Ezekiel Kimball

Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Future Research

In this chapter, we describe the current state of theory and research related to the higher education experiences of students with disabilities. It begins with a review of the legal and theoretical frameworks that shape perceptions and social understandings of disability, and influence the educational experiences of students with disabilities. We next review recent empirical studies in order to describe access trajectories, college experiences, and college outcomes for students with disabilities. Building from this discussion, the theoretical and methodological perspectives most frequently employed in research focused on students with disabilities are described. The chapter then discusses the modifications that could be made to three major higher education conceptual models—Weidman’s (1989) conceptual model of undergraduate socialization; Perna’s (2006) conceptual model of college choice; and Hurtado, Alvarez, Guillermo-Wann, Cuellar, and Arellano’s (2012) Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments— to take into account the experiences of students with disabilities:. We conclude the chapter with recommendations regarding topics and strategies for future scholarly work.

The Transgender Studies Reader 2

The Transgender Studies Reader 2 is a thoroughly researched, deeply engaging volume of empirical and theoretical pieces with broad relevance to the field of higher education. Existing research demonstrates climates in colleges and universities across the nation are hostile to transgender students (Effrig, Bieschke, & Locke, 2011), with students reporting harassment on campus due to their gender identity (Rankin, Weber, Blumenfeld, & Frazer, 2010). Policies and practices within colleges and universities perpetuate dominant power relations that legitimize gender norms, making it very difficult for transgender students to experience and navigate campus environments authentically and visibly. While the work does not focus specifically on higher education, readers of this book are pushed to think critically about the ways the experiences of transgender persons require student affairs professionals to rethink present practices. This book reveals the field of transgender studies as intersectional and far reaching in that it is a field living within every discipline and is challenging the normative approach to scholarship.

Student Affairs Professionals Supporting Students with Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Model

In an action-based grounded theory project, the authors collected data from 31 student affairs professionals. During seven focus groups, practitioners described feeling unknowledgeable about disability law, accommodations, and diagnoses. However, they drew upon their core values and transferrable skills to support individual students. Participants wanted to move beyond “small wins” with individual students to campus-wide inclusion. To achieve this goal, they engaged in self-directed learning, collaboration, and proactive strategies. An emergent model is presented.

Using History to Promote Reflection: A Model for Reframing Student Affairs Practice.

Abstract Though history has long been a part of graduate preparation in higher education administration, new student affairs professionals often struggle to see its relevance to their work. We present a conceptual framework that links organizational ecology, institutional culture and climate, and student development through a historical lens. We then provide concrete recommendations regarding the framework’s use as a reflexive tool

Disability and College Students: A Critical Examination of a Multivalent Identity

Abstract Disability is a multivalent, fluid concept that encompasses a broad set of phenomena that shape the experiences of individuals as they interact with others; social systems and processes; and legal structures. A disability identity also encompasses a range of different diagnoses and levels of visibility, which serve to influence whether others perceive a person to have a disability. Recognizing the multivalent nature of disability-as-identity makes it possible to understand more fully the experiences of students with disabilities in higher education institutions. Since there is no single theoretical framework that can account for the multivalent nature of disability identity, we utilize the concept of theoretical borderlands (Anzaldua, 1987) – spaces where ideas come into conflict with one another – to bring crip theory (Kafer, 2013; McRuer, 2006) and critical queer theory (Munoz, 1999; Wilchins, 2014) into conversation with each other to explore disability identity. We explore the medical, legal, diagnostic, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions of disability identity, concluding with a call to consider the intersectional nature of disability. We also consider the implications for higher education research and practice.

Narrating the Self: A Grounded Theory Model of Emerging Purpose for College Students With Disabilities

Abstract: This article presents findings and a model from a constructivist grounded theory study about purpose development for college students with disabilities. The 59 participants, drawn from 4 different higher education institutions, self-identified as having 1 or more of a variety of disabilities. Students engaged in imagination, exploration, and integration as part of the developmental process of developing a sense of purpose. Important social contexts and intersecting social identities also influenced the narrative of self that students created regarding their purpose.

Navigating Disability in Campus Housing: An Ecological Analysis of Student Affairs Work

Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model (1979, 1993), we analyzed grounded theory data from 31 student affairs professionals about supporting students with and without disabilities in, and beyond, the university microsystem of housing. Participants described the challenge of simultaneously meeting the needs of students with and without disabilities with regard to: assigning of single residence hall rooms, allowing service/comfort animals on campus, and navigating interpersonal conflicts. Student affairs professionals also expressed the need for cross-campus collaborations.

Readiness Realities: Struggles and Successes During the Transition to College: Hollander, P. W. (2017). Boston, MA: Sense Publishers. 108 pp. ISBN 9789463009362 (paperback)

Readiness Realities is a slim volume but offers a powerful message: Students live complicated lives and interface with higher education institutions in complex ways. Hollander used the metaphor of a loving relationship—that is, one characterized by mutual respect and reciprocity—to show that the pairing between student and institution is too often one-sided. Students encounter stress, find that many of their identities are not truly valued by the institution, experience constant reminders of what they do not know, and navigate labyrinthine bureaucracies with little guidance. Meanwhile, the institution does not change, despite the mounting frustration of students. Using memoir, Hollander shared insights about how educators can strengthen the partnership between student and institution drawn from her work supporting minoritized students. Hollander framed Readiness Realities as a response to the pervasive accountability culture in U.S. schooling, which fails to acknowledge the emotional labor of students who are ill-served by the educational system. She argued: “College is not an entity that offers unconditional love” (p. 11). As a result, institutions must assume more responsibility for developing a positive relationship with students if they hope to reach students who are “not quite college-ready” (p. 1).

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Readiness Realities is a slim volume but offers a powerful message: Students live complicated lives and interface with higher education institutions in complex ways. Hollander used the metaphor of a loving relationship—that is, one characterized by mutual respect and reciprocity—to show that the pairing between student and institution is too often one-sided. Students encounter stress, find that many of their identities are not truly valued by the institution, experience constant reminders of what they do not know, and navigate labyrinthine bureaucracies with little guidance. Meanwhile, the institution does not change, despite the mounting frustration of students. Using memoir, Hollander shared insights about how educators can strengthen the partnership between student and institution drawn from her work supporting minoritized students. Hollander framed Readiness Realities as a response to the pervasive accountability culture in U.S. schooling, which fails to acknowledge the emotional labor of students who are ill-served by the educational system. She argued: “College is not an entity that offers unconditional love” (p. 11). As a result, institutions must assume more responsibility for developing a positive relationship with students if they hope to reach students who are “not quite college-ready” (p. 1).

Readiness Realities: Struggles and Successes During the Transition to College: Hollander, P. W. (2017). Readiness realities: Struggles and successes during the transition to college. Boston, MA: Sense Publishers. 108 pp. ISBN 9789463009362 (paperback)

Readiness Realities is a slim volume but offers a powerful message: Students live complicated lives and interface with higher education institutions in complex ways. Hollander used the metaphor of a loving relationship—that is, one characterized by mutual respect and reciprocity—to show that the pairing between student and institution is too often one-sided. Students encounter stress, find that many of their identities are not truly valued by the institution, experience constant reminders of what they do not know, and navigate labyrinthine bureaucracies with little guidance. Meanwhile, the institution does not change, despite the mounting frustration of students. Using memoir, Hollander shared insights about how educators can strengthen the partnership between student and institution drawn from her work supporting minoritized students. Hollander framed Readiness Realities as a response to the pervasive accountability culture in U.S. schooling, which fails to acknowledge the emotional labor of students who are ill-served by the educational system. She argued: “College is not an entity that offers unconditional love” (p. 11). As a result, institutions must assume more responsibility for developing a positive relationship with students if they hope to reach students who are “not quite college-ready” (p. 1).