Davies, Chantal

Morrow, John

ChesterRep

       This work has been submitted to ChesterRep – the University of Chester’s online research repository    http://chesterrep.openrepository.com   Author(s): John Morrow ; Chantal Davies   Title: A theoretical consideration of academic assessment of students with specific learning difficulties studying for qualifying law degree at a small northern university    Date: 11 September 2014   Originally given at: Approaches to Inequalities: Perspectives from Higher Education Conference 2014    Example citation: Morrow, J., & Davies, C. (2014, September 11). A theoretical consideration of academic assessment of students with specific learning difficulties studying for qualifying law degree at a small northern university. Unpublished presentation given at Approaches to Inequalities: Perspectives from Higher Education Conference 2014, University of Northampton.  Version of item: Given at conference    Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10034/347440 John MorrowChantal DaviesUniversity of Chester Theoretical Background  Increased focus on widening participation in higher education Equality Act 2010 SpLD students get lower grades at university ‐ Jelfs and Richardson 2010, Mortimore and Crozier, 2006 Students with SpLDs struggle with traditional assessment methods (Osborne, 1999) 5.61% of undergraduate students declared a SpLD (2009) 3.41% of undergraduate law students declared a SpLd in 2009 (Equality Challenge Unit, 2011)Qualifying Law Degree  Joint Statement the Law Society and the Bar Council (2001) Skills and knowledge required  Implicit requirement for traditional form of assessment  Creating conflict with equality legislation, Holms (2002) Qualification bodies are under a duty to provide reasonable adjustment s. 53(6) Equality Act 2010 No longer exempt, as had been in Cox v General Medical Council (GMC) [2003] 70 B.M.L.R. 31 Burk v College of Law (UKEAT/0301/10/SM)Research Methodology  Qualitative longitudinal enquiry Adjustments for assessment: experiences of law students with SpLDs Comparison with law students without SpLDs Beliefs and perceptions of University academic and support staffMain Themes from Initial Data  The problematic nature of categorisation (Mortimore, 2008) Stigma (Fuller et al. 2004) Tension between academic and student support staff (Mortimore & Crozier, 2006) The impact of staff interpretation of university policy External factors to the university The need for inclusive practise Inclusive Practice Nature of Assessment(Osborne, 1999) Effectiveness of Adjustments (Hanafin et al. 2007) Inclusive Assessment (Waterfield and West, 2009)  Benefits to inclusive assessment (Cradock & Mathias, 2009) Problems with Inclusive Assessment  Initial implications  Conclusion  Hurdles exist for law students with SpLDs in HE  Current methods of assessment may be making law degrees inaccessible for students with SpLDs Adjustments appear to struggle to overcome this  Need to reconsider how far assessment can become more inclusive Questions to considerDo other subject areas face similar problems with ‘traditional assessment mythology’?How effective are standardised adjustments in relation to academic assessment?Examples of inclusive assessment?References Burk v College of Law (UKEAT/0301/10/SM)  Cox v General Medical Council (GMC) [2003] 70 B.M.L.R. 31 Cradock, D., & Mathias, H. (2009). Assessment options in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34, 127‐140. Equality Challenge Unit. (2011). Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Report 2011 part 2: Students. London.  Gilroy, D.E., & Miles, T.E. (1996). Dyslexia at College. (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Hanafin, J., Shevlin, M., Kenny, M., & Mc Neela, E. (2007). Including young people with disabilities. Assessment challenges in higher education. High Education, 54, 435‐448. Holms, A., (2002). Accessibility in law schools: learning, teaching and assessment. UK Centre for Legal Education. Retrieved on 15/01/2013 from http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/equality‐and‐diversity/holmes/ Jelfs, A., & Richardson, T., (2010) Perceptions of academic quality and approaches to studying among disabled and nondisabled students in distance education. Studies in Higher Education, 35(5) 593‐607. Mortimore, T. & Crozier, W. R. (2006). Dyslexia and Difficulties with Study Skills in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, 32 (2), 235‐251. Mortimore, T. (2012) Dyslexia in higher education: creating a fully inclusive institution. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 13(1), 38 – 47.  Osborne, P., (1999). Pilot Study to Investigate the Performance of Dyslexic Students in Written Assessments. Innovations in Education & Training International, 36:2, 155‐160.  The Law Society and Bar Council (2001).  A Joint Statement issued by the Law Society and the General Council of the Bar on the Completion of the Initial or Academic Stage of Training by Obtaining an Undergraduate Degree.  Riddell, S., & Weedon E. (2006). What counts as a reasonable adjustment? Dyslexic students and the concept of fair assessment. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 16:1, 57‐73. Waterfield, J. & West, B., (2009). Inclusive Assessment. Inclusive Practise E‐bulletin series, 2. Contact Details John MorrowUniversity of ChesterParkgate Rd, Chester, CH1 4BJJ.morrow@chester.ac.ukChantal Davies University of ChesterParkgate Rd, Chester, CH1 4BJChantal.davies@chester.ac.ukwww.chester.ac.uk/fred

A theoretical consideration of academic assessment of students with specific learning difficulties studying for qualifying law degree at a small northern university

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A theoretical consideration of academic assessment of students with specific learning difficulties studying for qualifying law degree at a small northern university

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