Inclusive curricula in Spanish higher education? Students with disabilities speak out

Abstract

This paper studies barriers and support affecting access, experience and performance as identified by students with disabilities at the University of Seville. Biographical-narrative research methodology is employed and the study is limited to an analysis of the design and development of subjects across the curriculum. Findings, which give voice to the students themselves, are organized in four topic areas: subject structure, methodology, tutorials, and assessment. The paper concludes with a review and discussion of key findings as well as suggestions for improvement and policy-making.

Keywords:

• higher education
• students with disabilities
• barriers
• support
• biographical-narrative method

Notes

1. ‘Barriers and Support that Disabled Students Identify in the University’. Project financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Dir. Dr. Anabel Moriña, EDU2010–16264).

2. The five fields of knowledge at the University of Seville are: Health Sciences; Experimental Sciences; Social Sciences (Law & Education); Engineering & Technology; and Humanities.

3. In contrast to other Spanish and international universities, University of Seville policy does not define specific learning challenges such as dyslexia as ‘disability’.

4. The Bologna Process refers to reform undertaken by European universities leading to the creation of the European Higher Education Area. Main objectives include: adopting a common, easily understandable, comparable degree system designed to promote pan-European employability and make the European HE system more competitive internationally; establishing a common credit system – the European Credit Transfer System – in order to facilitate student mobility among European institutions of HE and lifelong learning; encouraging cooperation among European Member States aimed at developing comparable, high-quality criteria and methodologies.

5. To safeguard the confidentiality of participants in this study, the following abbreviations are used to identify them: RSC = Health Sciences; RSE = Social Sciences (Law); RSP = Social Sciences (Education); RTE = Engineering, Technology & Experimental Sciences; RH = Humanities.