Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of engagement, inclusion and influence of engagement on inclusion of Students with Disabilities (SWDs) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Convergent Parallel Mixed research design was employed though only quantitative data presentation, interpretation and discussion was considered in this paper. Student Engagement Scale (SES) and College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) were used to collect data. Reliability and validity of the instruments was scrutinized properly. For example, pilot study of the instruments was undertaken involving 30 SWDs who were attending their education at Mekelle University. Target population were 773 SWDs from 5 HEIs in the country, yet through Taro (1967) stratified proportionate random sampling technique (deaf, blind and physical impairment strata) 264 SWDs were determined to be sample populations. The data collected by the two questionnaire were analyzed by using one-sample t-test and multiple stepwise regression. Results indicated that SWDs were engaged highly in their sense of valuing (psychological engagement I) and cognitive engagements. However, they have lower sense of belonging, lower relationships with faculty members, peers and behavioral engagements. On the contrary, SWDs were found to be included and this inclusion was influenced by SWDs’ engagement. Recommendation was therefore, training about engagement need to be delivered to SWDs at various levels of education before entering to HEIs.
Highlights
Engagement is conceptualized as the involvement and the quality of effort students themselves devote to educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to the desired outcomes (Astin, 1993; Hu & Kuh, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) and the psychological, cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagements of individual learners towards the whole aspect of campus and class engagements (Gunuc, 2014; Gunuc & Kuzu, 2015)
The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of engagement, inclusion and influence of engagement on inclusion of Students with Disabilities (SWDs) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
The second and the third research questions were, “to what extent SWDs are included in HEIs?” and “do engagement dimensions significantly influence the inclusion of SWDs in HEIs?” The findings indicated that the students were included and the inclusion was highly influenced by SWDs’ own engagements
Summary
Engagement is conceptualized as the involvement and the quality of effort students themselves devote to educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to the desired outcomes (Astin, 1993; Hu & Kuh, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) and the psychological, cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagements of individual learners towards the whole aspect of campus and class engagements (Gunuc, 2014; Gunuc & Kuzu, 2015). Studies indicated that when students are fully responsible for their learning, they would be designing diverse mechanisms to achieve their learning goals (Bray & McCLaskey, 2015). Some studies confirmed engagement predicted better academic achievement, cognitive, behavioral, social, classroom engagements and sense of belonging in HEIs (Gunuc 2014) and brings satisfaction and college success (Korobova & Starobin, 2015). The studies never raised SWDs’ engagement as major issues neither for a particular purpose such as classroom accommodation nor for a general purpose of inclusion of SWDs in HEIs
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