Promoting Leadership:

1. Promoting Leadership: Through an Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Program Ronda Jenson, PhD, Krystal Kemp, MSW

2. Background • The undergraduate Disability Studies certificate program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City employ an interdisciplinary approach to learning about disabilities and promoting leadership across disciplines.

3. Objective • Rethink the role of leadership in interdisciplinary programs, what are the qualities of a leader? What specifically does a leader do and how does he/she do it? This session will share how the Disability Studies Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City builds the capacity of students to be leaders in their fields.

4. Method • To ask students about their experiences in the Disability Studies program and to what extent the program has helped them build their leadership skills.

5. Program Requirements • Law 815S: Leadership in Disability Studies: An interdisciplinary Approach (3 credits) • SW 580/PSYCH 541: Life Span Issues in Developmental Disabilities (3 credits) • SGS 501: Disability and Community Support: An Academic Service Learning Course (3 Credits) • Elective Course (3 Credits)

6. Participating Fields • Social Work • Law • Psychology • Education • Special Education • Public Administration • Bioethics • Travel and Tourism • Liberal Arts • Sociology • Theater • Architecture • Gerontology • English Literature

7. Partners • School of Social Work • School of Graduate Studies • Bloch School of Business & Public Administration • School of Law • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Institute for Human Development • Center for the City • Student Support Services • Center for Practical Bioethics • Research for Kids • Missouri Development-Disabilities Resource Center • Visions of Hope 360 • US Dept. of Education • Office of Civil Rights • Universal Housing Design Network UMKC Partners Other Partners

8. Introduction • The purpose of this discussion is to understand how an interdisciplinary disabilities study program can promote leadership roles amongst its students. I proposed that in order for students to exhibit leadership attributes or qualities they must first be vested in the idea or propagating leadership roles outside the classroom. Once this has occurred, the student can foster a reciprocal relationship with others and begin to build social capital.

9. Discussion • The foundation of any disability studies program should embody leadership and civic responsibility; thus to foster a meaningful relationship between the student and the disability community. The University of Missouri-Kansas City, Interdisciplinary Disabilities Studies program provides opportunities for students to grow beyond their basic understanding of key concepts, philosophy, etc to an understanding of the application in the real world.

10. Cond. • This is done through curricular activities, faculty mentoring, and opportunities to learn from people with disabilities. These activities are essential in facilitating interactive learning and building interdisciplinary relationships. The result, as reported by students, is greater understanding of the real issues experienced by people with disabilities. Additionally students feel they have the capacity to be leaders in promoting best practices and contributing to systems change to better serve people with disabilities.

11. Social Capital • From these interactions between the different entities there is something that is created or born. This new organism is social capital. The term capital refers to resources that may be used to gain benefit, advantage, or profit (Plotts, 2005). Social capital is often used in terms of bridges between or within social groups (Riddell, 2001, Putnam, 2000, Routledge & Von Amsberg, 2003). Keman describes social capital as “The shared norms and values that bind individuals together and the source of formal and informal organizations that make it possible to collaborate in the collective interest” *(Kerman, 1999, pp. xv-xvi).

12. Social Capital Cond. • This concept may seem simple, but there are few journal articles or research that looks at social capital among individuals with disabilities. Pavey writes that social capital theory does not focus on people who may not be able to develop their social capital in their communities (Pavey, 2006). This leads us back to the discussion of the role of promoting leadership in interdisciplinary disability studies program. There are two definitions of leadership: the capacity to lead or the act of leading (Merriam-Webster, 2007). In order for disability studies programs to be successful they must begin to stimulate the leadership qualities of students. By stimulating these students they are able to carry out the goal and the vision which is to build bridges between the disability’s community and themselves.

13. Feature: Film on Promoting Leadership “The vision is that metaphorically, we are all actors on a stage in the classroom and ideally we take our leadership skills “show on the road” to make a difference for people with disabilities.

14. Conclusion • If we can rethink the role of leadership as the capacity to lead within the broad interdisciplinary context, then we may be able to foster civic membership and build social capital for individuals with disabilities