Taylor, the Disability Disclosure Virtual Assistant: A Case Study of Participatory Research with Disabled Students

Kate Lister,Francisco Iniesto,Ruth Tudor,Tim Coughlan,Ian Kenny

doi:10.3390/educsci11100587

Abstract

Administrative burden in education is a serious issue for disabled students. Form-filling and bureaucracy are ubiquitous in further and higher education, particularly for students who need to disclose a disability and arrange for accommodations and support for an equitable educational experience. Paradoxically, many of these processes are inherently inaccessible for disabled students, and yet completing them can be critical to their success. Artificial Intelligence has potential to alleviate some of the burden imposed by administration and bureaucracy; virtual assistants and chatbots can replace forms with dialogue, without placing additional strain on institutions. However, it is essential that solutions are designed in partnership with disabled students to ensure that students’ needs are met, their concerns addressed, and the final solution is equitable for them. This paper explores a case study of participatory research with disabled students in a large UK distance learning institution, in which participatory research identified an issue of administrative burden for disabled students, and a virtual assistant was designed as a solution using participatory design. It shares the methodology and design process, explores findings from different phases of the research, and shares recurrent themes arising throughout the study. In doing so, it aims to provide a foundation for future participatory research to reduce barriers for disabled students.

Highlights

It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that students with disabilities are systemically and systematically disadvantaged in higher education [1,2,3,4]
Further themes in the discussion beyond this area included the need for better access to social and leisure services, and challenging the assumptions about disability by making the diversity more visible beyond physical disabilities, The discussions led to a research agenda with ten ideas for projects
This paper has explored a case study of participatory research and design with disabled students

Summary

Introduction

It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that students with disabilities are systemically and systematically disadvantaged in higher education [1,2,3,4]. Studies have identified a wide range of barriers for disabled students in areas ranging from the built environments of universities [5,6], the expected use of technologies and lack of effective support [7], difficulties with course activities or content [8], discipline-specific challenges [3], and the use of language and terminology in disability disclosure and support processes that conflicts with how disabled students prefer to represent themselves [9,10] These difficulties and disadvantages impact on disabled student success, as evidenced by persistent differences in degree outcomes for disabled students [11]. Instead of embodying a social model approach, institutional systems, processes and cultures too often represent an inherently medical model of disability, where individuals are seen as responsible for the problems they face, and must do the work to seek help and remedy these [15]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion