Post-secondary education for young people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review of stakeholders’ experiences

Abstract

Post-secondary education (PSE) is an important option in the educational and employment paths of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, PSE for young adults with ID is not in wide use across the world. Different issues might affect the geographical spread of PSE programmes. Some of these are related to the attitudes, expectations and/or funding for those programmes. In this systematic review, the PSE experiences of different stakeholder groups (young adults with ID, their parents, PSE staff and students without a disability) were examined by reviewing findings across 22 studies that investigated PSE for students with ID. This examination encompassed attitudes and motivation to engage with PSE, as well as stakeholders' perceived barriers and facilitators in accessing and remaining in the three PSE models (separate, inclusive and mixed). Students with ID and their parents were the stakeholder groups least represented in the available evidence. Findings suggested that most stakeholder groups reported positive experiences of PSE derived mostly from gains in social skills and independence. Several barriers to accessing PSE were reported by each group, namely physical and academic barriers by students with ID, an understanding of the PSE system by their parents, and the lack of training by PSE staff. Evidence from the present review seems to indicate that inclusive PSE models were associated with a more positive experience across stakeholder groups.

A Review of the Benefits and Barriers to Postsecondary Education for Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…Like studies on outcomes of PSE-IDD programs, there is an emerging body of research focused on barriers. Alqazlan et al (2019) recently reviewed these studies, identifying barriers specific to different stakeholders (e.g., students, parents, peers, instructors). For example, logistical barriers (i.e., funding, access to courses) were commonly noted among PSE-IDD staff while parents reported challenges in accessing PSE-IDDs.…”

“…A more in-depth understanding of the barriers based on where students are in the PSE-IDD process can provide important information about when barriers are more influential and when addressing them will be most impactful. Notably, Alqazlan et al (2019) reviewed PSE-IDDs across countries. As PSE-IDD administration differs based on PSE systems more broadly, in the current review, we focused on PSE-IDDs in the United States.…”

“…We further identified studies through an iterative process called "pearl growing," which involves using known eligible studies to improve search terms. Using previous reviews (e.g., Alqazlan et al, 2019;Mazzotti et al, 2021;Whirley et al, 2020), we examined cited articles and indexed keywords to find alternative keywords to search (e.g., severe disabilit*, cognitive impair*, community college, 2-year college, 4-year college). Using the identified 19 studies, we also hand searched reference lists and other articles that had cited these studies.…”

Attitudes of University Members toward Accepting Students with Intellectual Disabilities: a systematic review study

“…One study focused on inadequate attitudes towards students with disabilities (Campbell, Gilmore and Cuskelly, 2014), while another highlighted the fact that staff face many challenges in providing accommodating facilities for students with disabilities (Zhang et al, 2018). Six studies focused on positive attitudes towards students with disabilities (Costello and Boyle, 2013;Leyser et al, 2011;Fossey et al, 2017;Alqazlan, Alallawi, and Totsika, 2019;Alnahdi, Elhadi, and Schwab, 2020;Phillips, Fortney, and Swafford, 2019), while one focused on the willingness of teachers to participate in the education of students with disabilities (Leyser et al, 2011). One study also highlighted the neutral attitude of students towards students with ID (Alnahdi, Elhadi, and Schwab, 2020), as shown in Fig.…”

Examining Growth Among College Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disability: A Longitudinal Study

“…To date, the empirical literature has been surprisingly quiet when it comes to the growth students with IDD actually experience during their time in college. A small number of qualitative studies have asked program staff, parents, and students themselves about the benefits they perceive students accrue during their time in college (see reviews by Alqazlan et al, 2019; Whirley et al, 2020). For example, Miller et al (2018) interviewed parents about how their daughters and sons with IDD were affected by the college experience.…”