Lack of attention to underrepresented student populations is a threat to the United States’ preeminence in higher education. Benefits corporations have experienced through an inclusive and neurodiverse workforce

1. A Qualitative Case Study of Land-
Grants and Retention of Students
with Disabilities
Presented by
LaRachelle Samuel-Smith
Pre-Data Collection Conference Call
Friday, October 23, 2020
Dissertation Research Committee
Dr. Catharine Penfold Navarro | Dr. Katherine Berg O’Toole | Dr. Kate Emmons

2. Introduction
• Lack of attention to
underrepresented student
populations is a threat to the United
States’ preeminence in higher
education
• Benefits corporations have
experienced through an inclusive
and neurodiverse workforce

3. Statement
of the
Problem
• Numerous studies revealed that underrepresented
students, including students with disabilities are
enrolling in college are on an upward trend since the
enactment of several statutes relating to higher
education in the United States (Ju, Zeng, &
Landmark, 2017; Knight, Wessel, & Markle, 2018;
Mitchell & Gansemer-Topf, 2016)
• hidden learning disabilities that Lovett, Nelson, and
Lindstrom (2015) recognized comprises most
disability types in higher education
• public institutions’ performance in this focus area
has not been clearly explained, particularly land
grant universities with the specific mission of
providing access to education for all citizens including
the working class
– According to the Association of Public & Land-
Grant Universities, due to the historical context
of segregation in the South, each of the
predominantly white institutions has a
counterpart that is a historically black
university in this region

4. Theories
Supporting
this
Research
• Theory of Self-Determination
(Weyhmeyer & Little, 2013)
– combination of skills, knowledge,
and beliefs that promote goal-
directed, self-regulated, and
autonomous behavior
– involve problem-solving and
making independent decisions
about personal activities, choices
about educational goals, and
courageous control of all aspects
of their lives
• Extend the work of the Leadership in
Higher Education specialization about
administrative strategies to retain and
graduate students with hidden
learning disabilities

5. Methodology
• Collective case study design
– refines theory and provides insight on current
and relevant lessons learned offered by
personal experiences
– compares multiple cases in order to provide
insight into an issue
– cross-case analysis bound within the
southern region of the land-grant system
• Guides the exploration through a deep
dive into the historical context of
educational segregation in the South

6. Methodology
• Purposive sampling
– based on the need to “discover, understand, and
gain insight” about a phenomenon.
• Public institutions, specifically land-grant
university administrators at both historically
black colleges and universities and
predominantly white institutions
– designation is determined by federal
statute through the Morrill Acts of 1862
and 1890 which limits the number of
institutional sites in the population
• Pair administrative officers at each site that
manage student affairs and more specifically
disability services

7. Methodology
• Data Collection
– Web conference interviews from at least four
to six sites within the system
• Aggregate data from pairs
• Save unique data for comparison in future
research
– Descriptions of policy documents, print and
digital publications, posted announcements,
and other forms of materials will be
examined for strategic approaches to
inclusiveness

8. Methodology
• Instrumentation/Questions
– Q1: Give an example of how you have enabled your support staff to assist
students with hidden learning disabilities.
– Q2: Talk about a time when you enabled your support staff to assist students
with hidden learning disabilities with self-regulated behaviors.
– Q3: How do you influence support staff to help students with hidden learning
disabilities act autonomously?
– Q4: How do you influence support staff to help students with hidden learning
disabilities to act in a self-realizing manner?
– Q5: How do you provide resources to support staff so students with hidden
learning disabilities are empowered to initiate and respond to situations that
impact their academic progress?
– Q6: How do you describe the purpose or intent of each document and artifact
provided in the reference list of documents and photos of artifacts to enable
your support staff in their efforts to assist students with hidden learning
disabilities?

9. Methodology
• Propose Data Analysis
– transcribing the interviews and coding the content including responses
related to documents and artifacts in three phases using Nvivo software
• Open coding to search for common themes in the individual
interviews, document descriptions and content, and artifact
descriptions. These will be used to relate strategies that are unique
to each leader.
• Axial coding to search for common themes from the sets of data in
the HBCU and PWI groups. These will be used to connect strategies
to the historical and cultural differences that align with the social
norms of the groups.
• Selective coding to group the data into the strategies that reflect
the core characteristics of the Theory of Self-Determination such
as…
– a. Self-regulated behaviors
– b. Acting autonomously
– c. Acting in a self-realizing manner
– d. Initiate and respond to situations in an empowered
manner

10. Data Collection Plan
• purpose of the study and the collection process will be
reviewed
• the signed informed consent will be confirmed and received
from each of the participants
• researcher will give the participant some definitions for the key
concepts thereby helping them to speak on the interview
questions effectively
• online interviews will be used to solicit answers to the semi-
structured guiding questions. Data for this study will be
recorded during the online interviews using a web conference
platform
• they will be asked to prepare a reference list of digital
documents and photos of artifacts and organize them for review
• researcher will thank the participant and explain the next steps
which may include member checks and final publication of the
data results

11. References
Ju, S., Zeng, W., & Landmark, L. J. (2017). Self determination and academic success of
students with disabilities in postsecondary education: A review. Journal of
Disability Policy Studies, 28(3), 180-189. doi:10.1177/1044207317739402
Knight, W., Wessel, R. D., & Markle, L. (2018) Persistence to graduation for students
with disabilities: Implications for performance-based outcomes. Journal of
College Student Retention: Research, Theory Practice, 19(4), 362-380.
doi:10.1177/1521025116632534
Lovett, B. J., Nelson, J. M., & Lindstrom, W. (2015) Documenting hidden disabilities in
higher education: Analysis of recent guidance from the association on higher
education and disability (AHEAD). Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 26(1),
44-53. doi:10.1177/1044207314533383
Mitchell, J. J., & Gansemer Topf, A. (2016) Academic coaching and self regulation:
Promoting the success of students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary
Education Disability, 29(3), 249-256.
Wehmeyer, M. L., & Little, T. D. (2013) Self Determination. In The Oxford
Handbook of Positive Psychology and Disability (pp. 1-40). Oxford University
Press.

12. Questions