HARRINGTON, LALENJA GIDDENS, Ph.D. (Un)restricting the Imagination: Community Engaged Research Involving College Students with Intellectual Disabilities and Implications on Scholarship, Postsecondary Programming and Pedagogy in Higher Education. (2017) Directed by Dr. Leila Villaverde. 318 pp. This dissertation explores the intersection of community engaged research and arts-based methodologies involving students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) on a college campus, with broader theoretical connections related to disability identity and day to day practice that impacts access to higher education. This intersection, presented as a nexus of “visionary pragmatism” in the words of Patricia Hill Collins (1996) represents a coming together of theory/vision and the practical strategies that students with “unruly body/minds” must use to navigate the world on their own terms. Using thematic and poetic analysis of person centered planning documents and student interviews, the research circle (consisting of students, faculty, community members and program staff) sought to answer two research questions: 1) what do students with ID consider personal growth as it relates to being in college, and 2) how do students perceive the supports needed to achieve their desired goals. The community engaged approach encouraged power sharing within the research circle, including students with ID as co-researchers in collective data collection and analysis, and as peer interviewers. In alignment with Universal Design and feedback from scholars with ID regarding accessible formatting, literature, discussion and analysis are presented in a multimodal format that includes graphics and poetry. Themes from the data reflect perceptions of college as a path to self-realization and self-determination (critical consciousness), valued roles, careers and financial stability, interdependence, social justice and inclusion. (UN)RESTRICTING THE IMAGINATION: COMMUNITY ENGAGED RESEARCH INVOLVING COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND IMPLICATIONS ON SCHOLARSHIP, POSTSECONDARY PROGRAMMING AND PEDAGOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION by Lalenja Giddens Harrington A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2017 Approved by ________________________________ Committee Chair APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation written by Lalenja Giddens Harrington has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair. ______________________________ Committee Members. _______________________________ ._______________________________ ._______________________________ ___________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee _________________________ Date of Final Oral Examination ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This process has truly been like no other, and I would like to thank my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Leila Villaverde for her unwavering support and guidance on this challenging journey. I will be forever grateful for her reminders that the circus is right here at my fingertips and that I should reach out and make it mine. I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Silvia Bettez, who encouraged and supported all of my community engaged “aha” moments, Dr. Carl Lashley, who helped us to break new ground with the IRB and accessibility, and Dr. Kathy Hytten who challenged me to be clear and intentional-always. I would also like to thank Dr. Rochelle Brock for her leadership and personal mentoring Thank you all for making me feel like I could in fact, get it done. I would also like to thank the members of our community engaged research circle, who trusted the process and whose commitment to honoring all voices at the table made this endeavor such a meaningful one-I look forward to taking next steps with you all. This research is not just mine: it is it is ours. Simon Chase Kimberly Miller Ryan Milligan Lisa Pluff Genevieve Smith Denise Sumiel Ginger Walton Bradford West Cate Weir iii I am deeply appreciative of my team at Beyond Academics/ICS at UNCG, who keep me grounded in the “why” and hold my feet to the fire every day, along with the invaluable mentoring of Joan Johnson and Dr. Terri Shelton, two women who have made an incredible mark on me as a professional. Thank you for the opportunity to be on such an incredible team who has been building this plane for 10 years and will keep building it until it is no longer required to get us where we need to go. I would like to thank my family for their love and patience. To my parents, my sister, my niece and nephew, all of the Giddens, Jamiesons and the rest of my extended family- thank you for understanding every missed meal and visit. Justin you inspire me on the daily to keep it real, keep it current, and most importantly- to listen and learn-thank you for knowing that “I got this.” To my friends who have cheered me on and perhaps forgotten what I look like, to my classmates who have been in the trenches with me, thank you for the support and faith that I could do it. And most importantly, I would like to thank all of the students with whom I work. It is an honor to stand in solidarity with each and every one of you- thank you for teaching me so much about “can” over these ten years, I am forever changed by it, and by you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Vignette 1-Nothing About Us Without Us ....................................... 4 Vignette 2- Presuming Competence .............................................. 7 Terms- Unrestricted Imagination ..................................................... 9 Terms -Postsecondary Education ................................................. 10 Terms -Models of Disability ........................................................... 12 Terms -Acts of Naming ................................................................. 14 Terms -Inclusive Research ........................................................... 16 Evolution of a Study ...................................................................... 17 Trajectory of Research/My Position .............................................. 19 At the Intersection-Map of a Dissertation ...................................... 23 Snapshot- Theory .......................................................................... 25 Snapshot-Research ...................................................................... 30 Snapshot- Praxis ........................................................................... 37 II. PSE LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .......................... 41 The Era of Postsecondary Education ............................................ 42 PSE as Sites of Self-determination ............................................... 49 Different PSE Lenses .................................................................... 51 Historical Backdrop- Special Education ........................................ 56 Critical Special Education and Challenges to the Medical Model ........................................................................... 61 Disability Studies(DS) and Critical Disability Studies (CDS) ......... 65 Disability Studies in Education (DSE) ........................................... 67 Black Disability Studies ................................................................. 70 Feminist Disability Studies ............................................................ 72 v III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ............................................................... 74 Traditional Approaches to Disability Research .............................. 74 Emancipatory Research Methods ................................................. 82 Community Engaged Research .................................................... 85 Arts Based Research .................................................................... 90 Poetic Inquiry ................................................................................ 92 Inclusive Research ........................................................................ 94 IV. GRAPHIC GUIDE TO THIS DISSSERTATION .......................................... 98 V. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 120 VI. DATA ANALYSIS RELATED TO THEMES OF INDIVIDUAL AGENCY......................................................................... 155 Theme 1 (College as a Path to Critical Consciousness) ............. 159 Theme 2 (College as a Path to Career and Financial Stability) ................................................................... 171 Theme 3 (College as a Path to Interdependence) ...................... 176 VII. DATA ANALYSIS RELATED TO THEMES OF SOCIETAL IMPACT ............................................................................ 183 Theme 1 (College as a Path to What All Students Want) ............ 183 Theme 2 (College as a Path to Valued Roles) ............................ 193 Theme 3 (College as a Path to Social Justice/Access) ............... 196 VIII. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 203