High school students are in an important stage of life. They may be thinking about college and career while having daily social interactions where their peers and teachers continually influence their attitudes and interests about their future. They are also preparing to enter a world in which expanding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) opportunities seem to be the priority for many businesses and governments. For high school students with disabilities (HSSWD), these realities are made more difficult by factors that are not only related to but also apart from their disability condition. The present study focused on analysing and understanding attitudes toward STEM subjects and careers from 229 HSSWD in the western United States (US). Results indicated HSSWD may prefer engineering and technology over other STEM subjects or careers, perceiving them to be more hands-on and relevant. Results also preliminarily indicate construct validity and internal consistency reliability for the engineering and technology subscale in the student STEM measure that was utilized. The implications of the study’s results pertain to how teachers may structure special education and related services to HSSWD as they plan and prepare for post-high school STEM pursuits. This should also include providing HSSWD additional individualized instructional supports as well as opportunities to apply their classroom STEM learning in out-of-school, real-world settings. © Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) 2026.
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