The Art of Disability and Identity: Using Arts-Based Methods to Examine the Relationships between Disability, Identity, and Identity Development for Young, Disabled, Women in Higher Education

<p>Within higher education, much of the research surrounding education and students with disabilities revolves around accommodations, and critiques of structural barriers to access. Further, disability within the context of higher education is often thought of through the lens of “service” and support for students with disabilities in higher education often takes a medical model approach of “curing” the student and “treating” their disability with accommodations (e.g., additional testing time), instead of acknowledging the environmental, social, and cultural factors within the classroom, or outside the classroom that may be causing the impairment. There is a noticeable gap in the higher education research of studies which prioritize identity and identity development for students with disabilities, and view disability as a part of a student's holistic identity and culture. This dissertation utilized arts-based research methods to collaborate with participants and in the spirit of Disability Studies, emphasize the voices, thoughts, and ideas of young women (18-21) with disabilities attending post-secondary institutions. The findings of this study examined the relationships between experiences within higher education and disabled young women’s understanding of themselves and their disabilities. Additionally, the findings highlighted the nuanced relationship women disabled women have with their disability, and how this changes over time. Future studies should aim to examine students with disabilities outside of exclusively their experiences with accommodations, and seek to understand the barriers to belonging, inclusivity and access from a socio-cultural lens.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year

2025

Author dc:creator

• Holzer, Amelia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Scot Danforth, Ph.D.
• Quaylan Allen, Ph.D.
• Robert Narciso, LCPC, AT-R

• identity
• arts-based research
• higher education
• students with disabilities
• women
• Disability and Equity in Education
• Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/95

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.chapman.edu:education_dissertations-1094