Narrative accounts of university education: socio-cultural perspectives of students with disabilities

Research in higher education, linked to national and international policy, suggests the need for educationalists to show greater understanding and awareness of the lived experiences of undergraduate students with disabilities. These sources argue that this knowledge should then be used to inform their understandings as tutors and facilitate inclusive and effective teaching strategies. This research had a primary focus on first-year students with disabilities’ learning experiences; their transitions from school or college to university and their feedback on positive and negative learning experiences at both levels. Rich, complex stories were uncovered taking the research beyond the lecture theatre and seminar room, into the students’ union bar and back to the Year 10 classroom. It is the intention of this paper to relay some of the stories shared, in particular drawing out findings related to effective learning practices and to note the significance of placing a socio-cultural lens on the question of inclusion in education.     

Hearing the voices of disabled students in higher education

Since the return of the Labour government to power in the UK in 1997 issues of social inclusion have risen up the political and statutory agenda within higher education (HE). This study reports the findings of disabled students lived experiences and views of transition from induction through to employability within one HE institution. The study examined the perspectives of disabled students via a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews. It found that there was still much work to be done in levelling HE experiences for disabled students and identified five key issues that should be addressed in order to enable access and entitlement to HE. These are pre‐course induction support, commitment by HE institutions to facilitating barrier free curricula, consultation with disabled students, institutional commitment to develop support services and embedding of personal development planning.     

Personal sacrifice and corporate cultures: career progression for disabled staff in higher education

Disabled people are under-represented in higher education (HE), especially in senior posts. This article reports research on the perspectives of career progression into leadership held by disabled staff in one post-1992 university. Findings indicated that some participants were already engaged in leadership or aspired to such roles, and reported positive experiences. However, participants also experienced barriers to progression, including a lack of awareness of equality and diversity among managers and colleagues, inadequate professional development opportunities and the competitive organisational culture of management that could impact on their health and work–life balance. We conclude that disabled staff in HE do not yet have equal opportunities for progression into leadership roles compared with their non-disabled peers. There is a need for realignment of the culture of leadership and management to make it more compatible with the full inclusion of disabled staff in HE such that their unique contributions are valued.     

Discourse and the containment of disability in higher education: an institutional analysis

We use a social model of disability to examine disability discourse at a regional university in the mid-western United States. Using an institutional unit of analysis and several different information sources (e.g. interviews, federal regulations, syllabus texts, surveys), we illustrate the ways in which disability-as-difference is governed by an architecture of containment at the university.     

The impact of a faculty training program on inclusive education and disability

This paper describes the knowledge gained by 20 faculty members following their participation in a training program on inclusive education and disability. The study, which was conducted at an university in Spain, aimed to design, implement and evaluate a program for training faculty members to respond in an inclusive manner to the needs of students with disabilities. An initial, formative and summative qualitative evaluation was carried out and four instruments were used for collecting the data: group and individual interviews, written open-ended questionnaires and observations. The data were analyzed inductively, using a category and code system. The results reveal that, after the training program, faculty considered what they had learned to be useful for their professional practice and highlighted that they felt better-informed and better-trained in relation to disability and were more aware of the needs of students with disabilities. Finally, in the conclusions section, the paper discusses the results in relation to those reported by other studies, and offers some recommendations for universities planning to implement training policies designed to build more inclusive learning environments.     

The discursive construction of dyslexia by students in higher education as a moral and intellectual good

Interest in dyslexia as a topic of discussion in education, and in the media, runs through peaks and troughs. Dyslexic students in higher education must navigate their way through the possible meanings attached to the label, appropriating some and rejecting others, yet needing the label as a means to access support. The aim of this article is to explore the ways in which dyslexic university students constructed dyslexia and being dyslexic as moral issues during two focus group conversations. These conversations were discursively analysed with reference to Gee and Willig. Three key themes emerged following analysis: the interaction between the power of the grade as a marker of worth and the status of the dyslexia label; the tensions between acknowledging difficulties with writing and the construction of high literacy as morally aspirational; and the uncertain, yet persistent, construction of dyslexia as a valuable label and a moral good.     

The objects of transformation in higher education

This paper reviews the purposes of higher education in South Africa through to lens the 1997 Education White Paper. It is argued that, while the principles of the White Paper have shaped the development of the higher education system over the following decade the primary objectives of transformation have yet to be realized.     

Identity challenges and social experiences of higher education students with disabilities in Slovenia

This article focuses on the experiences and experiencing of disability, policies of self-understanding, and the life plans and aspirations of students with disabilities. The article draws on the results of a qualitative survey of students with disabilities taking courses in various faculties of the University of Ljubljana. The results show that students with disabilities are able to reshape their identities in a way that does not consist of the disability experienced, but is independent of it, and they are able to accept their disability as the reality of life without losing their own purpose of living and life plans. This experience is a significant part of the identity formation of people with disabilities, and the social experience of people with disabilities strengthens their selfhood while also producing new responses and challenges to contemporary issues of identity formation and identity policies.     

Disability and participation in the professions: examples from higher and medical education

Learners with disabilities remain under-represented in higher education and courses, such as medicine, that grant access to ‘the professions’. National and professional legislation, policy and guidance have changed over the last few decades in response to reforms in the way disability is viewed and valued by society. Principles of equal rights and equality of opportunity inform the negotiation of widened participation in the professions. However, drawing on the example of medical education, it is possible to see that widening participation agendas may be insensitive to the needs of learners with disabilities. Analysing the development of practice and policy from a participation perspective suggests that tokenism may have played a role in deprioritising the voices of individuals with disabilities, rendering policy disconnected from the needs of marginalised groups. The concept of participatory parity may provide an opportunity to readdress this misrepresentation.     

Beyond cognitive deficit: the everyday lived experience of dyslexic students at university

This study explores the lived experiences of three dyslexic university students as they negotiate a number of different learning spaces within their higher education institution. The students completed reflective diaries for a period of three weeks and were subsequently interviewed about the experiences they recorded. The transcribed data from the diaries and interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The following four themes were constructed following analysis: getting things out of my head; holding back – performance as risk; ever-present inner voices – effort of constant self-monitoring; and not belonging in academic spaces – metaphors of misfit. This study argues that attention to the everyday experiences of students with the dyslexia label is as important as knowledge of cognitive differences in the drive to create a more equitable learning environment in higher education.     

English language learning in the Japanese higher education sector: towards internationalisation

The graduate attribute ‘global competence’ is increasingly viewed as a significant learning outcome of a tertiary education. In Japanese higher education, global competence appears to be a lesser priority despite Japan becoming increasingly pluralistic. This article explores how adjunct foreign English language teachers (AFELT) encourage global competency in their classes. Data were drawn from 43 participants across 66 Japanese universities through focus groups and interviews. The research revealed that the positionality of AFELT on the margins institutionally had both affordances and constraints. First, being on the margins meant that AFELT had significantly lower status both institutionally and in students’ eyes, and AFELT were consequently constrained by these views. Second however, and paradoxically, distance from university hegemonic practices also provided affordances for AFELT in disrupting them. AFELT highlight that their pedagogical practices, while constrained, are both subversive and necessary in achieving students’ intercultural and global competencies.     

Phenomenography: the development and application of an innovative research design in higher education research

This article considers the application of phenomenography, as arguably the only research design (so far) to have been developed substantially within higher education research by higher education researchers. It considers its origins, meaning and application, and the issues and critiques that it has raised. It concludes that, while phenomenography has both acknowledged limitations and undoubted achievements, it still appears to have much to offer to higher education research, and its usage might be extended to other fields.     

Inquiry-based learning: A socially just approach to higher education

Higher education’s potential to transform social and economic status and improve society, underlies increasing demands to improve access. But simply increasing access is not sufficient—it is important to ask whether our prevailing pedagogical approaches facilitate an effective and socially just higher education system. In other words, are traditional pedagogical approaches used in universities today truly accessible to the broader student population entering university? The current paper argues that the majority of pedagogies remain rooted in traditional approaches that favor those who benefit from continuous education from primary through to tertiary education. Such approaches rely heavily on incremental credentialism and are neither truly accessible nor socially just. Most introductory courses in universities require prior knowledge and “expect” students to be enculturated into a particular type of learning: as such, students with different levels of preparation, who come from different backgrounds, may be excluded from full participation. In addition, the rising costs of tuition fees and textbooks, and access to technology create inequities that reinforce socially-based discrimination higher education. The paper reports on the impact of implementing a specifically designed course, using closed-loop, reiterative problem-based learning, to create learning paradigms that focus on a more socially just approach for students entering university: these courses do not demand specific prior knowledge, foster difficult ways of thinking, and focus on developing research skills through access to library resources. Finally, the paper reports on students’ expectations about higher education and underscores the importance of re-thinking at least the first-year experience for students.     

Barriers to inclusive education in Greece,Spain and Lithuania: results from emancipatory disability research

Inclusive education is a key aspect of the European Disability Strategy 2010–2020. The aim of this study is to give voice to three local organisations of people with disability and for people with disability in Spain, Lithuania and Greece, discussing the EU policy for inclusive education in relation to personal experiences and national policies, as part of the Able’20 European project. The points of view of 58 young people with disabilities were collected through the ‘theatre of the oppressed’ approach as an emancipatory disability research tool, aiming at the empowerment of young people with disabilities and their organisations. The voices of young people show the presence of physical barriers alongside more challenging cultural and institutional barriers, which strongly limit access to inclusive education, showing an opposite trend to the EU policy, and overshadowing the social model of disability.     

Intercultural competence development via online social networking: the Japanese students’ experience with internationalisation in U.S. higher education

ABSTRACT

This study examines the possibility that interaction through social network platforms can serve as an informal means of developing intercultural competence among international students in higher education settings. Japanese students studying in the United States at a university in the Northwestern US were invited to participate in a mixed-method study involving interviews about their social network use and interactions, and a structured questionnaire measure of intercultural competence development. Overall, the results indicate that those in the top tertile of intercultural competence development tended to describe more proactive social ways and benefits of interacting with potential sources of support over social media, whereas those in the bottom tertile tended to describe the importance and use of social media for passive consumption of information. The implications for the incorporation of social network platforms into higher-education programs for internationalisation and intercultural competence development are discussed.     

Disabled students: identity,inclusion and work-based placements

Research about disabled identity reflects diverse perspectives on the merits and challenges associated with such an identity. This paper explores the impact of disabled identity on the inclusion of disabled students in higher education and employment contexts. It considers their experiences of inclusion in a university setting and its associated work-based placements and discusses the extent to which students had to negotiate a range of experiences of disabled identity. The paper suggests that many disabled students, especially those with behaviour-related impairment labels, are subject to continued exclusion in university and, more particularly, work settings, and this contributes to an employment disadvantage compared with their peers. To this end, the paper highlights the importance of enhancing inclusion for disabled students, especially in employment settings, through a focus on reducing destructive identities.     

Likes,dislikes, supports and barriers: the experience of students with disabilities in university in Ireland

There are more students with disabilities going to college than ever before. It is important that colleges understand the experiences of students with disabilities when in university. This research project was carried out by 12 students with intellectual disabilities who are enrolled in an Irish university, under the guidance of their lecturers. The project looked at four research questions: (1) what do we like about going to college; (2) what do we dislike about going to college; (3) what supports do students with disabilities experience to participation in college; and (4) what barriers do students with disabilities experience to participation in college? The results show many interesting findings about what students with disabilities experience in college and this information can be used to help colleges better support students with disabilities.     

Facilitating intercultural education in majority student groups in higher education

ABSTRACT

The present article critically analyses the pedagogical efforts of two teachers to promote values education and intercultural reflection in their own educational practice. They teach in higher education in Norway and most of their students have majority backgrounds. Based on their teaching experiences with VaKE (Values and Knowledge education), the article discusses opportunities and challenges when working with values education in majority student groups. It concludes that discussing values is difficult but can be eye opening. It also raises the question of which dilemmas can prevent stereotyping and foster more complex intercultural thinking and shows that intercultural education requires a discussion of one’s own cultural position. The article highlights the teacher’s crucial role in the VaKE-process regarding the aims of intercultural values education.     

Concepts of choice and motivation in the discourse on the globalization of higher education

This paper reviews the findings of a participatory research project conducted with Nepali high school and university students. It examines the feelings and motivations of those students who leave the country in pursuit of higher education, and those who intentionally, or due to circumstances, stay in Nepal. An analysis of the latter is particularly important to the shifting discourse on higher education to the global South. This study promotes the inclusion of those students, and institutions, of higher education in developing nations who have been excluded from the discourse on globalization.     

The lived experience of students with an invisible disability at a Canadian university

University institutions are required by law to make their services accessible to students with disabilities. Canadian universities have gone a long way to eliminate the physical obstacles that present barriers for students. Many students with disabilities have invisible disabilities that require different types of adjustments. Although some researchers have evaluated the needs of students with disabilities in higher education, the unique needs of students with invisible disabilities have received less attention. The best means of assessing these needs is through direct consultation with students with disabilities. Thus, in-depth interviews were conducted with university students with dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and mental illness. Themes were developed that related to the nature of the disability, the accessibility of the university context, the social and organizational barriers, and recommendations for change. This research lends insight into how individuals with invisible disabilities believe that they are perceived within the university context.