The report is now available from a small-scale study commissioned by the Widening Participation Research Group of the University of Bristol. The study set out to understand disabled students’ experiences of studying at the University of Bristol, to shed light on any barriers to disabled students’ presence, learning and participation at the University, and to put forward recommendations for developing a more inclusive environment.
The research was carried out by CSIE’s director Artemi Sakellariadis, in collaboration with Dr Dave Bainton, Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. The study adopted the definition of disability as this appears in the Equality Act 2010 and, therefore, sought to engage with students who identify as disabled according to this definition: those who have a physical or mental impairment, including mental health issues, which has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to carry out ordinary daily activities.
The study adopted a qualitative research approach. In the summer of 2017 students were first invited to share their experiences through an online survey (22 participants) and later discuss these in greater detail during narrative interviews (12 participants) which continued into the autumn of that year. Participants came from a range of faculties, were engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, included mature students and had a range of impairments. The report suggests that the sample may be relatively small, but the lived experience of these students is very real and worthy of rapt attention.
The report foregrounds the voice of students and represents their experiences with regard to: support for their studies; support for personal needs related to their impairments; their understanding of barriers to inclusion; and the impact all this has had on their studies. Reflecting on these students’ experiences, and attempting to open up possibilities for reconceptualising support for disabled students and improve student experience and outcomes, the report suggests three broad areas for consideration: seeing the whole person, creating parity of experience and engaging in transformative problem-solving.
The University of Bristol is consistently ranked among the top ten UK Universities for its overall teaching and research output. By attending to the above areas, the report suggests, the University will be better placed to offer greater equality of opportunity for disabled students in the future. It should also be further enabled to operate in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and of Article 24 (Education) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
