The Impacts of Type 1 Diabetes on the K-12 Educational Experienc

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to uncover the impacts that type 1 diabetes have on a child's or adolescent's school educational experience. The study used a phenomenological approach based upon the work of Moustakas (1994). Purposeful sampling was used to identify participants. The participant group was comprised of 10 school-aged students between 10 and 17 years of age with type 1 diabetes. Demographic questionnaires and informal conversational interviews which followed Colaizzi's (1978) procedural method of data analysis enabled the researcher to learn about the impact of this disease on the educational experiences of type 1 diabetic students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The findings of this study revealed that type 1 diabetes had the most impact on participation in extracurricular activities among those with the disease. Type 1 diabetes was also found to have a minimal impact on academics, and most of the study's participants had high academic achievements. These results are important to the field of education as the rate of diagnosis of type 1 diabetes continues to increase. The findings will help school personnel to better understand what life is like for a student with type 1 diabetes in the educational environment in order that their needs may be properly met while in the school setting.