Disabled students’ experiences of fieldwork

Abstract

This commentary summarizes selected findings of a survey of disabled students in the Geography Earth and Environmental Science (GEES) subjects in six English universities (Hall et al. 2004). It focuses on their experiences of barriers to learning related to fieldwork. The survey targeted disabled students at six English universities in GEES and related subjects. Five out of the six were 'post-i 992' universities. The survey was questionnaire based and included a variety of open and closed questions that allowed the collection of statistical information and detailed qualitative testimony from students. Students were accessed by working with the disability advisors, or people in equivalent posts, at each university. All student responses were anonymous to the research team and only identifiable to disability advisors within each university. While disabled students are undoubtedly under represented in higher education in the UK (Preece 1995, 88), they constitute a significant minority of students. In 2003/04 5.4 per cent of undergraduates self-assessed themselves as having a disability (National Disability Team 2005). However, there is reason to believe that many disabled students are unwilling to self-declare as disabled. The actual proportion may be closer to 10 per cent. Fieldwork is central to teaching and learning in geography and cognate disciplines in higher educa tion (QAA 2000, para. 5.8) and fulfils a number of pedagogic functions. However, fieldwork has the potential to exclude disabled students in a number of ways (Nairn 1996 1999; Maguire 1998; Hall et al. 200