Integration into higher education: experiences of disabled students in South Africa

ABSTRACT

In line with global non-discrimination legislative changes and inclusive education policies, the number of disabled students in higher education institutions are increasing. Previously, disabled students were excluded from higher education. Currently, however, higher education institutions are expected to have disability statements and policies, and provide support for disabled students. In spite of this upward trend, disabled students remain seriously underrepresented within higher education, and experience barriers at a range of levels. This article examines the experiences of disabled participants entering into higher education in South Africa. The findings of this qualitative exploratory study highlight the influences of onset of disability (acquired verses congenital) on their integration experiences. It specifically examines participants’ experiences accepting newly acquired disabilities and the impact of this on completion of study, experiences relating to disclosure of disability, and opportunities to select and enrol for desired subjects and courses at higher education institutions.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• disabled students
• inclusive education
• integration into higher education
• congenital disability
• acquired disability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The question of terminology is central to many debates about disability. The definition of disability used in this study is taken from the United Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and includes people who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (Article 1.)

2 Proponents of the social model in Great Britain favour the use of the term “disabled people/persons” because, as they argue, these are people who are disabled through social exclusionary and discriminatory processes. In the USA and elsewhere, “persons with disabilities” is preferred as there is an objection to seeing the disability as defining the person as a whole. In this paper the authors chose to use the term from the social model which emphasises social exclusion of whole persons, but recognises that there are cogent arguments in favour of other terms as well. It is inevitable in this field that any term used will be less preferred by some readers. See Swartz (2010) for a discussion of these questions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Harry Crossley Foundation: [Grant Number N/a].