Exclusion to Inclusion
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The document summarizes the evolution of accessibility for disabled students in UK higher education, from the introduction of legislation in the 1990s to the present approach. It describes how early recommendations to follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a standard excluded many disabled students. Over time, through research and engagement, a holistic approach emerged that recognizes diversity and supports a wide range of learner needs rather than prioritizing certain disabilities over others or advocating for standards compliance. Lessons learned include involving stakeholders from the start and empowering student voices to inform policy.
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Exclusion to Inclusion
- 1. Exclusion to Inclusion: The UK experience of accessibility Joint Information Systems Committee Lawrie Phipps JISC Programme Manager Users and Innovation [email_address]
- 2. About this presentation Defining accessibility The history of the UK’s route to accessibility The JISC response to the need for the supporting of disabled students The reaction to legislation The evolution of an approach to accessibility in e-learning What we learnt, what were our mistakes, what would we do different
- 3. What do mean by accessibility Accessibility is about removing barriers to participation However, beware of a “one size fits all” approach
- 4. Timeline 1995: The Disability Discrimination Act covers the rights of disabled people in: Employment Housing Goods and Services Education was not included in the original legislation
- 5. Post 1995 The introduction of the Disability Rights Commission "A society where all disabled people can participate fully as equal citizens" The introduction of the Human Rights Act Which guarantees education for all The issue of access to education for disabled people had to be addressed. The result was the introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)
- 6. The legislation - some key elements Less Favourable Treatment
- 7. The legislation - some key elements Reasonable Adjustment
- 8. The legislation - some key elements Anticipation
- 9. JISC and Disability 2001, JISC creates a service to advise colleges and universities on how to support students on issues of technology and disability TechDis
- 10. TechDis TechDis www.techdis.ac.uk Covers the UK in all post 16 education
- 11. So what happened next…
- 12. An unfortunate meeting 2002 TechDis meet with several disability ‘lobby/pressure’ groups Almost all of them only deal with a single issue
- 13. The outcome of the meeting
- 14. Why was this a mistake? Legislation does not mention specific guidelines or standards. UK legislation relies on interpretation, the spirit of the UK law should be the primary concern: The principle behind the legislation is that disabled people should have the same opportunities as non-disabled people to benefit wherever possible from whatever education or other related provision is available.
- 15. The standards approach 2001, 2002: We (me, TechDis other Advisory Bodies, UKOLN, CETIS etc) advised Universities and Colleges to use the W3C guidelines as a standard (AA ‘compliance) All major education bodies responded, strategically and operationally.
- 16. A reasonable question What was the best approach for the most students? Why were pushing a ‘standard’ that served less than 1000 HE students? Were we excluding some disabled people by the approach we recommended?
- 17. Exclusive approach! The recommendations we issued served most effectively ~ 1000 disabled HE students They were not useful for more than 150,000 disabled students
- 18. Opening the debate Kelly B, Sloan D and Phipps L (2003) Ideology Or Pragmatism? Open Standards And Cultural Heritage Web Sites Why should public libraries and museums only support wheelchair access or blind people Should the Van Gough museum be closed because it is all visual media?
- 19. Articulating the standards problem Kelly, B., Phipps, L. and Swift, E (2004) Developing A Holistic Approach For E-Learning Accessibility , Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology Stating the problems with existing standards How do we build a digital resource for both blind and deaf? And then for students who have special educational needs?
- 20. Challenging the establishment Kelly, B., Sloan, D., Phipps, L., Petrie, H. and Hamilton, F. (2005) Forcing Standardization or Accommodating Diversity? A Framework for Applying the WCAG in the Real World Was critical of the W3C approach Received ‘letters’ in the press and personally
- 21. Suggesting a third way Kelly, B., Phipps, L. and Howell, C. (2005) Implementing A Holistic Approach To E-Learning Accessibility Paper published in the ALT-C 2005 Conference Proceedings Recognises that accessibility is not black and white Proposes a framework for supporting a diverse range of learners, including those with disability, of differing ethnicity, with religious commitments and ‘Normal’!
- 22. 2005 Building of a complete set of resources around good practice in learning Not standards based Example resources in word, excel, html, flash, Lego, PAPER! Some examples
- 23. Doing it all again? What would I (we) do different?
- 24. Use the Community We had isolated groups of people that had no way of communicating Let them build the capacity Emerge
- 25. Engage with academia from the beginning Academics like academics They are in their jobs because of the way they think, think on that level Write papers in their journals Present at their conferences Ask them to evidence their practice
- 26. Listen to student voices Gather student data, let them record their experience, blog, podcast… Do a weekly podcast with a student? These voices, telling their experiences, are powerful. Use them with all levels, Government, Academia, Public.
- 27. Advocate for Staff Understand the pressure that academics are under and empathise Don’t sympathise I know how you feel, I felt the same way, what I found was… Not, I know how you feel, it’s terrible but we have to do it…
- 28. Finally I would spend more time in Utrecht
- 29. Questions and thank you
Editor's Notes
- #2: A little bit about myself, I have a background in the communications industry, environmental sciences and educational technology. I’ll talk about my role in disability and education shortly, but first a little about my current role. I manage a programme for the JISC, Joint Information Services Committee. JISC's activities support education and research by promoting innovation in new technologies and by the central support of ICT services. JISC provides: A world-class network - JANET Access to electronic resources New environments for learning, teaching and research Guidance on institutional change Advisory and consultancy services My current role is to manage a programme which is looking at new and emergent technologies and their role in learning, teaching and research.