From Ableism to Accessibility in the Universal Design University
Main Article Content
Keywords
universal design, accessibility, disability
Abstract
Educational expansion has reached the tertiary level; however, inclusive higher education remains an elusive goal despite the ratification, in more than a hundred countries, of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 2006. The Convention mandates inclusive education throughout the life course and thus increased access to universities. Enhancing accessibility requires us to remove barriers and defeat ableism. Analyzing contemporary trends in Europe and North America, this article compares universities’ attempts to implement elements of the “UniversalDesignUniversity.” Because universities serve as role models and provide community services, these organizations can and should implement universal design principles. Universities have myriad opportunities and responsibilities to enhance access to their programs. In embracing social and political paradigms of disability, in giving voice to diverse participants, and in implementing universal design principles, the university can engage and change public awareness and attitudes. Advancing the educational and social inclusion of persons with disabilities in higher education provides benefits far beyond the university campus.
References
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Barnartt, S. (2010). The globalization of disability protests, 1970–2005. Comparative Sociology, 9(2), 222–240.
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Barnes, C., Barton, L., & Oliver, M. (Eds.). (2002). Disability studies today. Oxford: Blackwell.
Ben-Moshe, L., Cory, R. C., Feldbaum, M., & Sagendorf, K. (Eds.). (2005). Building pedagogical curb cuts: Incorporating disability into the university classroom and Curriculum. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Graduate School.
Ben-Moshe, L., & Powell, J. J. W. (2007). Sign of our times: Revis(it)ing the International Symbol of Access. Disability & Society, 22(5), 489–505.
Bernhard, N., Graf, L., & Powell, J. J. W. (2010). Wenn sich Bologna und Kopenhagen treffen. Erhöhte Durchlässigkeit zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung (Bologna and Copenhagen meeting. Increased permeability between vocational and higher education). WZB-Mitteilungen, 130, 26–29.
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Burgstahler, S. E., & Cory, R. C. (Eds.). (2008). Universal Design in Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Bowe, F. G. (2000). Universal Design in Education. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Castells, M. (1996). The Rise of the Network Society, vol. 2: The Information Age. Oxford: Blackwell.
Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clark, B. R. (1993). The Research Foundations of Graduate Education. Berkeley: University of California Press.
DePoy, E., & Gilson, S. (2010). Disability by Design. The Review of Disability Studies, 6(3), 53–62.
Drake, R. F. (2001). Welfare States and Disabled People. In G. L. Albrecht, K. D. Seelman, & M. Bury (Eds.), Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 412–429). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Grandin, T. (1996). Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism. New York: Vintage.
Groce, N. E. (2002). From Charity to Disability Rights: Global Initiatives of Rehabilitation International 1922–2002. New York: Rehabilitation International.
Hawking, S. (1998). A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam.
Head, S. (2011). The Grim Threat to British Universities. The New York Review of Books. January 13, 2011. Retrieved from www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/grim-threat-british-universities
Harrison, M., Hemingway, L., Sheldon, A., Pawson, R., & Barnes, C. (2009). Evaluation of Provision and Support for Disabled Students in Higher Education. London: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Retrieved from http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rdreports/2009/rd24_09
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Madriaga, M. (2007). Enduring Disablism: Students with Dyslexia and their Pathways into UK Higher Education and Beyond. Disability & Society, 22(4), 399-412.
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Pfeiffer, D. (2002). The Philosophical Foundations of Disability Studies. Disability Studies Quarterly, 22(2): 3-23.
Powell, J. J. W. (2011). Barriers to Inclusion: Special Education in the United States and Germany. Boulder, CO: Paradigm.
Powell, J. J. W., & Ben-Moshe, L. (2009). The Icons of Access: From Exclusion to Inclusion. Stimulus Respond, “icon” issue, 90–95. Retrieved from www.stimulusrespond.com
Powell, J. J. W., Bernhard, N., & Graf, L. (2012). The Emergent European Model in Skill Formation: Comparing Higher Education and Vocational Training in the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes.
Sociology of Education, 85(3), 240–258.
Powell, J. J. W., Felkendorff, K., & Hollenweger, J. (2008). Disability in the German, Swiss, and Austrian Higher Education Systems. In S. Gabel & S. Danforth (Eds.), Disability and the Politics of Education (pp. 517–540). New York: Lang.
Powell, J. J. W., & Solga, H. (2011). Why are Participation Rates in Higher Education in Germany so Low? Institutional Barriers to Higher Education Expansion. Journal of Education and Work, 24(1), 49–68.
Preiser, W. F. E., & Smith, K. H. (Eds.). (2011). Universal Design Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Quinn, G., & Degener, T. (2002). Human Rights and Disability: The Current Use and Future Potential of United Nations Human Rights Instruments in the Context of Disability. New York: United Nations.
Richardson, J. G., & Powell, J. J. W. (2011). Comparing Special Education: Origins to Contemporary Paradoxes. CA: Stanford University Press.
Schofer, E., & Meyer, J. W. (2005). The Worldwide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century. American Sociological Review, 70, 898–920.
Scotch, R. K., & Schriner, K. (1997). Disability as Human Variation: Implications for Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January), 148–159.
Shakespeare, T. (2006). Disability Rights and Wrongs. London: Routledge.
Shavit, Y., Arum, R., & Gamoran, A. (Eds.) (2007). Stratification in Higher Education. CA: Stanford University Press.
United Nations (2006). International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. December 13, 2006. A/61/PV.76. New York: author.
Barnartt, S. (2010). The globalization of disability protests, 1970–2005. Comparative Sociology, 9(2), 222–240.
Barnes, C. (2007). Disability, higher education and the inclusive society. British Journal of sociology of education, 28(1), 135–145.
Barnes, C., Barton, L., & Oliver, M. (Eds.). (2002). Disability studies today. Oxford: Blackwell.
Ben-Moshe, L., Cory, R. C., Feldbaum, M., & Sagendorf, K. (Eds.). (2005). Building pedagogical curb cuts: Incorporating disability into the university classroom and Curriculum. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Graduate School.
Ben-Moshe, L., & Powell, J. J. W. (2007). Sign of our times: Revis(it)ing the International Symbol of Access. Disability & Society, 22(5), 489–505.
Bernhard, N., Graf, L., & Powell, J. J. W. (2010). Wenn sich Bologna und Kopenhagen treffen. Erhöhte Durchlässigkeit zwischen Berufs- und Hochschulbildung (Bologna and Copenhagen meeting. Increased permeability between vocational and higher education). WZB-Mitteilungen, 130, 26–29.
Burgstahler, S. E. (2005). Universal Design of Instruction. DO-IT, University of Washington (Retrieved from www.washington.edu/doit).
Burgstahler, S. E., & Cory, R. C. (Eds.). (2008). Universal Design in Higher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Bowe, F. G. (2000). Universal Design in Education. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
Castells, M. (1996). The Rise of the Network Society, vol. 2: The Information Age. Oxford: Blackwell.
Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clark, B. R. (1993). The Research Foundations of Graduate Education. Berkeley: University of California Press.
DePoy, E., & Gilson, S. (2010). Disability by Design. The Review of Disability Studies, 6(3), 53–62.
Drake, R. F. (2001). Welfare States and Disabled People. In G. L. Albrecht, K. D. Seelman, & M. Bury (Eds.), Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 412–429). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Grandin, T. (1996). Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism. New York: Vintage.
Groce, N. E. (2002). From Charity to Disability Rights: Global Initiatives of Rehabilitation International 1922–2002. New York: Rehabilitation International.
Hawking, S. (1998). A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam.
Head, S. (2011). The Grim Threat to British Universities. The New York Review of Books. January 13, 2011. Retrieved from www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/grim-threat-british-universities
Harrison, M., Hemingway, L., Sheldon, A., Pawson, R., & Barnes, C. (2009). Evaluation of Provision and Support for Disabled Students in Higher Education. London: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Retrieved from http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rdreports/2009/rd24_09
Hehir, T. (2005). New Directions in Special Education: Eliminating Ableism in Policy and Practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Hurst, A. (1998). Higher Education and Disabled Students: International Approaches. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Hurst, A. (2011). Universal Design and Disabled Students: From Inclusion to Excellence. Paper presented at the Conference on Universal Learning Design, February 9, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.uld-conference.org/paper.php?p=91&l=en
Imrie, R. F., & Wells, P. E. (1993). Disablism, Planning, and the Built Environment. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 11(2), 213–231.
Kelderman, E. (2011). Recession Pushed State and Local Higher-Education Spending to 25-Year Low in 2010. March 8, 2011.Retrieved from chronicle.com/article/Recession-Pushed-State-and/126647
Mace, R. (1997). About Universal Design. Center on Universal Design, North Carolina State University. Retrieved from www.ncsu.edu/www/ncsu/design/ sod5/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm
Madriaga, M. (2007). Enduring Disablism: Students with Dyslexia and their Pathways into UK Higher Education and Beyond. Disability & Society, 22(4), 399-412.
Mayer, K. U. (2005). Life Courses and Life Chances in a Comparative Perspective. In S. Svallfors (Ed.), Analyzing Inequality (pp. 17–55). CA: Stanford University Press.
Møllerup, P. (2006). Wayshowing: A Guide to Environmental Signage Principles and Practices. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Müller Publishers.
Nussbaum, M. C. (2006). Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Peters, S. J. (2004). Inclusive Education: An EFA Strategy for All Children. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Pfeiffer, D. (2002). The Philosophical Foundations of Disability Studies. Disability Studies Quarterly, 22(2): 3-23.
Powell, J. J. W. (2011). Barriers to Inclusion: Special Education in the United States and Germany. Boulder, CO: Paradigm.
Powell, J. J. W., & Ben-Moshe, L. (2009). The Icons of Access: From Exclusion to Inclusion. Stimulus Respond, “icon” issue, 90–95. Retrieved from www.stimulusrespond.com
Powell, J. J. W., Bernhard, N., & Graf, L. (2012). The Emergent European Model in Skill Formation: Comparing Higher Education and Vocational Training in the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes.
Sociology of Education, 85(3), 240–258.
Powell, J. J. W., Felkendorff, K., & Hollenweger, J. (2008). Disability in the German, Swiss, and Austrian Higher Education Systems. In S. Gabel & S. Danforth (Eds.), Disability and the Politics of Education (pp. 517–540). New York: Lang.
Powell, J. J. W., & Solga, H. (2011). Why are Participation Rates in Higher Education in Germany so Low? Institutional Barriers to Higher Education Expansion. Journal of Education and Work, 24(1), 49–68.
Preiser, W. F. E., & Smith, K. H. (Eds.). (2011). Universal Design Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Quinn, G., & Degener, T. (2002). Human Rights and Disability: The Current Use and Future Potential of United Nations Human Rights Instruments in the Context of Disability. New York: United Nations.
Richardson, J. G., & Powell, J. J. W. (2011). Comparing Special Education: Origins to Contemporary Paradoxes. CA: Stanford University Press.
Schofer, E., & Meyer, J. W. (2005). The Worldwide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century. American Sociological Review, 70, 898–920.
Scotch, R. K., & Schriner, K. (1997). Disability as Human Variation: Implications for Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 549(January), 148–159.
Shakespeare, T. (2006). Disability Rights and Wrongs. London: Routledge.
Shavit, Y., Arum, R., & Gamoran, A. (Eds.) (2007). Stratification in Higher Education. CA: Stanford University Press.
United Nations (2006). International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. December 13, 2006. A/61/PV.76. New York: author.
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Oct 13, 2014
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