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

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Carmit-Noa Shpigelman ◽  
Sagit Mor ◽  
Dalia Sachs ◽  
Naomi Schreuer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
Development Of Students

Non-Burdensome Process: An Argument in Support of Reframing What Constitutes Necessary Disability Documentation

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Axelrod ◽  
Adam Meyer ◽  
Julie Alexander ◽  
Enjie Hall ◽  
Kristie Orr
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
First Language ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Disability Accommodation ◽  
Disability Documentation

Institutions of higher education and their respective disability offices have been challenged with determining how to apply the 2008 Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) in our present-day work settings. Prior to the amendments, third-party documentation was considered essential almost to the point of being non-negotiable in need for most disability offices to facilitate accommodations for disabled students (The authors have made an intentional choice to utilize identity-first language to challenge negative connotations associated with the term disability and highlight the role that inaccessible systems and environments play in disabling people). The ADAAA questioned this mindset. Students with disabilities often found (and still find) themselves burdened financially and procedurally by disability offices requiring documentation to the point where students may not receive the access they truly need. Furthermore, college campuses are increasingly focusing on the limitations of the environment and not the person. As a result of this evolution, the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) offered a new framework in 2012 describing how to define documentation. For professionals in the higher education disability field and for those invested in this work, it is critical to grasp the evolving understanding of what constitutes documentation and necessary information to make disability accommodation decisions. Otherwise, disabiled students may be further excluded from higher education access.

scholarly journals Desafios e perspectivas do estudante com deficiência visual na educação superior: análise da produção científica

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (esp. 2) ◽  
pp. 1118-1136
Author(s):  
José Aparecido da Costa ◽  
Rosely dos Santos Madruga ◽  
Alexandra Ayach Anache ◽  
Eladio Sebastian-Heredero
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Educational Assistance ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Policies

The inclusion of students with visual impairments in higher education has still been challenging for managers and teachers to ensure academic success. Despite the investment initiatives by the government, but they are still insufficient in the face of the difficulties of access and permanence of these students. Therefore, the objective of this work is to analyze research on access and permanence with an emphasis on Specialized Educational Assistance for students with visual impairments in the productions of the Special Education Journal of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) in the period from 2014 to 2019. We used a quantitative-qualitative analysis of the nature of reviewing scientific production in the journal in question, for this we work with the indicators of disability, visual impairment, higher education, access, permanence, specialized educational assistance and their combinations. The search resulted in 519 articles, of which only 39 address inclusion in higher education. 14 were selected for analysis, dealing with visual impairment, higher education, inclusion and permanence. We conclude that the number of visually impaired students in Higher Education has increased by more than 50% (fifty percent), that there is a set of legislation that favors inclusion, but the conditions, whether of resources/technologies or teacher formation, do not yet appear for its effectiveness, according to research. Specialized educational assistance, guaranteed by law, is not yet perceived as materialized. Publications are relevant for the creation of new policies, actions and strategies for the permanence of students with disabilities in higher education and specialized educational assistance according to their specificities, but it still need further study.

scholarly journals Screening and Assessment of Specific Learning Disabilities in Higher Education Institutes in the Republic of Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Emma Harkin ◽  
Alison Doyle ◽  
Conor Mc Guckin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Academic Difficulties ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Specific Learning

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Ireland are required to have a formal psycho-educational assessment from an educational psychologist to register with Disability Services in HEIs, to be eligible for support through the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD). Such assessments are expensive and often beyond the financial means of students and their families. However, there is a sustained demand from students experiencing academic difficulties for diagnostic assessment of SpLD (Association for Higher Education Access and Disability [AHEAD], 2012). This study describes the SpLD screening and assessment practices implemented by HEIs in Ireland (n = 14), finding that (a) there are no defined parameters for assessment of SpLD in higher education (HE), meaning that methods and accuracy of identification of positive indicators may vary across HEIs; and (b) the majority of HEIs screen for dyslexia only, with little or no recognition of the need to assess for comorbidity of learning disabilities. Findings support the requirement for a reliable and valid standardised assessment procedure for Irish HEIs, which would provide equitable access to an initial diagnosis. Finally, a screening model is proposed, which is currently provided by one HEI.

scholarly journals Access to and Experiences of Higher Education Across Europe: The Impact of Social Characteristics

2020 ◽  
pp. 197-209
Author(s):  
Rachel Brooks ◽  
Jessie Abrahams ◽  
Predrag Lažetić ◽  
Achala Gupta ◽  
Sazana Jayadeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
National Level ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Higher Education Access ◽  
Education Access ◽  
Individual Interviews

Abstract Policymakers across Europe have increasingly emphasised the importance of paying close attention to the social dimension of higher education and taking further steps to ensure that the composition of Europe’s universities more adequately reflects the diversity of the wider population. While there have been a number of studies that have explored this through analyses of European- and national-level policy and others that have assessed a range of quantitative indicators related to student diversity, this chapter assumes, in contrast, an interpretivist stance; it is interested in the perspectives of those studying and working ‘on the ground’ within the European Higher Education Area. Specifically, we seek to answer this research question: To what extent do students and staff, across Europe, believe that higher education access and experiences are differentiated by social characteristics (such as class/family background, race/ethnicity/migration background, gender and age)? In doing so, we draw on data from a large European Research Council-funded project, including 54 focus groups with undergraduate students (a total of 295 individuals) and 72 in-depth individual interviews with members of higher education staff (both academic and non-academic). Fieldwork was conducted in three higher education institutions in each of the following countries: Denmark, UK-England, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Spain—nations chosen to provide diversity with respect to welfare regime, relationship to the European Union and mechanisms for funding higher education. We explore commonalities and differences between staff and students and between different countries, before identifying some implications for policymakers keen to promote further social inclusion within Europe’s higher education institutions (HEIs).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document