The Landscape of Disability-Related K-12 Computing Education Research

Correcting the under-representation of people with disabilities in computing and computing-related careers will require a research base that enables equitable computing education (CE) for all students. For this study, we analyzed research papers in order to better understand the landscape of CE research as it relates to students with disabilities. Of the 771 papers reviewed from 12 major CE venues over the last decade, very few (n = 14) specify student participants' disability status; this <3% rate is under-representative, given that about 15% of students in the US have a disability. Studies that do specify disability status tend to involve students who are in the middle grades, in the United States, and/or are participating in elective activities. Demographic factors (e.g., gender and race) are specified about half of the time and analyzed about half as often as they are specified. A small cadre of researchers (51 from 22 different institutions) are responsible for the studies specifying disability status. Studies - whether they specify disability status or not - most commonly use block-based programming, which may present accessibility issues for some students. Advancing equity for all students will necessitate much more research on the computing experiences of students with disabilities, including reporting factors such as demographic data that make it easier to determine whether and how the research applies in a given context. More research focused on accessible tools and languages for learning computing is also needed to further understand promising practices for teaching students with disabilities.