Accessibility in higher education for people with special needs Charlotte Ringsmose. School of Education, University of Aarhus, Copenhagen On 30 March 2007 81 countries signed the convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Highest number of signatures of any human rights convention on its opening day. The convention aims to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy human rights on an equal basis with others. The focus of this study is to discuss accessibility and equalisation for people with disabilities in higher education in the four Nordic countries: Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark Do people with special needs have access to, and a legal “right” to education, which can be seen as a foundation of equality of opportunities? In all of the four countries education is provided for children with special needs. Also in secondary and adult education assistance is provided for people with special needs who have already been accepted in to mainstream higher education. This could be for instance, a person with a physical disability, who needs to be compensated through extra time, and resources. In the four countries a number of people with disabilities do not have access to mainstream education as it is. This study aims to enlighten how politically these people are provided for in order to discuss perspectives of equalization of opportunities for youngsters and adults with special needs in higher education. When it comes to legal rights, and equalization of opportunities, what is “normal” in education is that after basic school you go to gymnasium (Scandinavia)/upper secondary school (British English)/senior high school (American English). After this – or maybe later in life you go on to higher education. Life long education is a possibility for most adults. If we are to reach equality of opportunity for people with special needs in all aspects of life these ideological constructions as well as practices have to be worked on. Overall it can be looked at as the question of how we master the variety of people in our society. The disabled person is part of the normal variation in society. Equalization can be viewed in connection to quality of life for people with disabilities. According to Siri Næss quality of life is viewed as the ultimate, overriding value that can be seen as standards by which political decisions can be judged. Other values are means, not ends in themselves. Quality of life has to do with conditions for life quality (input), and life quality in itself (output). The aim of this research project is to compare accessibility in the leagal acts of higher education in the nordic countries; Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark.

In addition to official publications (the statutory order etc), material for research was collected from higher education at the University of Iceland. Fjølmennt, Oslo Voksenopplæring, Norway. Særvux and komvux, Sweden, Adult centers of education for people with special needs, Denmark The analytical approach adopted is qualitative.

It is found that accessibility to life long education for people with special needs is different in the four countries, which gives different perspectives on equalisation.