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STEM and Students with Disabilities: Where are the Role Models?

Find the article here: Locke et al., 2024


Multiple learning theories encourage the use of role models within K-12 settings and have

guided research on role model representation to diversify the pursuit of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Gladstone & Cimpian, 2021; Kolne & Lindsay, 2020).

Research has been clear on the benefits of using role models, primarily focused on promoting gender and racial/ethnic diversity in the STEM workforce. Yet a critical need that has received less attention is the effectiveness of STEM role models for students with disabilities. Members of our lab conducted systematic literature review of research from the past twenty years to identify and synthesize research on STEM role model mentorship programs and/or interventions for K-12 students with disabilities.


To be included in our review articles had to meet four requirements:

  1. Expose K-12 student participants to a role model or discuss research in which participants were exposed to a role model

  2. Be focused on or include a focus on a STEM-relevant domain (e.g., math)

  3. Include a focus on and recommendations specific to students identified as having a disability (does not include simply underrepresented or at risk)

  4. Report findings of an original empirical study to minimize overlap of study representation.



We found Sixteen related studies and reviewed them to find out practical recommendations for effective use of STEM role models for students with disabilities as well as suggestions for future research.



From these articles we wanted to know:

  1. What do empirical studies conducted from 2003-2023 contribute to scientific knowledge regarding the efficacy and attributes of using role models to influence student interest in future STEM education and careers?

  2. What practical recommendations can be synthesized for educators to apply in their classrooms from the empirical research conducted to date regarding the use of role models to influence student interest in future STEM education and careers?

  3. What recommendations can be synthesized from the empirical research conducted to date to guide future research relating to the efficacy of using role models to influence student interest in future STEM education and careers? 

To answer question #1

We found that most commonly studies were conducted with high school students (n = 14) with disabilities of various types. Most often participants presented with learning disabilities, attention deficit, autism spectrum disorder, or another special education eligibility category (n = 12).  Two studies included exclusively to blind or visually impaired students (B/VI; Supalo et al., 2014; Wedler et al., 2014) and one study featured only students who were deaf or hard of hearing (DHH; Renken et al., 2021).

 

Mentors and programs were also highly variable among studies to focused on students with disabilities. Mentors ranged from seasoned STEM professionals to undergraduate students studying in STEM-related fields, and programs varied from brief two-day camps to three-year progressions including in person and virtual components. I was most common for studies to employ at least one adult professional role model whether that person be a science or special education teacher without a disability or a STEM professional with a matching disability (n = 14). However, NONE of the empirical studies consistently matched role models to proteges by their specific disability for all participants; rather, most included a mix of mentors with and without disabilities.

To answer question #2

Even though there were many differences in the methodology and participants among the

studies we found, the majority did provide practical recommendations for educators (n = 13) to apply in their classrooms regarding successful use of role models to influence student interest in STEM education and future careers. But as you might guess, the recommendations provided by each study were as varied as the studies themselves. For example, 25% (n = 4) of the studies recommended designating support personnel and providing orientation or training for role models prior to beginning the mentorship program. Researchers also recommended ensuring student supports were established for mentees, including: (a) accessibility measures like large print, text readers, regularly scheduled breaks, or other accommodations (encouraged by three of the 16 articles) and (b) providing technical support such as assistance navigating Zoom meetings, communication boards, or other assistive technology (encouraged by another three articles). Less than a third of the articles referenced the need to focus on acknowledging diverse student identities in their programming (n = 5) and just two studies discussed being mindful of the intersection between gender and disability status in mentorship programming (n = 2). Overall, the importance of establishing  role model-student rapport and mentors receiving adequate training was highlighted, while other suggestions such as the value of virtual programming were only mentioned in a single study (Gregg et al., 2017). Graham & Jefferson, 2019 suggested role model programs maximize opportunities to celebrate mentee successes. And both Lam et al., 2008 and Supalo et al., 2014 suggested peer mentor/mentee programs that encourage increased interaction between students with and without special education services to foster a sense of belonging among students with disabilities within their STEM-related environments.

Surprisingly, only one article, which studies the intersection of adolescents’ deaf, black, and STEM identities, recommended that practitioners work to match mentors and mentees by their personal identities or disability type (Renken et al., 2021) despite an emphasis of all but one study on including role models with disability identities (n = 15).


To answer question #3

Fewer articles provided research-focused recommendations (n = 10) and again no recommendation resulted consistently across all studies. The variation in additional research recommendations speaks to the broad need for more research on supporting students with disabilities through use of mentors to pursue futures in STEM. Some suggestions included: conducting future studies that investigate effectiveness of matching role models and their student protégés by disability type, studies across various student age groups, and studies to examine the efficacy of differing mentorship approaches and program designs (e.g., virtual versus in person, finite camp-based programs versus a series of monthly meetings over time, programs in real-world settings versus while at school, peers as mentors versus adults).

Overall, our search through the literature from the past twenty years tells us that not enough research has focused on encouraging students with disabilities to pursue STEM careers. All the studies we examined in this review reported positive outcomes of role model or mentor programming to support or increase STEM interest and activities among students with varied disabilities. Initial research findings do suggest that STEM role models for students with disabilities is a promising avenue for supporting disability representation in STEM that warrants further investigation (Gladstone & Cimpian, 2021; Kolne & Lindsay, 2020; Lawner et. al., 2019).

Follow this link to read the full article! Locke et al., 2024


Locke, S., Rodrigues, J., & Mirielli, L. G. (2024). STEM role models for students with disabilities: A systematic review highlighting recommendations for the classroom and future research. School Science and Mathematics, 1–14. https://doi-org.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/10.1111/ssm.12643

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