Development of a Quantitative Survey on Barriers to Employment for Foreign Born and Native American Students with Disabilities

This service learning project, undertaken in collaboration with PRIDE (Partners of Refugees in Illinois Disability Employment) and ADOPT (The Asian with Disabilities Outreach Project Think-Tank), explores the multifaceted employment barriers faced by students at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) who are both foreign-born or Native American and living with disabilities. The primary objective of the project is to identify and understand the unique challenges these students encounter in securing employment due to an intricate interplay of factors including acculturation, educational attainment, language proficiency, and discrimination.

Through a comprehensive literature review and community engagement efforts, the project aims to construct a detailed quantitative survey to capture the nuanced experiences of these students. The project's design is rooted in the principles of disability studies, emphasizing the social model of disability which advocates for environmental transformations to improve access rather than focusing solely on individual adaptations.

The anticipated outcomes of the project include a deeper understanding of the specific barriers to employment, the development of targeted interventions, and the establishment of supportive policies that consider the distinct needs of foreign-born and Native American students with disabilities. Ultimately, this project seeks to contribute to reducing the employment gap for these marginalized communities, fostering a more inclusive and equitable labor market.