Illusions of Equity: Fulfilled and Unfulfilled Needs of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study documents both the accommodations and fulfilled/unfulfilled needs of students with disabilities (SWD) in one US university and two universities in Morocco, . The empirical facts from the two case studies are not in dispute; rather, how these two settings approach the concept of equity were very different, indicating that equity itself is a contested concept. However, our purpose was to explore whether fulfilling the needs for SWDs – as ‘legitimate’ equitable practices in diverse settings – might provide leadership and systemic change insights in higher education. The data was collected qualitatively using semi-structured interviews with SWD and – the US – university staff assigned to the area of student accommodations. Equity in Morocco assumed a personal humanistic approach embedded within the liberal arts and, therefore, took a laissez-faire approach institutionally. Equity in the US was manifested institutionally through individual accommodations across academics in terms of tutoring and assistive technologies, and through social and emotional learning supports. The implications for leadership suggest how institutions could improve upon fulfilled needs and how unfulfilled needs remain problematic. Thus, the meanings of equity in practice indicate how the illusions of equity continue to dominate leadership discourses.