (1) often have Latino/a/x students grouped with other engineering undergraduates of color and (2) have yet to look at the intersection of race/ethnicity and disability as it relates to the lived experiences of disabled Latino/a/x undergraduate engineering students. Thus, we call for the collection and analysis of disaggregated data by race/ethnicity, gender, and disability for students within engineering. We also want greater attention paid to the varied cultural backgrounds that comprise the Latino/a/x community.

Scholarly Significance of the Work
Our work constitutes a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue on diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering education. We argue for the need for intersectional research, particularly for race/ethnicity and disability given the growth of Latino/a/x populations and the increasing rate of disability within Latino/a/x communities in the U.S. More recently, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a mass disabling event that has disproportionately negatively impacted Latino/a/xs and has collectively traumatized entire communities of color (Kira et al., 2021). This is important to consider when looking at recruitment, retention, and sense of belonging within engineering education.

Authors

• Lisette Esmeralda Torres-Gerald, TERC

• Krystal Peralez, University of Texas - San Antonio