Melissa Sgroi, Ed.D., assistant professor and chair of the Department of Communications at Misericordia University, had her peer-reviewed article, "I Should at Least be Given a Chance to Try: The Experience of Media Workers with Disabilities in the United States During Postsecondary Education and Early Career,'' published in Disability & Society.
Disability & Society publishes 10 issues annually in which scholars write about issues ranging from disability studies, education, inclusion and special education needs, medical sociology, social sciences and more. Dr. Sgroi's article was published on Feb. 12.
Dr. Sgroi's qualitative study and subsequent 18-page article is the "first step to understanding the experiences of media students with disabilities who may never have the opportunity to change stigmatizing disability narratives if barriers to their education and careers are unexamined and unaddressed," Dr. Sgroi stated in the article.
For the study and article, Dr. Sgroi interviewed three media professionals face-to-face and also secured media artifacts from them that represent "realistic and progressive disability narratives.'' The study found that the subjects' respective colleges provided supportive environments, but they faced discrimination in the media workplace. Furthermore, they received few or less-than-helpful educational accommodations and little guidance from faculty members as they transitioned into the workforce.
Dr. Sgroi's study found three areas that need to be addressed in higher education: Faculty training in inclusive pedagogies; media curricula that considers students with disabilities, and career assistance for students as they graduate from their postsecondary careers into the media workplace.
Dr. Sgroi's area of scholarly research focuses on disability in the media. The three-year study was inspired by the former television news anchor/reporter's own diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which she received at the age of 34.
For more information about the Department of Communications at Misericordia University, please call (570) 674-6400 or log on to www.misericordia.edu/communications. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County's first four-year college and offers 32 academic programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats. Misericordia University ranks in the top tier of the Best Regional Universities – North category of U.S. News and World Report's 2016 edition of Best Colleges, and was designated a 2016 Best Northeastern College by the Princeton Review.