Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing, 4(15), p. 1-27, 2022

DOI: 10.1145/3538514

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Impact of Online Learning in the Context of COVID-19 on Undergraduates with Disabilities and Mental Health Concerns

This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

Full text: Unavailable

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic upended college education and the experiences of students due to the rapid and uneven shift to online learning. This study examined the experiences of students with disabilities with online learning, with a consideration of surrounding stressors such as financial pressures. In a mixed method approach, we compared 28 undergraduate students with disabilities (including mental health concerns) to their peers during 2020, to assess differences and similarities in their educational concerns, stress levels, and COVID-19-related adversities. We found that students with disabilities entered the Spring quarter of 2020 with significantly higher concerns about classes going online, and reported more recent negative life events than other students. These differences between the two groups diminished 3 months later with the exception of recent negative life events. For a fuller understanding of students’ experiences, we conducted qualitative analysis of open-ended interviews. We examined both positive and negative experiences with online learning among students with disabilities and mental health concerns. We describe how online learning enabled greater access—e.g., reducing the need for travel to campus—alongside ways in which online learning impeded academic engagement—e.g., reducing interpersonal interaction. We highlight a need for learning systems to meet the diverse and dynamic needs of students with disabilities.