Integration of a Disability Lens as Prerequisite for Inclusive Higher Education

PURPOSE. Occidental higher education often approaches disability as a disparate issue, failing to recognize that it is part of human diversity. Such an approach hinders inclusive education because it overlooks how disability is intertwined with other identities and concepts of exclusion. The overarching aim of this paper is to enhance understanding of (intersecting) disabling processes within education policy and practice and the impact thereof on students; and to raise educators’ awareness about how integration of knowledge from Disability Studies within pedagogy and their daily interaction with students, can positively influence disabled students’ wellbeing, their study opportunities and aid the overall process of inclusion.

APPROACH. This paper offers a disability lens by (1) presenting a literature overview from a Disability Studies (DS) perspective about disability and exclusionary phenomena, in particular disablism and ableism; (2) substantiating how a current focus on accessibility hinders actual inclusion; (3) analysing a case-study through the presented perspective with attention to Dutch contextual factors. For the case-study, the first author and ‘Tess’ engaged in regular conversations during a year in which Tess shared her experiences as a student of higher education. In this paper, a selection of these experiences is presented from a reflexive perspective and with application of the presented frameworks. With this, the complex impact of exclusionary processes on interactions between students, educators and on the organization of university involved (social) events is illustrated.

FINDINGS. The lack of nuanced, fluid and intersectional approaches to disability within mainstream education hinders the recognition of (epistemic) injustices. Exclusionary processes and practices in higher education remain unacknowledged, although they negatively impact disabled students and block their epistemic contribution. Moreover, the continued focus on accessibility hinders implementation of the international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and deflects attention from the fact that inclusive education requires systemic change and a multi-layered approach.

KEY MESSAGE. The current trajectory of disability inclusion is counterproductive without true systemic change. Integration of the presented disability lens is imperative for truly intersectional approaches to inclusion and offers educators a way to positively influence students’ wellbeing and identity development, even when policy changes are not yet achieved.