Inclusive design for chemistry laboratories: a participatory approach to supporting students with disabilities in STEM education

Abstract

This article presents the process implemented to promote inclusive education in STEM at the Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. As a successful case study, it analyses the academic trajectory of an undergraduate chemical engineering student, who is also a co-author of this work, with a particular focus on the implementation of an institutional inclusion project. The process begins by identifying support needs, making curricular adjustments, co-designing assistive tools, and implementing them when necessary. In cases where specific adaptations are required to support laboratory participation or study-related tasks, low-cost and replicable devices are developed (crucial in the context of public education in emerging or developing countries) using Arduino programming and 3D printing. The process addressed individual learning needs while also fostering broader institutional improvements in inclusive teaching practices. The implementation of this process, as illustrated by the case study, demonstrates that inclusive education in STEM is both feasible and transformative when supported by a coordinated institutional strategy and when diversity is embraced as a catalyst for pedagogical and institutional innovation.