Disabled Students and Fieldwork: Towards Inclusivity

1
Disabled Students and Fieldwork Towards
Inclusivity?

• Partly from Carolyn Roberts, University of
  Gloucester, Alan Jenkins and Jonathan Leach,
  Oxford Brookes

2
Challenges and Opportunities for Departments

• If widening participation is to become a reality
  for disabled students, academic staff will need
  to take ownership of disability issues and work
  in partnership with disability practitioners and
  disabled students to ensure an appropriate
  learning experience
• (Adams and Brown, 2000, p.9)

3
Context

• Legislative changes
• DDA (1995)
• SENDA (2001)
• Disability rights commission
• Disability rights taskforce
• Human rights act (1998)
• Quality assurance changes
• QAA code of practice
• Financial changes

4
Nature of Disability in HE

• Self- assessed disabilities by UK undergraduates
  1998/9
• Unseen disabilities (e.G epilepsy, diabetes,
  asthma)
  39.0
• Dyslexia 25.5
• Other disabilities 12.1
• Multiple disabilities 6.6
• Deaf/hearing impairment 5.8
• Wheelchair user/mobility difficulties 4.7
• Blind/partially sighted 3.3
• Mental health difficulties 2.8

5
What Are the Barriers to Inclusion?

• Attitudes
• Institutional and organisational system barriers
• Physical barriers

6
Dismantling the Barriers

• Assessing what is a reasonable adjustment
• Affect maintenance of academic standards?
• Cost against resources available
• Practical?
• Effectiveness of adjustment?
• Disruption to others?
• Who should provide additional provision?
• Importance of service to which access sought

7
Access Issues 1

• An issue for the University Department
• A mature student, aged 55 suffers from arthritis,
  but wishes to participate fully in a Tourism
  Field Trip. The trip has only previously
  included young fit students in their twenties.
  Normally it goes to the Scottish Highlands to
  look at the potential impact of global warming on
  the Scottish skiing industry. It is a good
  location and the lecturer running the course has
  good contacts with the Tourist Board and
  operators. The accommodation has been in the
  mountains in rather rudimentary mountain chalets.
  The student hates to be the centre of attention,
  and is very keen that her presence does not
  compromise the experience of the other students.
• What advice should the department give her, and
  what issues should it face when organising the
  trip?

8
Access Issues 2

• An issue for a lecturer assisting with a field
  trip
• A student with severe dyslexia is about to visit
  a leisure facility under construction as part of
  a Leisure Management Course. Just before they
  leave, he is given papers relating to a risk
  assessment of the visit and asked to complete the
  forms quickly, as they are late. The originals
  have to be left with the department office and
  copies made for the administrator as a legal
  requirement. All the students are busy filling
  in the forms agreeing that they have read and
  understood the risks involved in the visit.
• You are a member of the academic staff and you
  notice that the student, who you do not know,
  appears to be having difficulty completing the
  form. What do you do?

9
Access Issues 3

• An issue for a field course tutor.
• An introductory tourism course field excursion is
  examining the environmental impacts caused by
  walkers along the Pembrokeshire coastline. The
  students will need to bring back evidence of what
  they have noticed for inclusion in their
  coursework. The group includes a partially
  sighted student who normally travels with a guide
  dog, and is starting to use auditapes and large
  print to support her study in the classroom and
  library.
• You, the tutor, meets the student for the first
  time two weeks before the class is due to go.
  What do you do?

10
Issues for HEIs

• Among the questions that institutions should ask
  regarding fieldwork are
• What are the learning objectives of the
  fieldwork?
• What are the barriers that may restrict
  participation?
• What modifications could be made?
• Are there some elements of the fieldwork
  experience that the students can participate in?
• Are there other related courses available where
  the fieldwork component is less central?

11
Modifications to Fieldwork

• Provide written details of what is to be seen in
  advance
• Make a video of the location and issues
• Investigate an alternative non-residential venue
  for a student who needs daily treatment
• Shortening trips or providing rest periods
• Provide a scribe
• Provide large print material in advance

12
Spectrum of approaches

• Adjusting Methods
• Adjusting Adjusting modifying offering
• objectives/ fieldtrips
  practices alternatives-
• outcomes surrogate/
• virtual trips
• INCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE
• CURRICULUM CURRICULUM