Incorporating disabled students within an inclusive higher education environment

This study investigated disabled students' perceptions and experiences of learning in a single university. The paper reports the views of disabled student volunteers with a range of impairments who were selected to discuss experiences of teaching and assessment that they commonly encountered. Four group interviews were organized in 2002, before the Disability Discriminants Act (DDA) part IV came on stream, in which disabled students were invited to reflect together on their experiences as learners at the case study university. In addition to teaching and assessment, the students also identified issues to do with access to, and the use of, information as important in their learning experience. We conclude that further studies will need to adopt a more integrated approach to understanding disabled students' experiences as learners.     

Negotiating identities: the lives of Pakistani and Bangladeshi young disabled people

Research has generally amalgamated minority ethnic (all called 'Asian' or 'black') disabled young people's experiences and failed to acknowledge the multiple aspects of Asian and black disabled identities, for example how the combined attributes of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, culture, class and disability shape their perspectives and experiences. In an attempt to address this issue my doctoral research explored the experiences and perspectives of 13 young Pakistani and Bangladeshi disabled people. By drawing on the substantive and theoretical findings which emerged from my analysis in this paper I shall consider how multiple aspects of identity, such as ethnicity, disability and gender, affect this population's identity and self-image and how this makes their experiences different from white disabled young people and other minority groups' experiences.     

New Voices in Iceland. Parents and Adult Children: juggling supports and choices in time and space

This paper deals with parents' perspectives and experiences of bringing up children with a variety of impairments in Iceland, and how they impact the young disabled adults' approach to the status of adulthood. The paper is based on a qualitative study that explored perspectives and experiences of 36 young disabled adults (16-24 years old), their parents, friends and teachers. The purpose of this paper is to share themes related to patterns of parents' reactions and choices when coming to terms with parenting a disabled child, the support they found from their social network and professionals, and their sons or daughters' subsequent views of themselves and their prospects as young adults. The paper includes different perspectives on adulthood and the extent to which the young disabled people expect to reach that status or remain as 'eternal youth' enmeshed in segregated services. Findings show that the type and nature of early support for parents of disabled children is critical for the young adults' approaching adulthood in regular society or expecting to remain in the limbo of 'eternal youth' within segregated settings. Early 'betrayals' may, however, be revisited at each subsequent transition point. Furthermore, parents and their disabled children who struggled for social inclusion could obtain full active membership in society, even against social and physical barriers, and medically defined disability labels.     

Barriers to employment as experienced by disabled people: a qualitative analysis in Calgary and Regina,Canada

Public policies stress greater inclusion of disabled people in the labour market and suggest ways to implement accommodative measures to these ends. Often missing from this literature is the experiences of disabled people in labour markets. This article reports results from a qualitative study conducted in 2005 and 2006 consisting of one‐to‐one and focus group interviews with 56 disabled individuals participating in employment training programmes in Calgary and Regina, Canada. Findings suggest the presence of workplace and employer discrimination and labelling as primary factors impeding respondents’ success in securing and maintaining employment in the labour market. The 56 respondents provide strong evidence that perceptions of disability have a greater impact on their inability to maintain and secure employment than does the lack of accommodative practices and measures in the workplace.     

Where Are the Children's Experiences? Analysing Social and Cultural Exclusion in 'Special' and 'Mainstream' Schools

In this paper we employ ethnographic data to illustrate that disabled children encounter discriminatory notions of 'normality' and 'difference' in both 'special' and 'mainstream' schools, and that these experiences relate to both the structural forces in schools, and the everyday individual and cultural practices of adults and children. In contrast to much of the literature in the field, this paper examines the everyday life experiences of adults and disabled children from their own perspective. We highlight disabled children's own criticisms of 'special' and 'mainstream' schools to illustrate the fluid nature of disabled children's lives within educational settings. We argue that schools will be prevented from becoming fully inclusive until adults who control schools take account of children's views of specific educational processes and until educational policy makers adopt a more nuanced multi-level approach to inclusion. Children should be enabled to challenge the structural, cultural and individual conditions which create disability.     

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.     

A review of the participation of disabled persons in the labour force: the Kenyan context

This paper presents a review of the challenges that disabled people experience in participating in the Kenyan labour market. It draws on existing literature and on a narrative of the experiences of one disabled academic in a Kenyan university to highlight some of the forms of discrimination that disabled people have to cope with in their workplaces. The goal is to further our understanding of the nature of barriers that disabled people face in the work environment in Kenya, with a view of exploring ways of addressing those barriers and developing some recommendations for improvement. It is clear from the interview with a disabled academic that, despite strides made by the Kenyan government in terms of enacting the Disability Act, which aims at boosting disabled people’s participation in employment, there is still a big gap between the law and its implementation. What is needed is constitutional change and implementation of the existing law at all levels, as well as provision of resources to support this change.     

Disabling Employment Interviews: warfare to work

Employment interview research displays a greater concern for refining employment interviews to benefit employers rather than prospective employees. The interviewee's perspective is often overlooked. Further, generally scant attention has been paid to the interview experiences of disabled interviewees. In this paper I present findings from a project that sought to understand disabled interviewees' experiences of employment interviews. My analysis suggests such experiences were dominated by feelings of anxiety and manipulation, particularly when contextualised within contemporary labour market conditions. In this context, I reflect on the need for ethical rather than technical concerns into employment interviews and how innovations in interview techniques may be having a negative affect on interviewees. I further stress the need to reject victim blaming ideologies when researching disabled interviewees' experiences of employment interviews to counter the over emphasis of past research into changing the disabled person rather than the disabling interview environment.     

Negotiating Identities, Negotiating Environments: an interpretation of the experiences of students with disabilities

This paper explores the experiences of nine students with disabilities pursuing degrees at a large Canadian university. An ethnographic approach was followed using face-to-face, unstructured interviews and a focus group to generate data. The analysis focuses on how these students negotiate disabled and non-disabled identities while negotiating the physical environment of the university campus. I argue that these negotiatory processes are necessarily interconnected and inherently contradictory.     

The experience of disabled and non-disabled students on professional practice placements in the United Kingdom

There are limited comparisons between the experience of disabled students in higher education and their non-disabled peers, particularly on practice placements. This article presents the results of such a comparison, across six professional disciplines in one UK university. The results revealed that both disabled and non-disabled students reported positive placement experiences and also similar difficulties. Such difficulties were exacerbated for some disabled students, however, including as a consequence of the attitudes of others to disability. Recommendations for practice are identified that aim to enhance the placement experience of all students and to remove barriers to access.     

Experiences of visually impaired students in higher education: bodily perspectives on inclusive education

Although previous literature sheds light on the experiences of visually impaired students on tertiary grounds, these studies failed to provide an embodied understanding of their lives. In-depth interviews with 15 visually impaired students at one university demonstrated the ways in which they experienced their disability and the built environment in their bodies. At the same time, lost, fearful, shameful and aching bodies revealed prevailing gaps in provision for disabled students. Through this research it becomes clear how the environment is acutely felt within fleshly worlds, while bodies do not fail to tell of disabling societal structures. Based on the bodily stories, we thus make recommendations to improve the lives of visually impaired students on tertiary campuses.     

Managing the Student‐Parent Dilemma: Mothers and Fathers in Higher Education

In this article, I explore how student‐parents draw on cultural discourses associated with parenthood and education when talking about their child care choices and schooling experiences. Unlike many other studies, I include the voices of both fathers and mothers. College students have extraordinary demands on their time, and their instructors do not generally expect them to be parents. Some students feel that in fact they are expected to be bad parents, bad students, or both. The use of accounts allows student‐parents to assert they are good parents even as they spend less time with their children and make their schoolwork a priority some of the time. As they modify their understandings of their capabilities as parents and students in this setting, they come to see themselves differently. They potentially change others' understandings of what good parents and good students are as well. Both the parent identity and the student identity change in the context of the university.     

Integration versus segregation: the experiences of a group of disabled students moving from mainstream school into special needs further education

Although the latest education policy for disabled students is one of inclusion, some students are moving out of mainstream schools into specialist colleges for their further education. This research uses a combination of group and individual interviews to explore why this move away from mainstream education is made. Results show that these students' moved into specialist education because of the inadequate physical accessibility of their mainstream colleges, the quality of disability services available to them and their previous experiences whilst in mainstream school. These students were able to identify both strengths and weaknesses within mainstream and special education for disabled students, and believed that educational placement should therefore be a matter of choice depending on the physical, academic and emotional needs of the individual. It would appear, however, that for the students participating in this research, their local mainstream colleges were unable to cater for their needs, indicating that their decision to move into a special needs college was not based on a real choice. Mainstream colleges are challenged to create a truly inclusive environment so that disabled students are offered a real choice.     

Disabled occupational therapists – asset,liability … or ‘watering down’ the profession?

Activists and academics advocate the involvement of disabled people in the education and training of health professionals and it has also been argued that the professions would benefit from including disabled healthcare professionals within their ranks. With increased numbers of disabled people entering all areas of higher education, it is likely that the numbers of disabled healthcare professionals will grow. This paper describes a small-scale study of the experiences of disabled occupational therapists who were asked to recount their journeys and to provide first-hand accounts of the reality of being a disabled health professional. The findings suggest that there is further work to be done before the profession benefits fully from the inclusion of disabled therapists, and the paper concludes by giving possible explanations and making recommendations to help facilitate this inclusion.     

Work-based learning in social work education: the challenges and opportunities for the identities of work-based learners on university-based programs

This article explores the experiences of work-based learners undertaking social work degrees in the UK. The article is based on research of work-based learners on undergraduate social work degrees based in two universities, a local face-to-face university and a national distance learning university. Based on narrative inquiry methods for data collection, the article presents two case studies from the wider study which provide narratives of ‘becoming’ and ‘being’ a student. Drawing on identity theory, the article analyses how identity is an important concept in understanding the challenges and opportunities for this group of students on their journeys into and through higher education. The paper concludes by considering the implications for current provision of social work education.     

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.     

Disabled People in a Newly Industrialising Economy: opportunities and challenges in Malaysia

Malaysia is one of the fastest developing countries in the world and by the year 2020 it will become an industrialised nation according to the Malaysian government's strategic plans. This dynamic situation poses numerous opportunities and challenges for disabled people in Malaysia. Two positive outcomes are opportunities in the employment sector as well as infrastructure developments. However, there are new challenges especially with regards to mainstreaming of educational and vocational training along with the need for a dynamic placement service. The rise in industrial accidents creates a new challenge, along with the changing demographic trends which could have a negative impact on disabled people. What is striking is that disabled people and their organisations are beginning to articulate these changes and making a claim for inclusion in Malaysian society.     

MANAGING TWO ROLES

The main reasons for students combining term-time employment with university life are seen as financial, although additional benefits and costs are associated with ‘earning and learning’. Most studies focus on the negative impact of combining these roles, suggesting that students’ term-time employment leads to poorer adjustment to university life in terms of academic performance, social inclusion and reduced psychological well-being. Methodological problems with previous research have made it difficult to draw firm and generalizable conclusions regarding the interrelationship between university life and term-time employment roles. The current study adopts a pluralistic approach to study the links between psychological well-being, satisfaction with academic performance and social integration and students’ term-time and vacation employment. The first phase, reported here, consisted of qualitative research. Nine focus groups were conducted with undergraduate students at Stirling University, Scotland. These data were examined using a content analysis approach. Both positive and negative aspects of combining work and studying were discussed within the focus groups. This provides a balanced picture of combining the two roles. Results are discussed in relation to the models of complementarity, spillover and separation.     

Work and Work Alternatives for Disabled Young People

This paper presents results from a population based action research study in East Devon of the needs of 383 young people aged 16-25 years with a whole range of impairments and disabilities, and 152 able-bodied controls. A comparison between these two groups is made of their current and past experiences of work and work alternatives. The aspirations and expectations of the disabled young people are also compared with those of their families and service providers, and the preferred occupations of the young people, with various profiles of disability, are explored. Although the analysis pinpoints groups of disabled young people with particularly high levels of employment handicap, there is, throughout the study group, a need for progress out of static or unstable occupational paths. The handicapping features of employment services that impede this progress are discussed together with an examination of society's response to high levels of unemployment among disabled people. The research findings, set within this context, provide a basis for action research now being undertaken in local communities within East Devon to improve employment opportunities.