Understanding the Process: How Undergraduate Students Develop Constructs of Disability in Service-Learning: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach

Abstract

Little research exists on how undergraduate students develop constructs or an understanding of disability during community-engaged service-learning experiences in adapted physical activity. Many studies have been conducted on attitudinal change in undergraduates working with individuals with disabilities. The researcher conducted a previous constructivist grounded theory study (Reshaping Understanding) that used Small Moment Reflections to develop a framework to identify student constructions of disability through a service-learning experience. However, the study determined two limitations: questioning the authenticity of students’ reflections and the limited diversity of client disability. This study was conducted to resolve the identified limitations and gather data to support or refute the Reshaping Understanding framework. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and a new sample of Small Moment Reflections, which included a diverse set of disability diagnoses. Using the constructivist grounded theory, the researcher analyzed the samples from both data collection methods and compared each separately to the original framework. Results from the data analysis supported the Reshaping Understanding framework in both studies. The new data supported undergraduate stages of change and threads of disability constructs with minor variations. Variations only existed when fine-tuning the coding within each stage and thread. Most codes fully supported the original framework. Some previous codes were not supported and were removed, while newly identified ones that were heavily supported were added to the existing framework. Since the stages and threads were consistent with the original framework, the researcher confirmed that a psychosocial process existed. The Reshaping Understanding framework transitioned into the Cultivating Understanding psychosocial process to better depict how the change process evolves metaphorically. While the threads remained unchanged in identification, the stages were re-identified. The results of this study provide evidence that pre-professionals working with individuals with disabilities experience a change in understanding disability as they move through service-learning experiences. This offers pedagogical implications for teaching students about disability in the classroom and through experiential learning. Additionally, it paves the way for new research studies that may help further develop the Cultivating Understanding psychosocial process.