When digital capital is not enough: reconsidering the digital lives of disabled university students

Abstract

The relationship that disabled university students have with both their technologies and institutions is poorly understood. This paper seeks to illuminate the relationship using the conceptual lens of digital capital. Results from a study that used participatory methods to explore the technology experiences of 30 disabled students studying in one university were analysed with a view to revealing evidence for both cultural and social digital capital. Analysis suggests that disabled students possess significant levels of both cultural and social capital, but that there are times when this capital is compromised or insufficient to enable students to fully benefit from technologies. Possessing digital capital does not appear to guarantee complete inclusion into university life.

Developing Inclusive Technical Capital beyond the Disabled Students’ Allowance in England

“…He also argued that Bourdieu overlooked the irony of members of the middle class aping the habitus of the working classes by, for example, erroneously deriding high culture. However, Seale, Georgeson, Mamas and Swain (2015) and Seale (2013) find that forms of capital can often support social inclusion through education in technological skills-often referred to as digital capital. Bourdieu (2010) argued that it was through such forms of education that the practice of studying individual fields of education can become part of the viewer's social identity.…”

Not the right kind of ‘digital capital’? An examination of the complex relationship between disabled students, their technologies and higher education institutions

“…In contrast to the research intensive university sampled in the Seale (2013b) Table 2). Whilst the second largest group were those with medical conditions or mental health difficulties (53 out of 153; 34.6%) erroneous conflation of these two groups limits interpretation of these figures.…”

“…Students with learning disabilities reported using personal computers more frequently, especially for receiving practical advice. Seale (2013b) reported evidence that many disabled students had networks of online contacts which they used as sources of technical and study support. These online social networks incorporated message boards on company websites and professional networks such as LinkedIn.…”

“…There is a need therefore to explore the extent to which the results might generalise to students in other universities. The aims of the study reported in this paper are therefore twofold: firstly to examine in more detail the extent to which 'digital capital' can help illuminate the complex relationship which appears to exist between disabled students and their technologies and secondly to attempt 9 to replicate the findings of Seale (2013b) …”

“…The data used by Seale (2013b) were drawn from students studying in one UK university. There is a need therefore to explore the extent to which the results might generalise to students in other universities.…”