Narrating the Self: A Grounded Theory Model of Emerging Purpose for College Students With Disabilities

Diverse Pathways to Purpose for College Students With Disabilities

“…We used open codes to categorize and compare ideas across participant accounts; axial codes to regroup open codes and make theoretical connections; and selective codes to refine a series of theoretical propositions. Based on an emergent theory of purpose formation (Vaccaro et al, 2018), we further examined the different ways participants expressed their senses of purpose. To do so, one research team member categorized all transcripts and provided definitions for proposed groupings.…”

“…Programs designed to promote self-determination enhance student capacity for goal setting, decision making, self-advocacy, and persistence in college (Morningstar, Lombardi, Fowler, & Test, 2017; Parker & Boutelle, 2009). Notably, although almost no studies have explored purpose in college students with disabilities (Vaccaro et al, 2018), self-determination’s emphasis on the autonomous and intentional pursuit of goals echoes much of the available literature on purpose development (cf. Getzel & Thoma, 2008; Hill et al, 2014).…”

“…This literature has also shown the relationship between purpose and identity development in later adolescence and early adulthood (e.g., Hill, Sumner, & Burrow, 2014; Malin, Reilly, Quinn, & Moran, 2013). However, almost no empirical work has focused on purpose development among adolescents and young adults with disabilities (Vaccaro, Kimball, Newman, Moore, & Troiano, 2018). Our goal is to explore how disabilities contribute to the exploration and realization of a sense of purpose.…”

Library Computer Workstations for Inclusive College Student Populations

“…The social construction of disability also causes those who are already marginalized to have a self-perception of disability. For example, Vaccaro, Kimball, Moore, Newman, and Troiano (2018) explain that "social identities...are influential aspects of self precisely because of the social value (or lack thereof) placed upon them in a particular society" (p. 50). The constructivist perspective is that a person who is "disabled" is…”

“…The International Journal of Information,Diversity,& Inclusion,4(1), 2020 ISSN 2574-3430, jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijidi/index DOI: 10.33137/ijidi.v4i1.32340 limited only by the entities that surround that individual, such as lack of a ramp for wheelchairs or the staff's willingness to adjust policy and training to be inclusive (Anastasiou & Kauffman 2011; Bogart, Rottenstein, Lund, & Bouchard 2017;Copeland, 2011;Walling, 2004). The literature tells us that, although flawed because of the way some librarians are trained to use separatist rather than inclusive instruction, there is a shift in the social construction from that of "disability" and "ADA compliance" toward one of "physically or cognitively varied" and "Universal Design" (Anastasiou & Kauffman, 2011;Bogart, Rottenstein, Lund, & Bouchard, 2017;Bonnici, Maatta, & Wells, 2009;Bonnici, Maatta, Brodsky, & Steele, 2015;Copeland, 2011;Lieber, 2007;Schlipf, 2011;Vaccaro, Kimball, Moore, Newman, & Troiano, 2018;Walling, 2004).…”