The Steps of Thinking: Informal Science Activities for the Social Development of People with Intellectual Disabilities.

Abstract

Australia is at a disability crossroads and science communication has the opportunity to respond. The 2016 Senate Inquiry and currently ongoing Disability Royal Commission confirm that Australian students with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been left without the necessary personal and social tools for daily living. This is compounded by a denial of meaningful academic content, including science. Disability education appears so restrictive that it denies students the opportunity to fail, and thereby learn from mistakes and develop their skills in the same manner as the rest of society. The result is growing alienation. This thesis explores how the field of science communication could potentially help alleviate the current crisis, by assisting in the personal and social development of students with ID. The primary objective of this thesis was to develop a program of informal science activities, specifically designed to target the needs of students with ID. A further objective was to assess what impact such a program may have on the personal and social skills of these students. The methods used to address these objectives were based on six case studies of high school students with mild to moderate ID. In each case study, students participated in 10 weeks of informal science activities. Their existing personal and social skills were assessed immediately before the science program using diagnostic charts, and through interviews with their parents and teaching staff. Interviews with parents and staff were conducted immediately after the 10 week program for each case study group, again three months after the program, and finally, one year after the commencement of the program. Students also had the opportunity to be interviewed at the one year mark. The results of this research show that 10 weeks of specifically modified informal science activities had a beneficial impact on the student participants, varying in degree between individuals. This thesis demonstrates how science can be modified for the meaningful participation of students with mild to moderate ID. This thesis thereby contributes to the field of science communication by providing a novel means for engaging Australian students with ID, as well as opening possibilities for further interdisciplinary research between science communication and disability studies. More importantly, it demonstrates the potential for science communication as a vehicle for developing identity and agency for students with mild to moderate ID. Show more