Needs or rights? A challenge to the discourse of special education

It is nearly 30 years since Mary Warnock's Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young People introduced the phrase ‘special educational needs’ into the UK education system. In this article, Katherine Runswick-Cole, Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University, and Nick Hodge, Principal Lecturer in Research Development at Sheffield Hallam University, argue for the abandonment of the ‘special needs’ discourse, claiming that it has, in fact, led to exclusionary practices within education. Building on the work of early years educators in Reggio Emilia schools in Northern Italy, the authors advocate for the adoption of the phrase ‘educational rights’ and suggest that the positive impact of such a linguistic turn would be significant for the lives of young people currently described as having ‘special educational needs’ and for children's rights

IMPACT, Fall 2018

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/impact/1018/thumbnail.jp

Higher education provision for students with disabilities in Cyprus

Internationally, the number of students with disabilities entering higher education institutions is on the rise. Research estimates that 8–10% of students attending higher education are registered with disability, with learning difficulties being the most commonly reported disability. Widening participation in higher education has been supported by legislative changes, inclusive education practices, the use of ICT and accessible facilities and programs and, ultimately, an increasing belief among students with disabilities that higher education maximizes their opportunities for employment and independent living. Within the Cypriot context, research on disability, access and provision in higher education is limited. This study was a part of a large-scale study (PERSEAS) funded by the EU. From the original sample, 15 students attending private higher education institutions in Cyprus reported disability (i.e., sensory impairment, dyslexia, physical disabilities) and were selected for focus group discussions. Also, interviews and focus groups were conducted with the Headmasters and teachers, respectively, in 10 private higher education institutions. This study yielded interesting results regarding the current state of provision (e.g., concessions for exams and assignments, infrastructure, teaching modification, counseling services) as well as issues of social inclusion, equality of opportunity and entitlement to education

Who pays for youth disengagement and unemployment? A case for smarter thinking and for investment

Background: In March 2015 a Working Group was established by Andrew Neophytou (CEO, Inner Eastern Local Learning & Employment Network) on behalf of the Inner Metro Youth and Community Partnership (IMCYP). This Working Group was formed to discuss and consider actions around youth transitions and pathways, as a response to worrying levels of youth disengagement and unemployment, whether viewed from a regional, state or national perspective. Part of the impetus behind the Group’s formation was concern for the wellbeing of young people (largely but not exclusively those aged 15 and over) who were at risk of disengaging from education, or were already disengaged. Like the IMYCP, e2e has these aims: Advocacy and strategic input and advice to government about children and young people, and the organisations that support them Sharing information and research around transitions and pathways Building relationships with key stakeholders to develop a cross-sectoral response to address issues relating to transitions and pathways Identifying potential pathways and referral options for young people that are most at risk Providing best-practice examples / models for work and professional development. A dozen stakeholder organisations / bodies have embraced these aims, and form the nucleus of the e2e Working Group: Representatives from the following stakeholders form the nucleus of e2e: Ardoch Youth Foundation Capital City LLEN City of Stonnington – Youth Services Education Engagement Partnership (EEP) Inner Melbourne VET Cluster (IMVC) Melbourne City Mission (MCM) / SKYS Melbourne Polytechnic Prahran Community Learning Centre (PCLC) SouthPort Uniting Care (SPUC) Taskforce Community Agency Victoria Police As a first step, this Working Group agreed to develop a Discussion Paper. This Paper, completed in late July 2015, provides key reflections arising out of discussions the network members have had, and the reading we’ve done.  This discussion paper is intended for a broad readership.  It includes some introductory pages (eg background; a note about terms and definitions used; statistics; and five principles for smarter thinking and investment).  The bulk of the paper covers eleven themes, each followed by a number of recommendations (averaging about six per section), which are aimed for a range of stakeholders, including government departments, peak bodies, and NFP organisations.   The eleven themes are: policy; consultation; funding / youth specific programs; workforce strategy – including professional learning; partnerships – including with industry; education disengagement; VCAL & VET; disabilities; “middle years”; abuse and trauma; and diversion.&nbsp

Socio-economic inequalities in physical functioning: a comparative study of English and Greek elderly men

The associations between socio-economic position (SEP) and physical functioning have frequently been investigated but little is known about which measures of SEP are the best to use for older people. This study examined how different SEP indicators related to the physical functioning of men aged 50 or more years in England and Greece. The data derived from Wave 1 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Self-reported physical functioning limitations and mobility difficulties were combined and categorised into ‘no disability’, ‘mild disability’ and ‘severe disability’. The SEP indicators studied were: wealth, educational level and occupational class. The findings indicate that respondents with less wealth, fewer educational qualifications and lower occupational class were more likely to experience mild or severe physical disability than those of high SEP. When all three measures of SEP were adjusted for each other, in both samples wealth maintained a strong association with mild and severe disability, while education was associated with severe disability but only among English men. Occupational class was not strongly associated with physical disability in either case. Hence, among English and Greek older men, wealth was a more important predictor of physical functioning difficulties than either occupational class or education

Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth annual report 2013

The purpose of LSAY LSAY is designed to examine major transition points in young people’s lives, including completing school and transitioning to work or further training and education, as well as other aspects of their lives. LSAY follows nationally representative cohorts of young people over a ten-year period, with interviews taking place annually. Each cohort starts out with about 14 000 students. Survey participants enter the study when they turn 15 years or, for earlier studies, when they were in Year 9. To date, there have been five cohorts,1 the first starting in 1995 (known as Y95), followed by further cohorts in 1998, 2003, 2006 and 2009 (known as the Y98, Y03, Y06 and Y09 cohorts respectively). The last three of these cohorts were still active in 2013 (although it was the last year for the Y03 cohort). Interviews are conducted by telephone, with online interviews also possible from 2012. Since 2003, the sample for the initial wave has been coordinated with the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Only six other countries have surveys that use the PISA sample (Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Uruguay), making LSAY a relatively unique survey. LSAY provides a rich source of data relating to the transitions of students from school to post-school destinations; it also explores their social outcomes, such as wellbeing. Information collected as part of the LSAY program covers a wide range of school and post-school topics, including: student achievement; student aspirations; school retention; social background; attitudes to school; work experiences; and what students do when they leave school

Inclusive university education viewed by the non disabled students

In this paper we present a study that tried to understand how university students without disability evaluate the impact of disability on academic life. This study is part of a major research project: Integration processes and academic success of university students with disability, which is supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. The purpose was to understand what they thought would have to change in their life in order to continue to study, if they had a disability. In order to see if there were differences between types of disabilities we distinguished three of them: physical, visual and hearing. 160 university students of different knowledge domains answered to a Perception of Disability Impact on Academic Life Questionnaire. We found that students with an affiliation to human and social sciences show more positive perception of the impact of disability on the academic involvement. In the same way, this positive perception is manifested by students who have a colleague with disability in their classes. Implications for university inclusive education will be discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).National Bureau for the Rehabilitation and Integration of People with Disability

Accessibility of Cypriot University websites in Cyprus

Abstract: Access and equity in higher education is a complicated discipline related to social, economical, technological and political developments in a country. This paper is a work in progress and it aims to discuss issues of accessibility in Higher education regarding equal opportunities in the use of technology for students with disabilities. Accessibility to technology and with technology, especially in the internet era, includes different types of physical and digital design. These not only refer to specialised interface devices often referred to as assistive technology, but also to the accessibility of the web itself (Zaphiris & Zacharia, 2001). Examining access in higher education from the point of view of technology, this paper aims to: 1. briefly present and discuss the provisions of the current Cyprus and European legislation regarding the use of accessible technology and access to technology (and the use of the web) in higher education for students with disabilities. 2. investigate the ways universities respond to the needs of their students with disabilities regarding the use of accessible technology and access to technology 3. analyze the accessibility of the Cyprus universities’ web sites Data collection involves: (a) analysis of Cyprus and European documentation, (b) interviews with officers of the student affairs and welfare departments of each university and (c) expert accessibility evaluation of the websites of all universities in Cyprus. The educational system in Cyprus is highly centralised and policies of funding, administration and pedagogy are centrally developed by the government (Symeonidou, 2002). Education is compulsory until the age of 15, and almost 100% of the students continue their education in the lyceum or technical school, and the majority continue in further and higher education, in Cyprus and abroad. With the establishment of 3 public and 4 private universities in the country the numbers of student continuing in higher education are highly increase in the last 4 years, including an important number of students with disabilities. Provision for the education of students with disabilities is traditionally called by the 1999 Education Act for the Education of Children with Special Needs (MOEC, 1999), which was formally implemented in 2001. Preliminary data and information from previous studies evidenced that among others, the legislation is covering general issues of accessibility (cognitive, physical and communication), which also may imply technology, without though providing any specific guidelines (Mavrou, 2011). In addition, it provides relevant directions for higher education, but mainly poses the responsibility to the higher educational institutions. Hence, issues of accessibility and technology do not seem to be officially directed by legislation or regulations and guidelines by the Cyprus government, at any level of education or other sectors, even if the country have signed relevant EU conventions and documentation. Accessibility for information on the Web has been well regulated in the United States (U.S.) and the European Commission (DRC, 2004; Section508, 2011). The European approach to ensuring the availability of accessible information on public Web sites is encapsulated in the eEurope Action Plan 2002 which emphasises that, “Public sector web sites […] must be designed to be accessible to ensure that citizens with disabilities can access information and take full advantage of the potential for e-government” (EU Commission, 2000). Unfortunately the Cypriot legislature is not yet in line with the European action plan on the issue of web accessibility. There are no specific legislative or regulatory measures regarding eAccessibility for public or private websites in Cyprus (eInclusion). However, Article 16 of the new EU Structural Funds regulations is expected to have an impact on eAccessibility and as Cyprus has signed the Convention, now Article 9 sets forth the obligation of the country to ensure accessibility to the Internet (but it is not a legislation). As per eInclusion in Cyprus, it was planned that within 2010, these sites would be further enhanced based on WCAG 2.0, level AA (EU. 2010). To our knowledge, only one previous study has analyzed Cypriot web sites with respect to accessibility via automated testing on WCAG1.0 (Zaphiris & Zacharia, 2001). The results showed that the Cyprus websites, including academic websites, were ranked very low in terms of accessibility (only 20% of them were Bobby approved). The present study, aims to investigate the accessibility of new technologies, especially the web, of universities, 10 years after the first study, as well as after Cyprus joined the EU where signed relevant conventions and documents

How do Spanish disability support officescontribute to inclusive education in the university?

This article analyzes the functioning of disability support offices and their contribution to inclusive education in seven Spanish universities from the perspective of staff. Using a qualitative methodology, interviews with office staff were conducted, and data were analyzed through an inductive coding system. The results are organized around five themes: characteristics of disability support offices, staff training, functions performed by different services, barriers and opportunities identified by office staff, and proposals to improve attention given to disabled students. Information gathered leads to the conclusion that the work carried out in disability support offices must receive support from universities, as these offices are a key element for the access and retention of students with disabilities in the university and for the successful completion of their studies

Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA

This brochure is one of a series on human resources practices and workplace accommodations for persons with disabilities edited by Susanne M. Bruyère, Ph.D., CRC, SPHR, Director, Program on Employment and Disability, School of Industrial and Labor Relations – Extension Division, Cornell University. Cornell University was funded in the early 1990’s by the U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research as a National Materials Development Project on the employment provisions (Title I) of the ADA (Grant #H133D10155). These updates, and the development of new brochures, have been funded by Cornell’s Program on Employment and Disability, the Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, and other supporters