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Double disclosure? Investigating how disabled students in higher education navigate the university to employment pipeline

School of Psychology | PHD

Applications are now CLOSED
Funding
Funded
Reference Number
PSY-PhD-24-SB1
Application Deadline
12 February 2024
Start Date
16 September 2024

Overview

At 37.3%, the employment rate for disabled people in Northern Ireland is the lowest across the UK (ECNI, 2021). One explanation for this is the perceived prejudice and unconscious bias employers may hold about disability (Friedman, 2020). Potential applicants may also be reluctant to disclose a disability for fear of being deemed ineligible for employment opportunities, thus preventing them from accessing workplace adjustments. Disabled students who are preparing to enter the graduate workforce are at the precipice of this quandary of whether to disclose or not. QUB careers advisors indicate that disabled students who have taken the step to disclose their disability to the university frequently do not wish to disclose it to potential employers, despite employers’ expressed wishes to diversify their workforce. Establishing the scale of disclosure reluctance, the reasons for it, and the impact on employability for these new graduates is vital to being able improve the employment rate for those with disabilities.

This project will answer two key research questions:

RQ1 – What is the scale of disability disclosure reluctance to employers in students who have disclosed to universities?

RQ2 – What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages to disclosure by this group?

These questions will be answered by: (a) surveying staff from university careers services across the UK and Ireland about their interactions with disabled students (frequency, type of advice requested, and their views of student disclosure; we have already established some connections with this wider UK network to aid participant recruitment); (b) embedding the PhD student in QUB Disability Services for a period, to record the typical questions/concerns of disabled students, in relation to work placements and future employment; and (c) surveying disabled students across the UK and Ireland about their perceived expectations, challenges, and benefits of disclosing their disability to their university careers advisors and potential employers.

The successful PhD student will also be hosted by Disability Action Northern Ireland for a period of time during each funded year of the project. The PhD student will gain valuable experience in their opportunity to work in Disability Action’s HQ, learning from their different teams working on advocacy and policy. This will give the student a unique insight into different aspects of disability advocacy across a wider spectrum than the community of university students with disclosed disabilities. Disability Action NI will further support the project via direct stakeholder involvement in co-design, and in providing consultancy to translate the findings into appropriate policy.

Funding Information

Funded in collaboration with Disability Action Northern Ireland, subject to final project approvals.

Please see Department for the Economy Postgraduate Studentship scheme | nidirect for more information on eligibility for funding.

The University welcomes and encourages applications from disabled people or those with long term conditions.