Disabilities Education Research Articles

Assistive technology and daily living challenges among students with disabilities at University of Gondar, Ethiopia: a qualitative study

Background Disability influences activities of daily living, leading to unsafe conditions, poor quality of life, and dependence on others and assistive technologies. Despite limited access and unmet needs, assistive technology enables users to participate in education and be independent members of their community. Students with disabilities in higher education face many challenges in their day-to-day activities and evidence is limited in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to explore assistive technology experience and daily living challenges among students with disabilities in higher education. Method A descriptive qualitative study design was employed at the University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, between December 20, 2022, and January 20, 2023. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit 14 students with disabilities. An in-depth interview was employed using semi-structured questionnaires. Open Code version 4 software for coding and reflexive thematic analysis approach was employed for the analysis. Result A total of 14 students with disabilities were included in an in-depth interview. Four main themes emerged, which included activities of daily living, attitudes toward people with disabilities, barriers to accessibility, and access to assistive technology. Conclusion Barriers to activities of daily living among students with disabilities were poor accessibility of infrastructural facilities, lack of teaching/learning materials in an accessible format, and negative attitudes. The present study’s finding is needed to support students in higher education for their academic achievement and to design appropriate rehabilitation strategies and policies on the accessibility of physical infrastructures, inclusive education, and the provision of assistive technology

Influence of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania Rural Schools' Due Process Hearing Decisions

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, rural Pennsylvania Local Education Agencies (LEAs) were found to have failed to properly offer special education services in alignment with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ranks among the most litigated states in disputes over the proper facilitation of services as mandated by IDEA. Despite this high volume of litigation, there was no analysis of how being defined as a rural LEA influenced due process hearing officer decisions after the COVID-19 Pandemic. The current study addresses this research gap by reviewing special education due process hearing activity for rural LEAs and comparing activity for the two years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic-mandated office closures. Findings offer guidance on problematic practices by analyzing the relationship between the pandemic and hearing officer ruling outcome, activity frequency before and after the pandemic, and remedies owed by rural LEAs from post-COVID decisions.

Tail Lights

How quickly time flies – Christmas and NewYear are in the rear view mirror and we arehurtling towards Easter! Phew! I wanted to learn more about Disability in(Medical) Education - so I hunted down DrBeth Dillon (MBChB 2023, co-founder andTrustee of the award winning LUNA Project),Scott Duguid (Disability Services, UoG) andProf Ines Alvarez (Dept of Education UoG,Programme Leader for the MEd in InclusiveEducation) to learn more. I have included anexcerpt of Beth’s interview for your perusal.Niall Holden (current student) has alsowritten a piece to share his experiences andknowledge on this complex topic.I found out “Disability” is a broad category:ranging from visible and physical disabilitiesto invisible ones such as long term chronichealth, mental health issues, ADHD, Autismand specific learning disabilities such asDyslexia. Dyslexia is common – affecting 10%of the population worldwide. Highfunctioning learners with (undiagnosed)dyslexia can “mask” and perform exceedinglywell academically until their “usual” supportis reduced - such as when they start life inHigher Education. Students with any disability are entitled tohelp (they are protected by law under the UKEquality Act 2010, particularly while inEducation). “Help” can range from extra timefor assessments, flexible deadlines,(“reasonable adjustments”) to individualised,personal learning support with study skills,computer software, mentoring and coachingto help adjust to life - and thrive! - atUniversity. Scott wanted me to raise awareness amongstudents that the doors to DisabilityServices are wide open. Even if you are notsure if you have a disability, fill out a formand Disability Services will get in touch,provide support if appropriate and how toprogress if not. Also, 18 March markedNeuroDiversity Week. Here is a fantasticresource to check out:https://linktr.ee/neurodiv.I am very much looking forward to see allyour “Visual Abstracts” – this is youropportunity to showcase the projects youhave been doing throughout the year, getpublished in a peer reviewed journal and thefirst 5 can even earn a little bit of money(enough for a nice meal out). The best visualabstract of the year will be selected byProfessor Matthew Walters – winninganother £100! Get your skates on and getyour abstracts in! Finally, a little plug for my fabulously exciting and fun summer elective: NavigatingUncertainty in Medicine. Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/k5ngU1D9FGyn9XCA8 andspend 4 weeks with super star doctors and moi! Until the next Taillights! Cindy.

Moving Beyond Compliance and Toward Equity to Address Racial Disproportionality

The rights of approximately seven million students with disabilities in the United States are secured via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Despite these protections, consequential inequities still need to be addressed. Racialized inequities in special education outcomes persist across classifications, placements, and disciplinary outcomes—often referred to as racial disproportionality. The disjuncture between the promises of IDEA and persistent racial disparities highlights an equity dilemma. We tackle this dilemma and provide recommendations for educators to move beyond IDEA compliance and toward equity when addressing racial disproportionality. We discuss how efforts to address the inequity can be re-imagined across personal, classroom, and system levels. We provide three broad recommendations responsive to IDEA provisions and the myriad of root causes contributing to racial disproportionality.

“Storying” from special education classroom: Centering voices from accessible-interdependence-intimacy as interdisciplinary justice in pedagogical practices

ABSTRACT Teachers’ and practitioners’ pedagogical practices also have legal professional responsibilities and regulations to adhere to under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We understand the former as the policy master narrative that can reify inaccessibility in the classroom. We take a paradigmatic shift focusing on “storying” pedagogical practices in special education by centering 2 Black and Brown girls in attendance in K-12 classrooms, “storying” together/two-gather transformative teaching-learning wisdom. We propose that “storying” involves explicit engagement with and highlighting of the student’s voice, and we would center spirit and emotionality. The girls’ storying illustrates praxical research through the lens of Black Womanist/Feminist and Disability Justice. The girls will show ways to support their learning. We introduce 5 “storying” pedagogical practices related to access-intimacy as interdependence, voicing intersectional knowledge for anti-racist and anti-ableist praxis in special education. Finally, we share how these practices lead to justice in education by reframing the master narratives for our readers to access and determine a reflexive accessibility praxis (everyday life) for their pedagogy.

Understanding policy reverberations across the educational ecosystem to effectuate change

ABSTRACT We outline a multidimensional ecological systems policy framework to better understand how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and patterns of racial disproportionality in special education relate. The framework engages with ideology, power, privilege, and context across the multiple layers of the policy-implementation process and educational ecosystem. It highlights how policy reverberates through the educational ecosystem via interpretation and implementation flows spanning from the exo-, macro-, and meso levels (e.g., federal policy, state education agency (SEA) guidance, local education agency (LEA) officials’ actions, educators) to the micro- level (e.g., families and students) and back up. The framework provides critical insights that can inform efforts to reduce racial and ability inequities.

Nothing About Us Without Us: Improving Representation of Disability in Medical School Curriculum Through Explicit Inclusion.

Medical school curricula across the United States fail to adequately prepare students to provide high-quality care to and advocate for patients with disabilities. To address this shortcoming at one large, urban medical school, the Curriculum Committee at Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) formed a taskforce of students and faculty to evaluate the degree and quality of disability representation in its undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum. Taskforce members solicited input from five community members in various fields of disability advocacy to craft recommendations that reflected this community's vision for disability education in UME. Community partners suggested areas of focus including clinical skills, accessibility of healthcare facilities, awareness of intersectionality with other identities, acknowledgment of bias, and respect for the patient's autonomy via their "right to risk." The taskforce report to the Curriculum Committee included 9 recommendations for curricular revision based on community partner suggestions, 6 of which were accepted and are being implemented into the curricular content for the class of 2026 and beyond. This novel approach to implementing curricular change could encourage other medical schools to evaluate their own curricula through the lens of disability and prompt curricular revision with the input of community partners with disabilities, students, and, faculty.

Reliability of a Scale for Improving Attitudes towards Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Physi-cal Education

The right to inclusive education is one that has drawn the attention of public organizations, scholars, and academics worldwide. Students' beliefs and perceptions are a fundamental axis to know the state of the classrooms based on this ethical principle, allowing teaching professionals to promote improvement strategies and programs. This study aims to explore the reliability and factorial structure of the questionnaire "The Attitudes towards Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Physical Education" (AISDPE) in students belonging to the secondary and baccalaureate educational stages. The sample consisted in 889 students who participated 2 times a week in physical education classes. Reliability tests, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were done. Then, a factor structure with two dimension (cognitive perception and predisposition to action) and 15 items was extracted, showing excellent values for the various selected goodness-of-fit indices. Additionally, a good reliability (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.77–0.79) was attained. The AISDPE might therefore be regarded as a credible and trustworthy measure to examine physical education pupils’ assessments of their attitudes towards inclusive instruction in order to improve social well-being and school health in the classroom. Keywords: inclusion; physical education; attitudes; validation; scale

Evaluating a Novel Disability Education and Awareness Event for Health Professions Trainees

Abstract: Background: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at high risk for unmet health care needs and face barriers to equitable care, yet few health professions students receive adequate training to meet these needs. Objectives: An interactive panel discussion with Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) athletes and staff was planned and implemented so that health professions students/trainees would gain knowledge of IDD, health barriers, SOPA resources, and volunteer opportunities. Methods: Panelists included two SOPA athletes and their mentors; questions solicited responses about personal health care experiences (Fall 2019). Attendees completed a mixed-methods post-event survey capturing event satisfaction, reflections, and interest in learning more about patients with IDD. Results: Sixty individuals attended, and 43 (72%) completed post-event evaluation. Attendees reported high satisfaction (88%), desire for future trainings (100%), and interest in learning about communicating (88%), providing care (88%), and addressing IDD health barriers (91%). Conclusions: Collaborative community panels could be effective in engaging health care students in discussion about caring for patients with IDD.

Implementation of Universal Design For Learning In Inclusive Education : A Scoping Review In Asian Countries

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) derives from the Universal Design (UD) architecture, challenging traditional product adaptation by advocating for designs that consider every individual (King-Sears, 2009). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) extended UD to learning environments, resulting in the development of UDL with three core principles outlined by CAST in 2020. These enduring principles emphasize multiple ways of engagement, various means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression, aligning with the brain's learning networks (CAST, 2021). UDL goals encompass inclusivity, equity, flexibility, and accessibility. Methods include diverse means of representation, engagement, and action and expression, utilizing accessible texts, multimodal resources, and technology tools. Assessment in UDL involves formative assessment, varied formats, clear criteria, and consideration of learning styles. Implemented in Asian countries, UDL positively impacts education, particularly for special needs students. Shifting from instructor-centered to student-centered approaches enhances student involvement, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. UDL empowers teachers to diversify methods, adapting to student abilities and improving learning quality. The effect of UDL on inclusive education is substantial, increasing accessibility, individualized paths, engagement, breaking barriers, empowering diverse learners, and enhancing academic performance. UDL's multifaceted approach ensures effective use of materials and activities by students with diverse needs. In conclusion, UDL is a robust framework fostering inclusive and effective learning environments. Its principles, methods, and materials contribute to overall inclusive educational success. Limitations, including educator training gaps, pose barriers to rigorous implementation. Scoping review data unveils UDL's multidimensional implementation in various Asian educational contexts, providing crucial insights into its regional applications and implications.

Unintended Consequences of Special Education and Consideration of Change

This scholarly review presents a case for transforming special education rather than reauthorizing special education law in its present form and, in doing so, reconceptualizing the inclusion movement to recognize marginalizing influences. A comprehensive review of research, policy reviews, and observations of praxis is undertaken to examine current special education law. Three unintended consequences are identified: (a) the least restrictive environment provision; (b) incremental successes of the inclusion movement’s emphasis on placement; and (c) the effort to promote racial integration in current special education policy. While unintended consequences cannot be foreseen, the structure of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEIA) has changed little since the 1970s despite evolving praxis and understandings of social justice. This article is intended to facilitate a conversation about a path forward for special education, including whether IDEIA should be reauthorized in its present form, or what form might be taken under alternative policy.

Are We on Course Yet? Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan Technical Adequacy in Schools.

It has been more than two decades since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 1997) included language about the use of functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) to address the challenging behaviors of students with disabilities in schools. It has been more than ten years since three technical adequacy studies were published that evaluated school-based FBAs' and BIPs' inclusion of essential components and found them to be significantly lacking. The aims of this study were to expand upon the previous research by (a) establishing the psychometric properties of the FBA/BIP Technical Adequacy Evaluation Tool (TATE), (b) evaluating the technical adequacy of 135 completed FBAs and 129 BIPs from 13 school districts across a single state, and (c) comparing the findings to previous studies. The results showed that (a) the TATE has moderate but acceptable internal consistency, excellent inter-rater reliability, and good content validity, (b) the technical adequacy scores of the evaluated products ranged between 40% and 50% of the total components, and (c) most of the BIPs had similar flaws to those seen in the previous research; however, improvement was noted in the FBA components. The implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Inclusive Pedagogy at University: Faculty Members’ Motivations

The presence of students with disabilities in Higher Education (HE) is increasing. However, the permanence and success of these students at university is not granted. In this study, the voices of 119 faculty members from 10 Spanish universities who had been identified by their students with disabilities as inclusive were heard. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology was chosen, using the semi-structured individual interview as the instrument for data gathering. Two interviews were conducted with each participant to analyse the main areas of inclusive pedagogy (beliefs, knowledge, designs and actions). The results show the participants’ conceptions of disability, as well as their main motivations for carrying out inclusive pedagogy, such as their professional vocation and their previous experiences with people with disabilities. The article ends with a series of conclusions that outline the profile of an inclusive faculty member. This information can help universities to improve their faculty training programs to obtain a more inclusive teaching staff, which can be translated into more sustainable and inclusive university systems.

Benefits of Reservation for Persons with Disability in Education and Employment in India

Benefits of Reservation for Persons with Disability in Education and Employment in India

Implementation of the My Abilities First Tool: A qualitative study on the perceptions of professionals, caregivers, children, and adolescents with disabilities.

To analyze the perceptions of professionals, caregivers, children, and adolescents with disabilities regarding the implementation of the My Abilities First (MAF) tool in Specialized Child Rehabilitation Centers (CERs). This is a qualitative research based on Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). The study involved twenty-seven intentionally selected individuals, comprising 12 physiotherapists, 4 occupational therapists, 11 caregivers, 9 children and 2 adolescents. Participants completed sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires and took part in semi-structured online interviews, focusing on two themes: Positive health approaches and the MAF tool. The study was approved by the local ethics committee (opinion 4.779.175). Reflexive Thematic Analysis of the interviews resulted in two themes: (1) Perceptions regarding the MAF tool as an educational and contributory process to enhance the inclusion and participation of children and adolescents with disabilities, and (2) Barriers and facilitators for the implementation process of the MAF tool. The implementation of MAF was identified as a driving factor in promoting equity and increased participation of children and adolescents with disabilities in various settings, including health, education, and leisure. Interviewees highlighted the need to confront attitudinal, communication, and social barriers that may hinder the implementation of the tool. The implementation of the MAF tool was perceived as an innovation due to its focus on the abilities of individuals with disabilities. However, there is a need to restructure it to broaden its scope and access to different contexts in order to confront barriers and enhance the inclusion and participation of children and adolescents with disabilities.

Sustainable Development Goals and Persons with Disabilities in Education and Employment

Sustainable Development Goals and Persons with Disabilities in Education and Employment

Peer Mentoring Circles in higher education: perceptions of their members with and without disability and program proposal

The increase of the number of students with disabilities in Higher Education, including students with intellectual disability, emphasizes the need for Higher Education Institutions to provide support for their inclusion and learning. Within inclusive Higher Education peers can have a fundamental role through Peer Mentoring Circles. This qualitative study aims to understand the perceived experiences of members of Peer Mentoring Circles, within the scope of a program that provided academic support, during an academic semester, to mentees with intellectual disability. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with members of the Circles (two mentees and seven mentors), and the facilitator’s field notes. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Through the data analysis, two categories were identified: components of the Peer Mentoring Circles program and experiences of the members of the Circles. The data generated suggest that both mentors and mentees had positive experiences, contributing to the development of the mentees’ skills. Based on literature and the data generated emerged the proposal for the Peer Mentoring Circles program with a broad set of guidelines for its implementation, which can set the baseline for developing future peer mentoring programs in Higher Education aimed not only at students with disabilities, but also at other students with support needs such as international students.

Incidence of teacher reflection on the teacher's understanding of diversity and its role in the transition to inclusive education

AbstractThis research focuses on including people with disabilities in higher education. It proposes that reflective teaching is a tool to move from an integrative to an inclusive approach. Using a qualitative methodology, it analyzes teachers' positions on integration and inclusion, using focus groups to collect information. The results show that most teachers are close to the integration approach, although they recognize difficulties in implementing inclusion. Academics highlight the importance of curricular adaptation, flexible methodology and universal learning design to enable the participation of students with disabilities in higher education. The analyses also highlight the constant need for teachers to adapt, which generates additional pressure, especially for those who adhere to an inclusive approach. Teachers should base their reflection on the emotional and rational components of teaching, which play a crucial role in balancing the individual and objective freedoms of teachers and students, thus ensuring a fair and equitable educational environment for all.

The impact of short-term training in qualitative research methods delivered to emerging researchers in disability education in India

This paper reports the findings from a pre- and post- survey of participants and interviews with a small number of course members. A three-day course of training in qualitative research methods was delivered to a cohort of inexperienced researchers, all of whom were working in the field of special educational needs and disability, in Kolkata, India. The study examines the effectiveness of the training, taking into account the teaching methods used and the structure of the workshop. The findings suggest that emerging researchers prefer a hands-on workshop approach to more traditional lecture delivery of research training. The levels of support provided by tutors and the interaction with practical activities using bespoke resources found favour with participants. Following the training workshop, members expressed greater confidence in their ability to use qualitative research methods and understood the relation of this approach to quantitative studies. Some who completed the course have begun to conduct independent research investigations using the methods taught.

Facilitators and barriers to learning faced by female students with disability in higher education

This study was aimed to investigate the learning experiences' facilitators and barriers that is encountered by the physically disabled female students during their higher education. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with female students with physical disabilities aged between 19 and 33 years. Interviews were transcribed, confirmed, and analyzed after being recorded. The average age of the sample was 22.15 ± 3.48 years and one-fourth of the participants’ disability was due to cerebral palsy and 35% participants used wheelchairs. All the factors promoted inclusive education and equal opportunities for both disabled and nondisabled students. This study reveals that in order to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities (SwD) and to give them more opportunities for success, it is important to consider all the barriers discussed in this study. It can be concluded that high effort is required to transform the higher educational institutions to be more accommodating for students with disabilities.