Why did I choose these studies? Decisions of students with disabilities in Spanish higher education

Abstract

The choice of higher education studies is a key moment for students with disabilities. In this line, the progressive increase in the number of students with disabilities at Spanish universities implies an imminent need to delve further into the reasons that have led them to choose university studies. A total of 91 university graduates with disabilities from different Spanish universities participated in this study. The data were obtained through semi-structured individual interviews and, subsequently, a mixed methods analysis was carried out. On the one hand, the obtained qualitative results indicate that decision-making is mainly based on personal interest. A significant proportion of respondents also referred to other factors, including family, disability and specialisation. On the other hand, the quantitative results define significant associations between various factors, such as gender, type of disability and area of expertise. In conclusion, these results are relevant in terms of guaranteeing the university success of students with disabilities, since, although the choice of degree is a complex issue due to the diversity of factors involved, having this information would allow universities to anticipate in order to favour their vocational development. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Higher education disability Decision-making Motives

Index Keywords

adult female human male Decision making Article Vocational education qualitative research physician autism intellectual impairment mental deficiency physical disability major clinical study knowledge sex difference semi structured interview disabled student hearing impairment visual impairment university student quantitative study tertiary education Spain family depression Asperger syndrome bipolar disorder blindness disability severity graduate student low vision obsessive compulsive disorder physical disease psychologist schizophrenia social worker

Author Affiliations

Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruna, Spain

Department of Pedagogy and Didactics of Social Sciences, Universidad Jaume I, Castellon de la Plana, Castellon, Spain

Department of Didactics, Universidad de Cádiz, Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain

Department of Pedagogy and Didactics, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruna, A Coruña, Spain

Funding & Acknowledgements

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, MICINN

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, State Research Agency and FEDER. The authors would like to thank the participating students and observers.

Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, State Research Agency and FEDER. The authors would like to thank the participating students and observers.

Federación Española de Enfermedades Raras

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, State Research Agency and FEDER. The authors would like to thank the participating students and observers.

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Why did I choose these studies? Decisions of students with disabilities in Spanish higher education

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