Academic Access and Progress for Students With Intellectual Disability in Inclusive Postsecondary Education: A Systematic Review of Research

Abstract

The passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008 extended the expectation of previous legislation (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) regarding general education academic access for students with intellectual disability, from elementary to secondary and now through to postsecondary education. In light of this extension of academic access, the authors conducted a systematic research review of the studies that explored access to and progress in college academics for students with intellectual disability (ID) enrolled in inclusive postsecondary education (PSE) programs. Of the 43 studies that met criteria, between 1987 and 2017, less than half provided sufficient contextual information to confirm academically inclusive course attendance or participation. Findings and implications, regarding the lack of research exploring access to and progress in academically inclusive college course content for students with ID are discussed. Authors also discuss the need for consensus on academic expectations of students with ID enrolled in college courses and the timely use of compensatory technologies and strategies.

Inclusive Postsecondary Education for People with Intellectual Disabilities: Teaching Methodologies and Practices of Translating Rights into Practice

“…Models of education for people with Intellectual Disability at HE identified in the literature, include mixed or hybrid models, substantially separate models and fully inclusive individual support models (Hart et al, 2006). Research on teaching delivered in these models is sparse, was conducted predominantly in the US and Canada and to a lesser extent Australia and Ireland, reflects the perspective of educators rather than students, shows that staff are seeking guidance on inclusive teaching, and offers no definitive answers about which adaptations to curriculum and teaching are most effective (Bacon & Baglieri, 2022, ;Lee & Taylor, 2022;Whirley et al, 2020;Becht et al, 2020;Aston, 2019;O'Connor et al, 2012). Key themes in the literature include supports to facilitate inclusion, teaching modifications and adaptations, and faculty training needs.…”

“The change was as big as night and day”: Experiences of professors teaching students with intellectual disabilities

“…Recently, researchers have investigated PSE topics on the development of specific curricula for students with intellectual disabilities (Prendergast et al, 2017) and the difficulties of teaching specific subject matter (Pacheco et al, 2020). Emerging research includes a continual discussion surrounding students with intellectual disabilities auditing PSE coursework (Burgin et al, 2017), academic attendance and participation (Becht et al, 2020), as well as using the universal design for learning approach to support instruction (UDL; Love et al, 2019). Further, there is a need to examine professors' abilities and experiences in implementing effective instructional practices for students with intellectual disabilities in PSE, particularly within culturally diverse environments such as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), where increasing accessibility, in general, is a consistent goal (Hu & Blanco, 2021).…”

The Soaring Eagle Academy: the Inception of a Comprehensive Post-Secondary Transition Program for Individuals with Intellectual Disability in Southwest Florida

“…Finally, another systematic literature review revealed that publications on inclusive post-secondary education programs focus on student enrollment, student access to college course content, and student progress measurement (Becht et al 2020). Overall, publications on ctp s are increasing, indicating the significance of the heoa (2008) passage to students with id, educators (peer mentors and tutors), and the scholarly community.…”