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Emergent findings from a constructivist grounded theory study explicate how gender and ability oppressions intersected to shape the experiences of 47 college students from four post-secondary institutions in the United States. The logics of oppression that have historically supported spurious arguments for the biological inferiority of women and the erasure of trans bodies have mirrored the arguments used to problematize disabled bodies--making this particular intracategorical analysis of students with minoritized gender and ability identities especially important. Rich student narratives detail how intersecting gender and ability oppressions reinforced stereotypes of weakness, fostered fears of violence, and engendered feelings of lack of safety on campus.

Using grounded theory, we examined the ways in which undergraduate teacher candidates with disabilities developed a sense of purpose and constructed professional identities. Our findings suggest K-12 experiences with advocacy as well as exclusionary school experiences influenced their emerging professional identities. Resistance to a deficit view of disability was central to teachers' professional identities and influenced their desire to become "change agents" in their future professions. We describe collegiate experiences that affirmed or presented roadblocks to their career path.

Self-advocacy is the ability to communicate one's needs and wants and to make decisions about the supports needed to achieve them (Stodden, Conway, & Chang, 2003). Research shows self-advocacy skills are related to academic performance and successful adaptation to college (Adams & Proctor, 2010; Getzel & Thoma, 2008; Hadley, 2006; Murray, Lombardi, & Kosty, 2014; Thoma & Wehmeyer, 2005). Yet, few studies have documented how youth learn to self-advocate and even fewer have delved deeply into how or when students use self-advocacy skills in college. Narratives gleaned from eight students with disabilities in a qualitative grounded theory study begin to fill this gap. Participants reported learning self-advocacy skills from family members and educators early in life. Findings from this study also demonstrate that college students utilized self-advocacy skills in three different ways: proactively, reactively, and retrospectively. Recommendations to enhance the self-advocacy skills of students with disabilities are provided for family members, K-12 personnel, and postsecondary educators.

The sense of purpose, which directs and motivates goal attainment, is associated with health and happiness as students make transitions from high school to college and work. Despite its importance for student well-being, little empirical work has addressed the development of purpose among students with disabilities. This article expands on a model of the relationship between purpose development, career aspirations, and disability identity in a sample of 59 college students with a variety of visible and invisible disabilities. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach to the analysis of extensive interviews, results present five pathways to purpose and the processes through which students' disabilities contribute to their sense of purpose. Implications for practice and future research emerge from this rich source of student voices.

A constructivist grounded theory study with 59 students with diverse disabilities from four different universities offers insight into coping strategies and long-term resilience for this rapidly growing, but marginalized, population. Embracing a strengths perspective, we present narratives from student exemplars who used creative coping strategies, drew upon past successes to develop successful coping patterns, and exuded resilience as they navigated challenging postsecondary learning environments. Findings reinforce the importance of person-centered student affairs practice.

Although scholars have noted that disability is a multivalent construct that is experienced intersectionally, very little intersectional research exists about the growing population of diverse college students with disabilities. This grounded theory study elucidates how the intersections of social class and ability shaped purpose development for 59 college students with diverse disabilities. Emergent themes included student concerns about survival, living comfortably, and being dependent. We offer three theoretical propositions to provide insight into the complex intersections of social class, ability, and purpose development for college students. Recommendations for higher educators (e.g., faculty, academic advisors, career services professionals) are included.

Using data from a multi-institutional grounded theory study, this paper details the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that 59 U.S. college students with disabilities used to cope with ableist stressors in postsecondary learning environments. Specifically, this manuscript highlights the varied coping strategies students adopted as they responded to the following stressors: (a) bullying; (b) labels, assumptions, and stereotypes; and (c) low expectations and discouragement. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with career preparation of high school students in four countries: China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The human bioecological theory was used as a framework to examine personal, process, and context factors associated with career preparation of the adolescents. Data were from a cross-national sample of more than 5,000 students in Grades 10 to 12. Results indicate that career planning and planning to attend a university after high school are distinct aspects of career preparation. Whereas process variables including interactions with parents about career planning and thinking about the future are related to the two aspects of career preparation across the four countries, other person and context predictors show country differences.

This article presents findings and a model from a constructivist grounded theory study about purpose development for college students with disabilities. The 59 participants, drawn from 4 different higher education institutions, self-identified as having 1 or more of a variety of disabilities. Students engaged in imagination, exploration, and integration as part of the developmental process of developing a sense of purpose. Important social contexts and intersecting social identities also influenced the narrative of self that students created regarding their purpose.

Using grounded theory methods, the authors examined how LGBPQ students developed a sense of belonging during the first year of college. Sense of belonging transformed and deepened over the year and was fostered in three different contexts: university, group, and friendship. It was influenced by sexual identity and outness, university messaging, and meaningful social interactions with groups and authentic friends. The authors offer four theoretical propositions that can be utilized by researchers and practitioners.