Lowering the Bar? Students with Disabilities in PRC Higher Education

The China Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s030574102000123x ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Michael Palmer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Students With Disabilities ◽

Disabled Persons ◽

Education Law ◽

Chinese Higher Education ◽

Republic Of China ◽

Higher Education Law ◽

Educational Rights ◽

Rights And Interests ◽

The Right

Abstract In the People's Republic of China, the 2015 (revised) Higher Education Law provides that citizens enjoy the right to receive higher education. That legal ideal, however, is not easy to implement in practice. One important issue in higher education is the extent to which in law and in practice the educational rights and interests of students with disabilities are realized. In anticipation of difficulties, the same law specifically requires Chinese higher education institutions to enrol disabled students who meet the relevant admission qualifications and it explicitly prohibits rejection on grounds of disability. Admission standards and processes, however, remain a problem, as do social attitudes to disability, and other difficulties persist in securing the rights and interests of disabled persons in higher education. The complications that arise remain significantly under researched and are not explicitly addressed in the Higher Education Law. Proposals for reform are not likely to succeed without substantial changes in societal and governmental attitudes.

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Transferring Management Knowledge in Anglo–Chinese Higher Education Collaboration

Industry and Higher Education ◽

10.5367/000000008786102044 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 315-326

Author(s):

Kathryn Ringwald

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Knowledge Transfer ◽

Interorganizational Relationships ◽

Cultural Barriers ◽

Chinese Higher Education ◽

Open Door Policy ◽

Republic Of China ◽

Management Knowledge ◽

The Uk ◽

The Right

Since the initiation of China's ‘Open Door Policy’ in the late 1970s, the People's Republic of China has been considered a lucrative location for higher education partnerships, and many UK institutions have established collaborative relationships with universities in China. This paper considers the transfer of management knowledge that enables partnerships to function and thrive. In particular, it considers Chinese and UK perceptions of relationships and asks whether the conditions exist for knowledge transfer to be effective. Qualitative research was undertaken in China, Hong Kong and the UK to establish attitudes to interpersonal and interorganizational relationships. The study concludes that knowledge will be most effectively transferred where trust and social capital have been developed and where communication is open and unambiguous. However, the research indicates that there are certain cultural barriers to be overcome before the right conditions for effective knowledge transfer can be developed.

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Wheelchair users, access and exclusion in South African higher education

African Journal of Disability ◽

10.4102/ajod.v6i0.353 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Desire Chiwandire ◽

Louise Vincent

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Students With Disabilities ◽

South African ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Persons With Disabilities ◽

Wheelchair Users ◽

Staff Members ◽

Leading Role ◽

South African Universities ◽

The Right

Background: South Africa’s Constitution guarantees everyone, including persons with disabilities, the right to education. A variety of laws are in place obliging higher education institutions to provide appropriate physical access to education sites for all. In practice, however, many buildings remain inaccessible to people with physical disabilities.Objectives: To describe what measures South African universities are taking to make their built environments more accessible to students with diverse types of disabilities, and to assess the adequacy of such measures.Method: We conducted semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews with disability unit staff members (DUSMs) based at 10 different public universities in South Africa.Results: Challenges with promoting higher education accessibility for wheelchair users include the preservation and heritage justification for failing to modify older buildings, ad hoc approaches to creating accessible environments and failure to address access to toilets, libraries and transport facilities for wheelchair users.Conclusion: South African universities are still not places where all students are equally able to integrate socially. DUSMs know what ought to be done to make campuses more accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities and should be empowered to play a leading role in sensitising non-disabled members of universities, to create greater awareness of, and appreciation for, the multiple ways in which wheelchair user students continue to be excluded from full participation in university life. South African universities need to adopt a systemic approach to inclusion, which fosters an understanding of inclusion as a fundamental right rather than as a luxury.

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