Disabilities In Higher Education Research Articles

Studentu vajadzību izvērtējums iekļaujošas augstākās izglītības nodrošināšanai

Global, European, and Latvian inclusion and education policy documents set out the conditions and recommendations for ensuring inclusive education at all levels. The increase in the number of students with disabilities in higher education and the challenges they face in the educational process highlights the need for inclusive higher education and identification of students' individual needs and the type of support and adaptation required for the implementation of inclusive higher education. The results of the theoretical analysis show that in international policy documents, European and Latvian legislation, as well as in scientific literature, the terms disability, and special educational needs are often used in a similar context. At the same time, different countries in the European Union have different concepts and understandings of disability, and special needs are defined differently in legislation of different countries. For to identify students' special needs/ requirements for inclusive higher education, an evaluation tool was developed in the first phase of the partnership project, which included questions on each of the key elements of an inclusive environment – accessible information environment, accessible physical environment, adapted learning process and inclusive emotional environment. In the evaluation tool development process, based on a universal design for research approach, four principles were taken into account: clear and comprehensible survey instructions, transparent, easy-to-understand framework and simple wording, mainly closed questions, survey completion time (up to 10 minutes), and clear and understandable answer menus. The evaluation tool can be used for collecting research data in the second phase of the partnership project and can be used in higher education and secondary schools to identify the needs of students for providing inclusive education.

Evidence-Based Test Accommodations for Students With Developmental Disabilities in Higher Education

Evidence-Based Test Accommodations for Students With Developmental Disabilities in Higher Education

Factors motivating students with disabilities to access and participate in university education in Ghana

ABSTRACT Education has been described as a ‘bridging right’ that empowers persons with disabilities to justifiably lay claim to other rights, such as the right to work, the right to participate in politics, etc. While much research has reported on the challenges encountered by persons with disabilities in higher education, very little is known about the factors that enhance their retention and continuous participation in higher education in Ghana. The objective of this study was therefore to explore the factors that influence students with disabilities to access and participate in higher education. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with disabilities: physical disability (n = 8) and visual impairment (n = 3), who were recruited from one of the largest higher education institutions in Ghana. The results from the thematic analysis indicate that the participants were motivated more by the higher-level needs of Maslow’s pyramid, that is, safety, self-esteem and transcendence, than the lower-level needs. The study limitations, recommendations for future research and policy implications are also discussed.

Disability in Higher Education: Investigating identity, stigma, and disclosure amongst academics

Disability in Higher Education: Investigating identity, stigma, and disclosure amongst academics

Features of the Professional Intention of University Students with Disabilities

The author represents a qualitative and meaningful analysis of the results of an empirical study of the professional orientation of university students with disabilities. The obtained results indicate the corresponding statistically-significant differences in the subject area, professional intentions and the status of the professional identity among university students with disabilities and students with a conditional norm of health. The analysis of the results of the empirical study demonstrates the immaturity of the professional awareness of students with disabilities, which consists in the absence of taking into account the existing limitations in their future profession, a low level of awareness of its essence and the opportunities it provides, as well as the problematic nature of the status of their professional identity. This allows us to assert that the relevant vector of educational and professional activity of students with disabilities in higher education should be the directed development of an adequate professional orientation and its components, in addition, taking into account the nature of health limitations.

Experiences matter: Educators’ attitudes toward disability in higher education

This study investigated 128 post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability at a college and a university in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The participants completed the Educators’ Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS) and a demographic questionnaire that included questions about their experiences with disability. There were three research questions at the heart of this study: (1) What are post-secondary educators’ overall attitudes toward disability? (2) Do demographic factors predict post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability? (3) Does exposure to people with disability predict post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability? The findings of this study suggest post-secondary educators hold overallpositive attitudes toward disability and there were very few differences observed between groups (e.g., based on age, gender, discipline, etc.). Educators’ experiences with people who have a disability, however, were positively associated with their attitudes. This factor included personal experiences (e.g., friends, family, etc.), but also professional experiences (e.g., students in their classes).

Inclusion of Doctoral Students with Disabilities within Higher Education

Abstract The history of educating doctoral students with disabilities at Polish universities, at least in institutional terms, is not very long. From the very beginning, universities educated individuals with disabilities and it was possible as long as these people could cope on their own or with the help of their family and friendly academic staff. This study presents the situation of doctoral students with disabilities in the higher education system, indicates the results of research, as well as “good practices” and recommendations for the academic education system for the in-depth inclusion of people with disabilities in higher education.

A Decade of Research on the Effectiveness of Augmented Reality on Students with Special Disability in Higher Education

In higher education settings, students are required to use their own devices to record attendance interact with classes through online systems and other learning-teaching sources such as timetables, virtual learning environment. Real opportunity to use digital technology such as augmented reality AR technology have been used in several fields, uncovering diverse benefits regarding its usage. However, further research is needed to understand exactly how the AR enhance students learning. Focusing on individuals with special needs, AR is being used in higher education for the last few years to enhance physical, cognitive, personal, and social abilities. This systematic review presented an overview of the usage of AR technology in the special needs area in higher education literature published between 2011 and 2020 and focused on research indexed in 8 international databases. 36 studies were included for review. The results indicate that the majority of research showed positive outcomes as the AR technology proved to be effective with students with disabilities. The results also showed that AR technology was mostly used in intellectual disability setting. Finally, the result evidenced that AR assists students in enhancing their social skills, social relationships and their engagement. The results from this systematic review provide valuable information regarding to enhance individual with special needs. Future empirical research should ensure that all research is included, including settings, level of students and data collection methods such as quantitative and qualitative.

Barriers of people with disabilities in exercising constitutional right to higher education

Given that the disability of population, unfortunately, has negative dynamics to increase its number, it is increasingly attracting equal and free access to education for all categories of population, especially people with special needs. That is why the need to identify the problems faced by people with disabilities in exercising their constitutional right to higher education is becoming urgent. The methodological basis for writing this article is a system of general and special methods of scientific knowledge. The authors focus on the existing barriers to higher education for people with disabilities. It is stated that the legislation of Ukraine, which regulates the research issue, contains legal gaps and conflicts that complicate the opportunities for people with disabilities to obtain higher education. It is noted that higher education institutions need to pay more attention to the material and technical equipment of the educational process, which will increase the number of people with disabilities to obtain higher education. Also, the problem of psychological adaptation and socialization of people with disabilities in higher education is particularly acute. Of particular relevance is the need to identify the problems faced by people with disabilities in exercising their constitutional right to higher education that is becoming urgent.

Health: bioecological analysis of subjective well-being in teaching

Reflect on the concepts that go through the history of people with disabilities, in the context of their rights, as the processes involving their education is an emerging theme. The objective of this work was to understand the conceptions about health of university professors based on the Bioecological Theory of Human development. This is an exploratory case study research with a mixed approach carried out with professors from a public university in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The method of data collection was the interview and the self-administered questionnaire. 73 professors and 6 interview participants from different fields of knowledge, selected at random participated answering to the questionnaire. It was observed that the systems that constitute the organizational basis of the participants' lives were similar and that their life stories, their culture, the media and the relationships they establish at work are factors that influence their conceptions about health and about the relationship established with people with disabilities in Higher Education. The participants' conception of health, however, still runs through the biomedical model, but has been undergoing a progressive change. It is concluded that the conceptions about health are linked to life history, when then one starts to subjectivity. Combined with the contextual issues of a particular place, the concept of health has been progressively detaching itself from the concept of disease.

Inherent requirements in higher education: locating You in Us

ABSTRACT Enrolments of students with disabilities in higher education have increased steadily over recent decades. Yet, conjecture about the application of inherent requirements, which can prevent students in some circumstances from entering professions of their choosing, endure. This paper offers those connected to higher education three points to enhance their thinking about inherent requirements. These involve (i) foregrounding ethics in matters of integrity; (ii) orienting differently to disability, and (iii) questioning qualification to employment guarantees. Recommendations for practice are then made. The paper concludes that inclusive education can no longer be measured on enrolment quantifiers alone – how higher education providers create opportunity for all learners to study and transition to employment must surely follow. Rather than perpetuating homogeneity upon the world of education and work, higher education can utilise inherent requirements to increase social justice and equity.

Factors Associated With Online Learning Self-Efficacy Among Students With Disabilities In Higher Education

ABSTRACT This study examined how the prevalence of online learning increases educational outcomes and access for students with disabilities, exploring the factors associated with these learners’ self-efficacy in virtual environment. College students with disabilities (n = 278) were surveyed about their experience with online courses, overall technology competence, and preferred instructional modalities. Online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) was used as the outcome. Factors associated with OLSE were technological competence and delivery preferences. Students with medical disabilities, in comparison to their peers with a psychological and/or learning disability, reported a higher level of OLSE in the virtual environment. These factors collectively accounted for 33.7% of the variance in OLSE (R2 = .36, F = 19.631, p < .001). Improving the accessibility of online learning for students with disabilities will promote best practices in online learning for all students. Accessibility mind-sets have been increasingly called for as higher education institutions are offering online courses.

Disability Sensitivity and Sensibility: A Nondisabled Lecturer Perspective on Inclusive Lecturing Opportunities

Disability is a social force that arguably creates more education problems for students with disabilities than their impairments. Understanding it as a form of social oppression can lead to less exclusionary teaching and learning attitudes, beliefs, expectations and practices. Numerous studies have looked at the experiences of staff and students with disabilities as well as the experiences of teaching students with disabilities. However, more studies are needed to better understand and address disability in higher education. Nondisabled perspectives have a role to play in opposing disabling educational practices and cultures to make higher education more inclusive. Many opportunities especially exist for nondisabled lecturers to contribute to addressing the higher education barriers and discrimination which often affect students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to use a disability perspective to present my lecturing practices during the move to emergency remote teaching and learning in response to COVID-19 while working at an HDI. An autoethnographic method was used. Content analysis of my accounts exposed the exclusionary nature of my practices in terms of how they facilitated ableism and suppressed disability discourse. Recommendations are made, in light of the results, on ways to not only make higher education spaces more accommodating but counter a wider societal culture that oppresses and even seeks to eradicate the value of those who live with impairments.

The Transition Online: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Following the World Health Organization’s announcement of the global pandemic because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019, most Canadian universities transitioned to offering their courses exclusively online. One group affected by this transition was students with disabilities. Previous research has shown that the university experience for students with disabilities differs from those of their non-disabled peers. However, their unique needs are often not taken into consideration. As a result, students can become marginalized and alienated from the online classroom. In partnership with Student Accessibility Services, this research revealed the impact of the transition to online learning because of the pandemic for university students with disabilities. Students registered with Student Accessibility Services completed a survey about the effects of online learning during a pandemic on the students’ lives, education, and instructional and accommodation. It was clear from the results that online education during COVID-19 affected all aspects of the students’ lives, particularly to their mental health. This research provided a much-needed opportunity for students with disabilities to share the factors influencing their educational experience and identified recommendations instructors should consider when developing online courses to increase accessibility and improve engagement.

From equal access to employment to equal career opportunities? Employment practices and work experiences of qualified disabled workers in Japan

In Japan, disability policies have significantly evolved over the last twenty years, be it in the field of social welfare, education or employment. Until recently, most workers with disabilities were employed in blue-collar jobs involving repetitive tasks. However, the reform of the education system that took place in 2006 has contributed to the development of mainstream schooling and improved the accessibility of universities for disabled students. Therefore, the number of students with disabilities in higher education is slowly increasing, as well as the number of people with disabilities holding a university degree, thus challenging the common representation of people with disabilities as unskilled workers. Yet, the academic literature on disabled people's employment has hardly investigated the specificities of the situation of qualified disabled workers. The case of people with disabilities holding a university degree or a professional qualification, is mainly discussed in terms of access, through the lens of the transition from university to employment. But what are the career patterns of qualified disabled workers on the long run? This paper aims to explore to what extent disability impact qualified disabled workers’ career development. It analyzes interview data collected during two fieldwork stays in Japan and discusses qualified disabled workers’ lived experiences of employment with a long-term perspective.

‘The person with a disability gets to define their disability’: exploring identity formation through the voices of university students

It has been increasingly acknowledged that universities need to include and support students with disabilities in order to benefit these individuals. Yet, university students with disabilities often face significant barriers that impact their ability to succeed. Traditional higher education practices and belief systems have been identified as problematic, in how they influence students’ feelings and attitudes towards disability, and their self identity construction. Our qualitative research study was thus originally designed to understand how higher education students engaged with medical and social constructions of disability. The study findings prioritise these students’ perspectives and voices through interpretative phenomenological analysis and poetic interpretations. The findings are further nuanced in terms of how several students took up positions of identity that reflect social relational and affirmative disability conceptions. Aside from individuals with disabilities, this study has implications for university staff, medical and human services professionals, and disability researchers focused on higher education. Points of interest Despite increased enrollments of students with disabilities in higher education, concerns have been raised about these students’ university achievement and completion. There is a gap in research when it comes to examining the views and experiences of university students with disabilities, from their own perspectives and voices. Research was carried out with university students with different disabilities in order to gauge the impact of the social and medical models on their perspectives. The research found that there was no single model that dominated their individual identities, as various life experiences resulted in complex and multifaceted understandings of disability. This research is important not only for the service providers who work with individuals with disabilities, but also family members, researchers, and other university staff.

Supporting the development of students with disabilities in higher education: access, stigma, identity, and power

ABSTRACT Over the years, the evolution of student development theories has paved the way to include diverse students, including students with disabilities (SWD). Still, student development theories are yet to employ a view of disability as a social category and an identity. To fill this gap, the current study applies the three waves of student development theories and critical disability theory to analyze and understand how SWD perceive and experience disability support centers (DSCs), and the contribution they attribute to DSCs for their development and success in higher education and afterward. Twenty-one SWD were interviewed. The findings demonstrate the tension between policies of embracing and denying disability as a ‘difference’ and an identity in higher education. The findings also link SWD's challenges in the campus to lack of access, stigma, and the impact of power dynamics. Furthermore, the findings highlight the role of DSCs in supporting the processes of disability identification among SWD as individuals and as a group. The study emphasizes the need to strive for holistic and inclusive change in higher education policy and practice. The study may contribute to deepening understanding of the significant role of academic DSCs for the entire stakeholders in higher education and policymakers worldwide.

Disguised Blessings amid Covid‑19: Opportunities and Challenges for South African University Students with Learning Disabilities

The Covid‑19 pandemic has led to changes from traditional face-to-face teaching and learning to online systems. These changes have resulted in a concerted focus by local and international scholars on how some students are disadvantaged from accessing pedagogy due to a lack of resources and supportive living conditions that enable meaningful off‑campus learning. Simultaneously, disabilities in higher education is getting international attention, too, highlighting how students with disabilities are vulnerable to further exclusions and mental health problems. This article focuses on the pedagogical arrangements during the Covid‑19 pandemic and the challenges and opportunities associated with online and remote learning for university students with learning disabilities. The article draws on the narratives of fifteen students with learning disabilities from a university in South Africa. An analysis of students’ narratives within the Capability Approach’s concept of conversion factors revealed how circumstances could enable or constrain students’ abilities to achieve what they value in higher education. Students’ narratives show that they engage better with online and remote learning despite some notable challenges. In conclusion, the pedagogical arrangements aimed at alleviating the disruptions caused by the Covid‑19 pandemic can address the unmet educational needs of students with learning disabilities even though they have to overcome specific barriers.

“They were questioning whether I would even bother coming back”. Exploring evidence of inequality in “access”, “success” and “progression” in higher education for students with vision impairment

ABSTRACT Drawing upon a unique longitudinal study, which has followed the experiences of students with vision impairment (VI) in the United Kingdom (UK) through the full university student lifecycle, we report the findings of an original analysis that seeks to broaden understanding of the lived experiences of students with disabilities in higher education (HE) by critically assessing student outcomes with respect to “access”, “success” and “progression”. The paper presents evidence collected from 40 participants, captured through 205 interviews over a 7-year period, and uses this evidence to assist with interpreting patterns observed in national equality data, and in identifying hidden inequalities which these datasets do not capture. We examine how well this equality data represents the reported experiences of students with VI. We do this by firstly considering where the data might not fully represent the experiences of the student, and secondly by interpreting why some of the observed inequalities persist. We take a holistic view of the student experience, by examining factors that might impact upon the student at different levels through the perspective of the Bioecological Model of Inclusive Higher Education. The findings show that whilst national equality data in the UK capture improved access and attainment for students with VI in HE, it fails to capture poor lived experiences, and restricted choice. The findings also identify barriers to successful transitions into the labour market, in some cases intrinsically linked to barriers faced during their courses.

Creation and validation of the Questionnaire on Attitudes towards Disability in Higher Education (QAD-HE) in Latin America

ABSTRACT This study presents a tool developed in Spanish to measure teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards physical and sensory disability in the context of higher education in Latin America. The effects on attitudes towards contact with people with disabilities, and training on that topic, were also studied. The research involved 718 participants (563 students and 155 teachers). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a bifactorial structure, with the 27 items grouped into two dimensions: egalitarian attitudes and prejudiced attitudes. Internal consistency was excellent (α > .90). The Questionnaire on Attitudes towards Disability in Higher Education (QAD-HE) shows appropriate psychometric properties and can be applied in various Spanish-speaking countries due to the language and culture adaptation process carried out. The results demonstrated that teachers with previous contact with and knowledge about disabilities had positive attitudes towards students.