Join+the+ride

**Join the ride: Leadership and self-advocacy through inclusive therapeutic equestrian program** Natsuko Takemae, Ph.D. Candidate, University of North Carolina at Greensboro [n_takema@uncg.edu] Stephanie Kurtts, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro [sakurtts@uncg.edu]



**Keywords:** Mixed method, developmental disability, therapeutic equestrian, leadership skills, self-advocacy skills

**Track:** Civic learning outcomes for students in K-12 and higher education

**Format:** Research paper


 * Date & time: **Thursday 10:50-12:00
 * Location: **Salon 8

**Summary:** This study examines the development of leadership and self-advocacy skills for postsecondary students with and without developmental disability through the therapeutic equestrian program in the community. The socially inclusive opportunities are implemented in the community-based program. Through goal-oriented activities, these students aim to develop team-building skills.

This research employs a mixed method and adopts non-equivalent quasi-experiment (Cottrell, 1969; Hesse-Biber, 2010). Results of the study suggest that participants perceived themselves as active learners in an inclusive learning community. Emerging themes include (1) improvements in leadership, self-advocacy, and team-building skills; (2) gained insights on teamwork and interpersonal skills; and (3) increased awareness of a community-based inclusive learning program and its benefit. Investigating the impact of the inclusive therapeutic equestrian program contributes to the field of higher education, special education, Quality of Life (QOL) research, and community-based learning.

Findings from the study and insights on building an inclusive learning community through linking a university service-learning course partnered with a community-based therapeutic equine program are presented with implications for the community and scholarly impact of this project.

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