RDE-BPR1 - Collaborative Research: Modeling IT Career Choices of Persons with Disabilities: The Case of Military Personnel and Veterans

“残疾人IT职业选择的模范：军人和退伍军人案例”奖是一个广泛参与的研究项目，旨在促进对残疾军人和退伍军人进入和坚持高等教育信息技术(IT)学位课程的影响因素的了解。宾夕法尼亚州立大学和华盛顿州立大学的研究人员正在合作探索在IT领域选择职业的兴趣，这是以下因素的作用：对作为一名IT专业人员所需技能和知识的看法；对IT技能和知识的性别刻板印象；对残疾人职业角色的看法；对自己身份在性别、种族、民族、社会经济阶层和残疾方面的相对重要性；对拥有IT职业所需技能和知识的能力的自信心；本研究的主要研究问题是：1.军人和残疾退伍军人的IT角色感知与性别角色是否一致？2.军人和残疾退伍军人的IT角色感知与职业角色是否一致？3.性别角色、IT角色、职业角色与个体认同和自我效能感如何影响残疾军人和残疾退伍军人的IT职业选择？研究团队设计开发了一套综合调查数据量表，并对其进行了严格的效度和信度检验；它包括关于残疾人身份和残疾人职业作用的新的比额表。从宾夕法尼亚州立大学、华盛顿州立大学、圣地亚哥州立大学和密苏里州哥伦比亚大学哥伦比亚学院招募的参与者的数据正在收集中。正在使用网络调查从受试者那里收集数据，并使用与使用潜变量建模相对应的各种统计技术进行分析。该项目将由独立评估员Jennifer LeBeau博士进行评估，评估将包括形成性评估和终结性评估。研究结果可望增进STEM教育界对残疾学生选择资讯科技专业的影响因素的认识。更具体地说，这项工作将使人们更好地了解影响残疾军人和残疾退伍军人选择信息技术领域的心理社会变量。此外，这项工作的发现将为角色一致性和“个体差异”理论提供信息，因为它们与残疾和性别有关。这项研究的发现有很大的潜力来推动针对残疾学生的STEM教育实践和政策。

The "Modeling IT Career Choices of Persons with Disabilities: The Case of Military Personnel and Veterans" award is a Broadening Participation Research project designed to advance understanding of the factors that influence the entrance into, and persistence in, postsecondary information technology (IT) degree programs by disabled military personnel and veterans with disabilities. Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University and Washington State University are working together to explores interest in choosing a career in the IT field as a function of: perceptions about the skills and knowledge needed to be successful as an IT professional; gender stereotypes about IT skills and knowledge; perceptions about occupational roles of persons with disabilities; relative importance placed on various aspects of one's own identity regarding gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic class and disability; one's feeling of self-confidence regarding the ability to possess the skills and knowledge needed in the IT profession; and role congruity between perceived gender and occupational roles, and IT roles.The overarching research questions that are being examined in the study are the following:1. Is there congruity between perceived IT roles and gender roles for military personnel and veterans with disability?2. Is there congruity between perceived IT roles and occupational roles for military personnel and veterans with disability?3. How do gender roles, IT roles and occupational roles combined with individual identity and self-efficacy affect IT career choices for disabled military personnel and veterans with disability?A comprehensive survey data instrument was designed and developed by the research team and has undergone rigorous validity and reliability testing; it includes new scales for disability identity and for the occupational role of persons with disabilities. Data are being collected from participants recruited from The Pennsylvania State University, Washington State University, San Diego State University and Columbia College, in Columbia Missouri. Data are being collected from subjects using web-surveys and is being analyzed using a variety of statistical techniques corresponding to the use of latent variable modeling. This project will be evaluated by an independent evaluator, Dr. Jennifer LeBeau, and the evaluation will include formative and summative assessments. Results are expected to advance the STEM education field's knowledge about the factors influencing the selection of IT fields by students with disabilities. More specifically the work will provide a better understanding of those psycho-social variables affecting disabled military personnel and veterans with disabilities choice of IT fields. Additionally, findings from this work will inform role congruity and "individual differences" theories as they relate to disability and gender. There is strong potential for findings from this research to advance STEM education practices and policies for students with disabilities.