Social class and learning disabilities: Intersectional effects on college students in New York City

Abstract

Purpose

Previous quantitative research documents that college students with disabilities do not attain higher education at rates equal to their nondisabled peers. This qualitative study posits that socioeconomic status (SES) is a determinant of this discrepancy, and explores how SES and disability shape the college experience of New York City (NYC) students with learning disabilities (LDs), specifically.

Methodology

Research findings from semi-structured interviews with students with LDs (n = 10) at a low-SES and a high-SES colleges are presented against the backdrop of administrative data from NYC baccalaureate-granting colleges (n = 44), disability staff surveys (n = 21), and disability staff interviews (n = 9). Examined through the lens of political economy, qualitative data demonstrate the ways colleges create environments that enable or hinder student success through difference in policy implementation.

Findings

Student themes like stress, identity, and entitlement are discussed against the theoretical and empirical exploration of the intersectionality of SES and disability. Socioeconomic differences are linked to variation in students’ college choice, accessing evaluations, requesting accommodations, and receiving supplementary supports.

Citation

Thompson, A. (2013), "Social class and learning disabilities: Intersectional effects on college students in New York City", Disability and Intersecting Statuses (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 267-292. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3547(2013)0000007012