From Policy to Practice in Higher Education: The experiences of disabled students in Norway

Abstract

Knowledge about disabled students in higher education is fragmented. It is therefore difficult to assess whether policy goals actually promote better conditions for disabled students. The aim of this article is to take a closer look at the experiences of disabled students in Norway and, in light of policy goals, to identify obstacles in the higher education system. This study is based on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with disabled students in higher education. The findings indicate that an educational reform in Norwegian higher education seems to have helped to strengthen disabled tertiary students’ potential for learning, but there are a number of critical periods during their studies when it is imperative for disabled students to get the adjustment needed.

Keywords:

• disabilities
• diversity
• higher education
• inclusion
• policy
• students
• tertiary institutions
• under‐represented groups

Acknowledgements

The findings reported here are based on research conducted as part of the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and no restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data. The author had no financial or other conflicts of interest. The author is grateful to the people interviewed and to all those who took the time to respond. The author would also like to thank the reviewers and the editor of the journal for their valuable and skilled comments. In the final stage of preparing this article, colleagues Nicoline Frølich, Tine S. Prøitz and Bjørn Stensaker provided constructive criticism.