This work intends to identify the aspects that facilitate and hinder inclusive education at the university, according to the staff of disability support services and the students with disabilities. In particular, we intend to analyze the attitude of the teaching staff toward students with disabilities, learn about reasonable adjustments that are necessary in the university classroom, and analyze the use of information technologies in university teaching to promote inclusive education.
Three research questions guided this analysis: How can the faculty's attitude influence the inclusion of students with disabilities?; What adjustments by faculty members are required to meet the needs of students with disabilities?; What role do the new technologies play in the learning processes of students with disabilities?
The number of university students with disabilities is increasing. This new reality has forced universities to rely on services to address the needs of these students. However, students with disabilities identify a number of barriers at their university (Clouder, Adefila, Jackson, Opie, & Odedra, 2016), for example, the absence of social support (Strnadová, Hájková, & Květoňová, 2015). In this sense, the disability support services staff (Fossey et al., 2017) and many students with disabilities both point to the negative attitude of some faculty members towards disability as an important barrier (Strnadová et al., 2015). In Magnus and Tøssebro’s (2014) study, people with disabilities reported that, when faced with demand for reasonable adjustments, some faculty members respond ambivalently or even initially refuse to make such adjustments, or question these students' needs. In this regard, staff of the disability services note that making reasonable adjustments is complex because the needs of these students are very diverse and, hence, so are the adjustments they require (Fossey et al., 2017). Thus, it is not surprising that the adjustments are not always made adequately and, unfortunately, students must face rigid and non-inclusive curricula (Hopkins, 2011).
For their part, the faculty members argue that sometimes they do not make the adequate adjustments because they have a large work overload (Riddell, Tinklin, & Wilson, 2004). At other times, because they think that such adjustments could lead to lower academic standards and offer additional advantages to students with disabilities.
Some studies have identified the elements that facilitate student inclusion, among which are the family network, friends, some faculty members, classmates, and the support services. Clearly, such support facilitates these students’ academic life (Lawson, Cruz, & Knollman, 2017).
Getzel (2008) pointed out the importance of the figure of the faculty members and emphasized that students with disabilities receive more support from faculty who is more aware and better trained about the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities, as well as those who incorporate the concepts of universal design for learning in their subjects. In this line, it is known that the faculty members’ experience and training in the field of disability promote a positive attitude and inclusive practices.
With regard to educational methodologies, various works have shown that students with disabilities improve their learning when the faculty follows a participative methodology, and the students value this methodology very positively (Hopkins, 2011).
Finally, some studies conclude that the proper use of information technologies can also promote inclusive education in the university setting. In contrast, the absence or misuse of technological tools by the faculty members (inaccessible designs of websites or online material) may be a barrier for students with disabilities (Kurt, 2011). In this sense, the use of online training is especially important to promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in the university (Pearson & Koppi, 2006).
