| Title: |
An Awakening Consciousness: Underrepresented and Racially Minoritized Disabled College Student Experiences |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Warren E. Whitaker |
| Source: |
Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. 2025 38(2):491-507. |
| Availability: |
Association on Higher Education and Disability. 8015 West Kenton Circle Suite 230, Huntersville, NC 28078. Tel: 704-947-7779; Fax: 704-948-7779; e-mail: JPED@ahead.org; Web site: https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
17 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Higher Education; Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: |
College Students; Students with Disabilities; Minority Group Students; Disproportionate Representation; Race; Student Experience; Student Needs; Racism; Attitudes toward Disabilities; Equal Education; African American Students; Hispanic American Students; American Indian Students |
| ISSN: |
2379-7762; 2328-3343 |
| Abstract: |
There has been considerable research examining racialized experiences and disabled experiences separately in higher education. Disabled student experiences have been marked by having to navigate institutional oppressive racist or disabled structures to meet the educational needs required to succeed on campus. There has been minimal research examining the combination of racialized, disabled experiences in higher education. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to illustrate how six underrepresented and racially minoritized (URM) disabled students experience race and disability while navigating higher education. Disability Critical Race (DisCrit) framework guided the research and interpretation of the results. This study used an identity-first language approach to connect race and disability to participants and provide autonomy and control of individual and collective racialized, disabled experiences. Through semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups, this study found that students perceived racialized experiences more tangibly than disabled experiences, there was a lack of representation on campus needed to meet URM disabled students' needs, and building URM disabled students' community created asset-based perceptions of racialized and disabled experiences. These findings should help higher education administration, faculty, staff, and students create supportive programs, initiatives, structures, and strategic planning that dismantle inherent racist and ableist structures, prioritize URM-disabled students, and provide more equitable higher education experiences and outcomes. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1483127 |
| Database: |
ERIC |