Date of Conferral
2-8-2024
Date of Award
February 2024
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
James Crosby
Abstract
Faculty who have experience working with individuals with disabilities are likely to have positive feelings about accessibility however, that does not always lead to faculty adoption of accessible course design practices. A gap existed in academic research about what was known of faculty experiences in the implementation of accessible course design practices at a 4-year university in the Midwest. Exploring faculty experience gave insight to future programming needs. Guided by Mezirow’s transformational learning theory, this qualitative project study explored faculty experiences while implementing accessible course design practices to improve access for students with disabilities. Sixteen faculty participated in 1:1 interviews about their experience implementing accessible course design practices. Using In Vivo and open coding to explore the experiences of faculty in the implementation of accessible course design practices, feelings about creating accessible content, motivations and barriers to faculty developing accessible course content, and what resources faculty felt were needed were identified. This resulted in a position paper where strategies, such as the implementation of faculty learning communities (FLCs), to reduce identified barriers were recommended. FLCs foster community and have potential to increase faculty buy-in. The use of an FLC may be a key strategy in promoting university initiatives focused on positive social change leading to improvements in academic culture for faculty and students.
Recommended Citation
Rice, Stacy, "Understanding Faculty Experiences in Implementing Accessible Course Design Strategies" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15412.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15412
