Year of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Counselor Education and Supervision

Department or School/College

Phyllis J. Washington College of Education

Committee Chair

Shannon Lollar

Commitee Members

Emily Sallee, Jingjing Sun, Sara Polanchek, K. Lynn Pierce

Keywords

Ableism, counselor education, disability competence, disability discrimination, mixed methods, symbolic ableism

Abstract

Ableism, defined as beliefs and practices that prioritize able-bodiedness and lead to disability discrimination, is a prevalent but often overlooked form of oppression rooted in the historical American legacy of other forms of prejudice, discrimination, and is foundationally rooted in higher education through eugenics. Despite the counseling profession's mandate for multicultural competence, disability issues and ableism are often excluded from mainstream curriculum, contributing to a knowledge gap among counselor educators. This convergent mixed methods study explored and analyzed counselor educators’ understanding of ableism using a cross-sectional questionnaire administered to 48 participants. Quantitative results indicated a positive correlation between more formal training in disability issues and higher levels of symbolic ableism. Qualitative analysis identified 6 themes, which when synthesized with the quantitative analysis resulted in 3 integrated domains suggesting exposure to training and confidence in understanding do not equal anti-ableist attitudes, and valuing voices who have lived experience of disability as well as the recognition of ableism as discrimination are key. The integrated analysis suggests current training which operates within inherently ableist systems, may tend to emphasize ADA compliance over disability competence and advocacy. This study informs future research and curriculum development aimed at enhancing disability-related content and dismantling structural ableism within counselor education programs.

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© Copyright 2025 Cynthia Renee Boyle