Listening to Students:The Experiences of Disabled GEES

Students of Learning in HE

Mick Healey and Tim Hall University of Gloucestershire

mhealey@glos.ac.uk

Exercise 1

In twos or threes briefly identify what you think are the main barriers and opportunities that disabled students face in learning and being assessed in geography, earth and environmental sciences?

3 mins

Introduction

• Disabled students face both barriers and opportunities in their learning in HE

• Despite the growth of interest in the topic, the voice of the disabled students themselves has hardly been heard, beyond the anecdotal

• Will examine GEES subjects in six universities in England

The Nature of Disability

‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’

Disability and Discrimination Act (1995)

4.8% of undergraduates (21,900) in the UK self-assessed themselves as having a disability in 2001/02

The actual proportion may be closer to 10%

Self-assessed disabilities by UK undergraduates2001/02 %

Dyslexia 37.6Unseen disabilities (e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, asthma) 23.5Multiple disabilities 7.1Deaf/Hearing impairment 6.4Wheel-chair user/Mobility difficulties 4.8Mental health difficulties 4.2Blind/partially sighted 3.5Personal care support 0.3‘Other disabilities’ 12.6

Source: HESA (2003)

The Nature of Disability

Improved Opportunities

• Quality Assurance Agency Code of Practice 3

• Disability Discrimination Act (1995)

• Human Rights Act (1998)

• Special Education Needs and Disability Act (2001)

– Become DDA (1995) Part 4

• Disability Discrimination Allowance

• Disability Discrimination Draft Bill

Context

• Hurst (1996) pointed out that the lived experience of disabled students has been missing from previous studies

• Despite the publication in the last two years of a number of guides to support higher education staff teaching disabled students (Doyle & Robson, 2002; Gravestock & Healey, 2001; Teachability, 2000), there are few studies which have responded to Hurst's call

Context

Aim: • To identify and evaluate disabled students'

experience of teaching, learning and assessment

Method:• Questionnaire survey of all GEES students in six

universities (Gloucestershire, Lancaster, Liverpool John Moores, Middlesex, Oxford Brookes, Plymouth) self-declared as having a disability

• 80 completed questionnaires, a response of 32% from GEES universities (2003)

Aim and Method

Findings from questionnaire 

• 14% chose the institution in the light of their disability

• 15% chose field of study in the light of their disability

Main Findings

Disability-related barriers %

Lectures 54Laboratories / practicals 25Other on campus classes 29Fieldwork – residential 19Fieldwork – non-residential 19Fieldwork – Independent 43Using IT facilities 17

Barriers Related to Modes of Teaching  

Look at the responses from the GEES students about the disability-related barriers that they have impacted on their learning in:a) Lectures (Box 3)b) Independent fieldwork (e.g. associated

with dissertation) (Box 11)

What conclusions do you draw from their responses?

Barriers Related to Modes of Teaching  

Disability-related barriers %

Written examinations 62

Coursework 63

Oral presentations 37

Barriers Related to Modes of Assessment  

Look at the responses from the GEES students about the disability-related barriers which have affected their experience of different types of assessment (Box 12).

What conclusions do you draw from their responses?

Barriers Related to Modes of Teaching  

• First survey of experience of GEES disabled students in HE

• Emphasised barriers they face, there are also many examples of good practice

• With slight exception of lectures, over 50% disabled students and often as many as 75% have NOT experienced any disability-related barriers with teaching and learning

• However, up to two-thirds of GEES students identified barriers with different forms of assessment

Summary and Conclusions

• Although the survey found that in many cases the minority of disabled students faced barriers in teaching, learning and assessment, for those who did face these barriers, they were serious in their impact

• These findings suggest that using a general category entitled ‘disabled students’ is problematic and devising general policies to support their teaching, learning and assessment may not always meet the specific needs of individuals

• This emphasises the importance of individual discussion with disabled students, rather than assuming one solution fits all

Summary and Conclusions

• It is invidious to treat disabled students as a separate category; rather they fall along a continuum of learner differences and they share the same challenges and difficulties that face all students in higher education

• Arguably in the long run the main beneficiaries of disability legislation and the need to make suitable adjustments in advance are the non-disabled students, because many of the adjustments, such as well prepared handouts, instructions given in writing as well as verbally, notes put on-line, and variety and flexibility in forms of assessment, are simply good teaching and learning practices which benefit all students

Summary and Conclusions

“One unintended consequence of this (disability) legislation is that as departments and institutions introduce more flexible learning and alternative ways of assessment for disabled students, demand is likely to rise for giving greater flexibility for all students. Disability legislation may prove to be a Trojan horse and in a decade, the learning experiences of all students may be the subject of greater negotiation.”

Healey (2003, 26)

Summary and Conclusions

“Have enjoyed course SO MUCH - very diverse modules. Just finishing now. Want to do Masters (urban regeneration) but can't afford to. After years of isolation / boredom / loneliness, felt like I came back to life. Sad because my intelligence/education / skills wasted. I sometimes try for jobs but overqualified / under experienced. My disabilities do not tidily fit into a box - plus very personal (some of them). What I am is wasted. Shame. Try to ignore/keep busy.”

(Complex, multiple disability)

Summary and Conclusions

Paper on which this talk is based is available:

GDN Web site: www.glos.ac.uk/gdn

Summary and Conclusions