An intersectional analysis of students with disabilities’ exam experiences

Abstract

This study examined how Australian students with disabilities’ intersecting identity positions shaped and were shaped by their exam experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews with twelve university students registered with disability services and sharing additional minoritised identities. These were analysed to explore structural, political, and representational intersectionality. Thinking with theory, we illustrated how students’ identities intersected to undermine offered accommodations’ effectiveness. Structurally, students with multiple minoritised identities struggled to prove exam impacts and gain equitable adjustments. Representational intersectionality highlighted how self-representations and/or concerns about others’ views of them undermined exam help-seeking. Political intersectionality analysis foregrounded how policy only recognised and supported some identities. Our analysis highlighted the complexity of students with disabilities’ identities; current single-axis, accommodations-based systems seldom created equitable exam experiences. Where possible, exam flexibility should be inbuilt, reducing the need for accommodations. Assessment policy must also allow staff agency to develop solutions with students that lead to greater equity.