Social engagement: Hearing the experiences of disabled students in higher education in Ireland

Abstract

Research on the experiences of disabled students in higher education in Ireland has focused primarily on barriers to their transition and academic experiences post entry. Their wider social engagement experiences have yet to be explored. Early and ongoing social engagement has been found to be particularly beneficial for non-traditional students leading to the creation of sense of belonging and greater student retention. There has been limited consideration of this area within Irish policy or research. As a disabled researcher with a human rights perspective. I adopted a qualitative framework which combined the transformative paradigm with the bio-ecological model. This approach enabled me to place the voice of the student at the center of the research whilst examining the system around them. The research upon which this article draws upon the findings of research carried out by a disabled researcher which brought together data from 65 participants, with representatives from 19 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the Republic of Ireland using a four-phased, sequential, and concurrent qualitative data collection methodology. This paper focuses on the disabled undergraduate student cohort from this research (n = 23) and the theme of social engagement. The key findings under the theme of social engagement included, (i) Social engagement was highly valued and recognized as being vital to the formation of connections that resulted in a sense of belonging. (ii) The majority of disabled students reported being socially engaged, yet almost all reported barriers to their social engagement. (iii) A lack of disability awareness, inaccessible physical infrastructure, peer, and staff attitudes, negatively impact upon students’ sense of value, ability to maintain friendships, and develop a sense of belonging. (iv) There was little evidence of structures or a strategic approach to disabled students’ social engagement. These findings resonate with international research which demonstrated that disabled students face a range of systemic barriers to their social engagement in higher education. The implications of this research point to a failure of national and institutional policy to adequately consider the social engagement opportunities of disabled students within higher education.

Intervenciones para la educación inclusiva del alumnado en situación de enfermedad crónica: Scoping Review

“…(2019) menciona las interacciones, la amistad y el rol de la amistad dentro de grupos heterogéneos como un facilitador de la inclusión educativa. Rath (2020), a su vez, menciona: Un gran número consideró que el compromiso social era importante porque creaba un sentido de pertenencia, y contribuyó a la participación comunitaria que es muy importante para la sociedad y buena para tu CV. Creían que era importante para una salud mental positiva, para prevenir el aislamiento social y para hacer nuevas amistades.…”

“…Sin embargo, algún apoyo formal, el cual es parte de los derechos estipulados en el marco legal, suele considerarse como un acto generoso por parte de los responsables en vez de considerarse un servicio dictado por un derecho (Rath, 2020).…”

“…El sentido de pertenencia, la cohesión del grupo y la sensación de normalidad son factores que han sido mencionados como facilitadores de la permanencia en centros educativos regulares y continuidad de los estudios (Rath, 2020;Jiliberto et al, 2022;Llabrés, 2019;Woodgate et al, 2019;Gathercole, 2019). Rath (2020) distingue el sentido de pertenencia como un facilitador para la motivación, la perseverancia, el compromiso, el sentido de identidad, la participación, el descenso de la ansiedad y el incremento de las relaciones sociales.…”

“…Otras barreras enumeradas por estudiantes de nivel universitario son: dificultad en interacciones sociales, financieras, de desplazamiento, falta de transporte, de alojamiento, familiares, médicas, carga de estudios y trabajos, tipo de eventos, edad de compañeros/as, problemas estructurales, actitudes negativas y comportamiento negativo para con ellos/as (Rath, 2020). Moriña (2017) menciona que además de las experimentadas con anterioridad se suma la dificultad de acceso al mercado laboral.…”

International undergraduates’ perceptions of social engagement in online and face-to-face learning environments: a photo-elicitation approach to thematic analysis

“…International students are aware of such attitudes: research consistently lists linguistic capabilities among their primary concerns (Perry et al, 2017). In fact, self-perceptions of English language abilities correlate with their psychological well-being and confidence in interacting with domestic students, which in turn also correlates with their mental wellness and their social engagement activity (Rath, 2021). Social engagement, often used interchangeably with terms like interaction, involvement, or even collaboration, refers to one's integration into academic and social systems.…”