Disabled students in higher education: Discourses of disability and the negotiation of identity

Abstract

University is a critical arena for young disabled people in the construction of an adult identity and in obtaining higher level qualifications which have a major impact on future labour market opportunities. In Scotland, statistics show that there has been a steady increase in the proportion of students who are disabled. However, adopting the identity of a disabled person at university is far from straightforward, in part because of the conflicting discourses surrounding disability which are encountered. This article draws on data from a project on the experiences and outcomes of disabled students in UK universities, focusing on a case study of a particular student undertaking an initial teacher training degree in a Scottish university. The article illustrates the way in which positive and negative discourses of disability, reflected in learning, teaching and assessment practices and work placement experiences, impact on the identity of the student. The article also illustrates the importance of the social context in which disability is experienced. Whilst the student chooses to adopt the identity of disabled person during her time at university, this identity is rejected when she moves into the workplace. This is because the benefits of being identified as a disabled person at university outweigh the negative aspects, whilst in the postuniversity environment the reverse is the case.

The experience of disabled and non-disabled students on professional practice placements in the United Kingdom

“…They also wanted to describe the nature of their impairment in different terms (Watson, 2002, page 514). Recent research also confirms disabled students' rejection of such disabled discourses (Evans, 2014) and, in some cases, adoption of a disabled identity at different times and for different purposes; such as to enable access to disability-related funding (Riddell & Weedon, 2013). …”

“…For those students with unseen impairments, a disclosure, once made, cannot be retracted and may subsequently impact on the rest of their university experience and, potentially, into the employment setting (e.g. Houghton, 2006;Riddell & Weedon, 2013;Stanley, Manthorpe & White, 2007). Disabled students can therefore face a difficult choice, particularly if the placement provider is considered a potential future employer.…”

Resilience and Support Networks for University Students with Disabilities

“…This data is relevant sense for people with disabilities higher education is an opportunity, an experience of empowerment and improvement of their quality of life [3], [4]. Also, at present, different works justify the convenience of including people with disabilities in higher education, since they contribute to building a better university [5].…”

Resilience strategies employed by teachers with dyslexia working at tertiary education

“…A pool of studies illustrate that the number of students with specific learning difficulties entering higher education has increased (Griffin & Pollak, 2009;Griffiths, 2012;Kunttu & Pesonen, 2013;Valle, Solis, Volpitta, & Connor, 2004).The latest statistics reveal that 5% of students in Finnish HE have a learning difficulty of which dyslexia has been notified as the most common condition (74%) among them (Kunttu & Pesonen, 2013). The Finnish statistics do not reveal the field of study these students have enrolled in but the recent study by Riddell and Weedon (2014) reported that HE students with a diagnosis of dyslexia most typically (17. 6%) studied creative arts and design, and only 3.5 % were enrolled in the field of education.…”