Academic Diversity

What’s good for students with disabilities is good for all students

 Nikki Kenney, Stephen Manson, Dr. Margaret Faulkner

Learning & Teaching UnitUniSA

But why?!

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“It took me a little while to build up the courage to get back into the jist of going into education because you're interacting again isn't it you're back out there with the public. People look at you like, 'oh, he's in a wheelchair and he's in Uni, good on ya mate' you know what I mean.” Ozzy, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186

Outline

Context

Five key issues

Conclusion

Questions

"... that many people 'oh you're in a wheelchair - you're rubbish. You can't do anything.' A lot of it's, it is ignorance.“Spud, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186

Australian context

• 3.6 Million or 1 in 5 people have a disability, with number set to increase

• 1 in 5 will have a mental health condition at some stage in their life

• UniSA has the greatest number of students participating in higher education (7%) in comparison to state (6%) and national rates (4%)

•1448 students with disabilities enrolled at UniSA in 2008

Challenges in higher education when teaching students with disabilities…

• Limited discourse of disability in the literature for assessment theory

• Legislative requirement for higher education to provide accessible education and make ‘reasonable adjustments’ where required

• Only anecdotal evidence about what constitutes inclusive assessment approaches

• Lack of understanding about what terms like ‘inherent requirements’, ‘reasonable adjustments’, ‘academic integrity’ and ‘universal design’ mean

Five key Issues

1. Understanding disability in higher education

2. Identifying inherent requirements in course design & delivery

3. Developing reasonable adjustments

4. Maintaining academic integrity when teaching students with disabilities

5. Moving toward greater academic diversity

“If I did mention to someone that I was hard of hearing, they would start mouthing and talking to me like I was stupid, 'a li-ttle-bit-like-this', you know, 'a-re y-ou o-k?‘’”Cath, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186

Disability in higher education

• Social verses medical model of disability

• Social model fits with legislation and AVCC Guidelines

“Perhaps most importantly as we start to understand the ways in which society creates disability, and how this is present in the structures and approaches wecan find in educational settings, we can see the opportunities for acting to address these. In the everyday there are many opportunities for enabling educational practices which ameliorate the statusquo (Dr. Christopher Newell, ADCET, 2007).

Inherent requirements in course design/delivery

• Originally related to employment in DDA 1992

• Learning objectives are what are inherent

• When assessment design is linked to inherent requirements there is less need to make individual adjustments

• Accommodates student differences

“I don't believe people when they say you can't do anything because of your disability. Virtually nothing's unachievable with the right access and equipment, you can do anything...” Spud, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186

Developing reasonable adjustments

Takes into account…

• the student’s disability and his/her views • the effect of the adjustment on the student, including effect on his/her ability to achieve learning outcomes, participate in courses or programs and achieve independence

• the effect of the proposed adjustment on anyone else affected, including the education provider, staff and other students and

• the costs and benefits of making the adjustment(CATS website 2008)

Maintaining academic integrity when teaching students with disabilities

• Subjective and value laden

• Requires the use of good teaching practices

• Requires an understanding of the inherent requirements

“We've got the ability to do things, and we are able minded... People assume that wheels mean nothing up here in the brain... Whether they be disabled and walking, or disabled and in a wheelchair, they're still capable of putting something into society... It's up to us in a wheelchair to educate the people who are not in a wheelchair I'm afraid”.Peg, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186

Moving toward greater academic diversity

• Requires professional development

• Further consideration of students with disabilities is required in assessment theory and literature

• Need for the development of more resources to support academic staff

• Evidence that inclusive teaching practices work

Conclusion

• Student with disabilities are students first

• Inclusive teaching practices would accommodate the needs of all students

• Diverse and flexible assessment would reduce teaching workload

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“They can be quite judgemental about your disability. I mean the number of people who've told me 'you can't do that', really annoys me, especially as I can do better than they can sometimes”.Callum, Creature Discomforts© Leonard Cheshire Disability Registered Charity No. 218186