Browsing by Author "Svyantek, Martina"

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  • Disability on Campus
    Shivers, Carolyn; Fisher, Marisa; Svyantek, Martina; Spingola, Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2017-11-30)
    Slides from a panel discussion on the experience of disability in higher education. What is [dis]ability? What does and does not "count" as disability in the classroom and on campus? What programs and supports does Virginia Tech have in place? How frequently are these supports actually implemented? What are some of the gaps in supports? Panelists discuss stereotypes of disability, experiences of disability and technology on campus, and the barriers to participation in higher education for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
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    Going Beyond "No Search Results"
    Svyantek, Martina (Virginia Tech, 2020-03-25)
    One of the barriers to investigating Disability within higher education is that institutional discussion of Disability is often non-existent, even within larger discussions of diversity and inclusion. What is a researcher to do when they are trying to pay attention to multiple sites without creating an undue burden on themselves or others? This project outlines an alternative approach; instead of conducting surveys or interviews with individuals, the institutions themselves are the source of information. Using methods that center accessibility, affordability, and feasibility, an intensive document collection process was undertaken at three separate institution of higher education to elucidate barriers in performing research across time and space, focusing on the concept of research methods and results that would be truly "open access" in a manner that goes beyond financial consideration. I myself am persistently aware of the privilege of performing this research, as research around Disability is so frequently performed “on” or “for” as opposed to “by” or “with”. The methods discussed in this paper utilize the motto of Disability activism, “Nothing about us, without us” as a guiding principle, leading to strategic methodological choices that will enhance the reproducibility of both the methods and the research findings.
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    Positionality practices and dimensions of impact on equity research: A collaborative inquiry and call to the community
    Secules, Stephen; McCall, Cassandra; Mejia, Joel Alejandro; Beebe, Chanel; Masters, Adam S.; Sanchez-Pena, Matilde L.; Svyantek, Martina (2021-01)
    Background Many engineering education researchers acknowledge that their positionality impacts their research. Practices for reporting positionality vary widely and rarely incorporate a nuanced discussion of the impact of demographic identities on research. Researchers holding marginalized or relatively hidden identities must navigate additional layers regarding transparency of their positionality. Purpose We identify ways in which positionality impacts research, with a particular emphasis on demographic identity dimensions. We note that whether identities are relatively marginalized, privileged, hidden, or apparent in a research context creates complexities for conceptualizing, practicing, and disclosing one's positionality. Method In a collaborative inquiry informed by autoethnography, we assemble positionality reflections of current engineering education researchers to demonstrate the primary ways in which positionality impacts research. Results We find that positionality impacts six fundamental aspects of research: research topic, epistemology, ontology, methodology, relation to participants, and communication. These aspects of research delve deeper than conceptions of positionality as a methodological limitation, a measure to prevent bias, or a requirement for research quality. Conclusion The impact of positionality on research is complex, particularly when researchers occupy minoritized identities and for research topics that interrogate power relations between identity groups. By demonstrating the practices of interrogating and representing positionality, we hope to encourage more researchers to represent positionality transparently, thus making researchers' transparency safer for all. We argue that positionality is an important tool for reflecting on and dislocating privilege, particularly when working on equity research.
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    University Policies and the Concept of "Open Access" - Document Collection and Critique
    Svyantek, Martina (Virginia Tech, 2020-03-25)
    One of the barriers to investigating Disability within higher education is that institutional discussion of Disability is often non-existent, even within larger discussions of diversity and inclusion. This is also true within institutional policy documents, in terms of their development, organization, and maintenance. Using methods that center accessibility, affordability, and feasibility, an intensive document collection process was undertaken at three separate institution of higher education. The poster will present the results of this search - the findings at those institutions across a time frame of 25 years following the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Highlights include the definition of a "digital wall" as well as the accessibility of the resulting document collection.