This award is a Broadening Participation Research project designed to investigate to what extent GI Bill recipients with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM in public associate and baccalaureate granting institutions, the impact of veteran and disability status on STEM learning, and the organizational factors that lead to more equitable and inviting postsecondary STEM educational environments for GI Bill recipients with disabilities. Participants in this study include veterans and dependents with and without disabilities who use GI Bill benefits to attend public two and four year colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The investigation includes five specific research questions. 1) To what extent are GI Bill recipients with disabilities participating in STEM programs when compared to GI Bill recipients without disabilities? 2) How does veteran's status affect the interest, performance, persistence, and perceptions of GI Bill recipients with disabilities enrolled in STEM fields? 3) Among GI Bill recipients with disabilities, is type of disability associated with STEM enrollment? 4) What specific supports do key informants of STEM faculty members, campus service professionals (i.e. career center staff, disability support service providers), and certifying officials believe to be the most effective in supporting veterans with disabilities as well as their dependents with disabilities? 5) How do GI Bill recipients with disabilities prioritize the organizational factors which affect recruitment, enrollment and persistence in STEM programs?
There are 19,000 veterans and their dependents eligible for the GI Bill in Virginia, and the research is collecting on-line web survey data from 7,600 for their subject pool. The subjects are being recruited through all public two and four year institutions of higher education in Virginia. The surveys are constructed with input from data obtained during structured interviews with STEM faculty members, university officials who certify student eligibility for the GI Bill, veterans with disabilities, disability support professionals, and career center staff at universities and community colleges. To address the specific research questions, data is being collected from 760 veterans, and their dependents with disabilities, who are eligible for the GI Bill in Virginia. Quantitative survey responses from the disabled student subjects are being triangulated with qualitative interviews from 20 of the student veterans with disabilities enrolled in STEM. The research team is using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, including appropriate parametric and non-parametric measures.
An independent evaluation of the project, which will be conducted by Dr. Donna Jovanovich of Suna Associates, LLC, will include both formative and summative assessments.
