People with disabilities--Education (Higher)

This multiple-case study sought to understand how adult students with disabilities demonstrate grit in the pursuit of higher education. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this study found that adult students with disabilities demonstrate grit through seeking to understand their own disabilities and the impacts of those disabilities on their academics, finding solutions-based approaches in improving their academic skills, persevering through various forms of sacrifice, “pushing through,” and practice, seeking help from their support networks, and maintaining consistent interests in their courses of study while also keeping a greater purpose in mind. These findings are discussed in detail and implications for practice as well as future research are identified.

This study describes the experiences of nursing students with disabilities through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The sample included five current students and five graduate nurses with physical or auditory impairments and 61 nursing faculty members, staff members, patients, and fellow students. The Colaizzi (1978) method of data analysis was modified to include additional information from interviews, observations, and documents. The findings revealed important concerns related to potentially unsafe nursing practice. The findings should assist nursing faculty with admission and retention decisions and development of reasonable accommodations. Recommendations for nursing programs to develop enforceable guidelines for admission and state regulatory boards of nursing to consider licensure with practice limitations are included.