The reality of the FE-to-HE transition for disabled students: a case study

By Dr Ann Walker & Dr Lisa Reidy

Project funded by CETL Student Autonomy

Background & Project Rationale

• Disability Equality Scheme, Dec 2006

• 4.7% of SHU students in receipt of DSA (national average 4.1%, 2005/06 data)

• Project rationale: to study the challenges faced by disabled students in attending University, specifically their transition experiences

Previous Research

• Exacerbation of mental health difficulties (Tinklin et al., 2005)

• Academic and social anxiety among dyslexic students (Caroll & Illse, 2006)

• Issues relating to disclosure of disability (Goode, 2007; Madriaga, 2007)

• Delays in receiving support (Goode, 2007)

impact on autonomy and transition experiences?

Method: Participants & Design

91 students with learning contracts, from D&S

SEMI-STRUCTUREDINTERVIEWS

9 students19-40+ yrs,

Range of disabilities

QUESTIONNAIRE

32 students18-40+ yrs,

Range of disabilities

Research team

• 2 lead researchers – academic staff• 2 undergraduate students with Learning

Contracts• 1graduate student

• Knowledge gained from conducting interviews used to develop questionnaires.

Interview schedule

Adopted broad timeframe for transition: from application to university until the end of 1st year of study.

Specific questions relating to experiences of: • applying to the university• declaring disability and obtaining learning contract• induction week• experiences during the first year• how prepared students felt for their next transition,

into Level 5

Questionnaire schedule

• Followed a similar timeline to the interviews.• Open-ended questions as well rating scales.

Sample Question: How did you feel about declaring your disability to obtain your Learning Contract?1 = not at all distressed

2 = mildly distressed

3 = moderately distressed

4 = extremely distressed

Did you experience any other emotions after declaring your disability? Please specify below.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Results: Interviews

Interviews transcribed and following themes extracted:

• Applying to university• Access to support before starting course• Disabled students Induction/Open Days• Induction week events• Experience of obtaining a learning contract• Attitude towards disclosing disability• Feelings about disability and need for learning

contract • Academic staff’s awareness of learning contract• Attitude towards support and resources

Results: Induction week (Interview)

• P2: Well there was a Freshers week at the end of September which was very useful as I got to know more about SHU’s surroundings…we were allowed to look around the buildings and see where our classes would take place… they were selling refreshments in the lecture theatre and everyone was allowed to move around and chat to people and get to know each other better. I made quite a few friends there actually, it was really nice

• P7: I don’t know if you know about depression but you go right into yourself and you cut yourself off from everybody. I’d sort of been trying to go out more and socialise more and those kinda things, from being basically a hermit to going out and then suddenly induction week, errr.

• I: Too much in your face? • P7: It was just a bit freaky. And I felt very alone and very

unqualified to do this even though I had all…• I: You had all the pieces of paper? • P7: But I didn’t have the mental backup, you know as in

you can do this with you eyes shut kind of thing. Like don’t worry about it, get in there and on with it, but at the time I didn’t ….

Induction (Questionnaire)

• 44% of students having declared their disability on UCAS form had attended an induction event specifically for disabled students

• All but one of these students reported the event to be moderately or extremely useful

Experience of obtaining a LC (Interview)

• I: So as far as you can remember you had a meeting prior to starting here?

• P9: I had quite an intricate support network around me.• I: So that would have been in the summer and would that

be last summer, ’06?• P9: Yeah• I: So what do you remember, you had a meeting and that

was specifically to discuss what support was needed?• P9: I had a few, meeting with tutors as well to try and

sort out my timetable, scribes and those sorts of things.• I: So when you arrived was all your support in place?• P9: Yeah.

• I: And was support for you put in place, did you get a Learning Contract before you started or after you started?

• P8: It was after I’d started.• I: Yes, do you know how long after?• P8: It was, let me think… I’ve got my Learning Contract,

it should have a date on it. [Takes Learning Contract out of his bag]. It’s the 11/1/07. So that’s the time by which it was finalized. Because I needed to have my assessment of need. I’d had my psychological test but I haven’t had my assessment of need.

• I: And was that done after you’d actually started?• P8: Yes, and there was quite a waiting list as well so…

And that was it really. I just had to wait so that’s why it took to January. And then with regards to my equipment for dyslexia that was I think, March, beginning of March before all that was sorted out.

Completion of LC in relation to the student starting their course (Questionnaire)

Ticked disability on UCAS form

In place before start of course

Within 1 month

Between 1 & 3 months

Between 3 & 6 months

6 months plus

Yes 5 7 7 1 4

No 0 2 0 3 2*

(includes internal transfer student)

Overall 5 (16.1%) 9 (29%) 7 (22.6%) 4 (12.9%) 6 (19.4%)

Disclosing disability (Interview)

• I: So how do you feel about declaring your disability? Do you find it easy to say that you’re dyslexic?

• P8: Oh yes, definitely. I don’t find that I have a problem with that at all whatsoever, because I find that most people are very understanding about. Occasionally you come into contact with people who are not but that’s really far between. But in the university setting in general most people are really understanding

• P1: Through doing college and the access course I never disclosed that I had a disability, simply because I had this idea, I didn’t want people to feel there was something not right about me and to be ‘tret’ a different way. I know if sounds like I’m a bit prejudiced towards disabled people, in that sense, do you know what I mean?And later on in the same interview

• P1: …even initially I thought it might prejudice me getting a place at university. I actually phoned someone to check on it, saying “Should I bother applying if I’ve got such and such? She said they couldn’t refuse me a place because of it.

Level of Distress at Disclosure(Questionnaire)

Not at all

Distressed

Mildly

Distressed

Moderately

Distressed

Extremely

Distressed

21 (67.7%) 7 (22.6%) 2 (6.5%) 1 (3.2%)

Resources (Interview)

• P8: Things have improved dramatically since I received my equipment. It’s amazing the difference really. You know it’s unbelievable. It’s the equipment that really helped a lot.

• P2: X also recommended some software to be installed on my PC called Inspiration and she said some students use Inspiration to organize their work over the week. It can sort out which work needs to be handed in earlier than others and it really helps.

• P9:… so I book the taxi to take me to university and one to take me back and so if someone from university asked me to go somewhere or do something there’s no way I could go back on what I’m doing in that sort of time with the taxi. There’s also the care worker who’s booked for a specific time, so I kind of don’t get much flexibility.

• I: So in a way the academic thing, being at the lecture 9 o clock till 11, that’s fine because that’s booked but if you want to stay to talk to people that becomes problematic because you’ve got to book the taxi before you arrive. So having a social life becomes harder?

• P: Yeah. • And later in the interview• P9: But students aren’t that regulated they won’t say,

right we are doing this now, so I can book, it’ll be that they decide on the spot.

And in relation to socializing in the evenings P9: The Christian movement, they meet on a Thursday

night at the tea cups, the Students Union, but if my parents can't give me a lift I can't get there or if I don't have a carer booked.

I: So if you want to come in for Christian Union on a Thursday night you have to arrange transport?

P9: Which I have to pay for, because it's not a timetabled thing. There's loads of social opportunities, which are very difficult to get to and even then I'd have to pay 30 quid for a taxi or get my parents to give me a lift.

I: And also its not just paying for your taxi, you've also got to have the support there and you've got to pay out of your own pocket?

P9: Because at the moment I'm under the care of the agency, so they are not just sorting me out, they have various other clients so they’re going to come and chuck me in bed at a night time, they like the same time, and so if my parents aren't around that's my last chance to get in bed. I know I've got to be back at a certain time

Adequacy of support: comparison between FE & HE (rating scale 1= highly adequate, 4= not at all adequate)

Mean SD

L3 teaching staff

1.74 .86

HE Disability support

1.71 .78

HE Academic staff

2.00 .77

Project Conclusions and Recommendations

• student autonomy

• training for staff in promoting student autonomy

• Open Days and induction events

• UCAS application form

Discussion: Issues with Sample

• Small sample size

• Diversity of group: are experiences attributable to disability or other factors?

• Difficulties in generalising findings

Issues with interviews

• Shift from focus groups to interviews

• Students’ difficulties in recalling their experiences

• Student focus on LC/disability rather than general experience of HE

Issues with Questionnaires

• Able to test for patterns and trends

• Difficulty in categorising responses

• Relationships between students and individual members of staff – how to interpret

• Omission of specific reference to ‘autonomy’ – problematic?

Student Workers

• Timing of project in relation to summer break and refer/defer assessments

• Paid work and claiming disability allowance

• Issues of confidentiality

• Anxiety of working on a ‘real’ project

Final Conclusions

• scope for use of different methodologies

• focus on specific disabilities e.g. mental health

• consider whole diversity agenda

• inclusion of control groups

• need for national research