“You can be who you are and communicate what you need”: Factors supporting a sense of belonging for students with disabilities in undergraduate field experiences

Despite the importance of undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) in many science degree programs, students with disabilities are under-supported in the field environment. Sense of belonging, or the feeling of being accepted, included, and valued (broadly speaking), offers a lens through which to understand how we might facilitate more inclusive UFEs. Drawing from a qualitative comparative case study of student interviews, we sought to uncover the factors that contributed to the sense of belonging of UFE students with disabilities (n = 17). One case included nine students from an accessible geology UFE (AUFE), and the other included eight students from six geology and biology UFEs that were not intentionally designed for students with disabilities. Several belonging-supportive factors were identified across the two cases: flexible design and participation, enabling dialogue, supporting personal needs for rest, supporting other personal needs (e.g., dietary, restrooms), and identities being supported by peers and instructors. Only one factor was unique to the AUFE: leveraging technology. In general, examples of when these factors helped belonging were more common with the AUFE. Examples of when these factors hindered belonging by not being well attended to were more common with the UFEs not intentionally designed for students with disabilities. We suggest that UFE instructors more explicitly address these factors in their design and implementation to better develop a sense of belonging for students with disabilities and foster inclusive learning environments that value their unique contributions.