Higher Education and Students

¶ … search "students with disabilities in higher education" consist of themes that focus on the need to assist learning disability students in universities by extending their test taking time (Spenceley, Wheeler, 2016; Hadley, 2011), by identifying their disability and providing extra assistance and resources (Budd et al., 2016; Callens, Tops, Brysbaert, 2013; Diez, Lopez, Molina, 2015; Kimberley, Laurie, 2011), and by applying programs designed to assist students with learning disabilities in particular classes in which they consistently struggle (King-Sears et al., 2015; Sachs, Schreuer, 2011; Ryan, 2011; Hutcheon, Wolbring, 2012).

Spenceley and Wheeler (2016) find that extending the test times for students with disabilities is one way in which universities can help such students work towards graduating college. Hadley (2011) likewise identifies the need for universities to extend more welcoming and favorable conditions to students with disabilities in order to facilitate their academic aims. This theme is essentially supported by the findings of Budd et al. (2016), who highlight the importance of colleges in providing better assistance to disability students. Callens, Tops, Byrsbaert (2013) also find that universities need to implement better strategies to address the needs of students with disabilities (such as dyslexia). This finding is also put forward by Diez, Lopez, and Molina (2015) as well as Kimberley and Laurie (2011). King-Sears et al. (2015) find that students with disabilities tend to struggle most commonly in particular classes like science and that specific teaching methods can be utilized to help these students overcome their learning disabilities and perform better academically. Sachs and Schreuer (2011) also find that when universities apply specifically designed methods for helping students with disabilities in the classroom, the results are more favorable for their academic success. This finding is consistent with those supplied by Ryan (2011) and Hutcheon and Wolbring (2012) as well.

Overall, the common finding among these ten articles is that universities should take measures to ensure that students with learning disabilities are identified and assisted in the classroom so that their disability does not adversely impact their academic career. These findings are put forward in different ways, some stemming from qualitative assessments and some from quantitative assessments. Likewise, sample sizes and methodological approaches differ and range from surveys to systematic reviews to interviews and random control trials. Thus, there is considerable range in the manner in which the researchers arrived at their common findings -- and all indicate that universities should take active steps in ensuring that students with disabilities are better supported and prepared to achieve their academic aims in higher education.

Conclusions

Taken together as a single entity, the overall message of the group of articles is that universities are responsible for meeting the needs of all students, including those with disabilities. The issues that many students face with disabilities are numerous: for instance, some are unaware of having a disability, some struggle to follow class instructions, some have dyslexia, etc. The point of the articles is that universities should be aware of the needs of this special group of students and make efforts to identify students with special needs (learning disabilities) and develop methods and means for addressing the issues they are likely to face. These methods can include adopting teaching procedures designed to facilitate the learning style of disability students in classes that are particularly troublesome for them. Means can include providing classes specifically designed for disability students as well as offering screening of students to see if they have disabilities.

The most important message provided by these ten articles is that colleges and universities have a duty and responsibility to attend to the needs of students with disabilities so that these students do not withdraw from the schools and fail to graduate. Having entered into higher education the students are there to advance their academic careers -- however, they are to be considered like any other type of person with a disability and should not be discriminated against or ignored. Just as individuals with a physical disability are accommodated at universities and campuses, students with learning disabilities should be accommodated as well. These accommodations are likely to take different forms depending on the situation but they should be made nonetheless following extensive study of the issues, needs and ways that can help these students to succeed most effectively.

By addressing this issue, the universities will be better situated ethically and morally speaking to promote their programs as truly inclusive. Inclusivity should include not just individuals of different ethnic, racial, religious and gender backgrounds but also individuals who are disabled in all their various ways. This inclusivity will not only help boost the reputation of the school but also encourage more students to seek help and obtain the support they need to graduate.

Informing the Research Gap

The research gap that my dissertation on students with disabilities in higher education is informed by these studies in the sense that they communicate the problem faced by universities today -- namely, colleges need to address the needs of students with disabilities. As these studies show, a research gap exists in terms of how colleges can most effectively assist students with disabilities in higher education. All the students identify the need for universities to do something to better help these students, but few studies have been conducted that identify specific steps that can be taken in order to address in an inclusive manner the wide-ranging issues that disability students are likely to face.

Thus, these studies inform the research gap that my dissertation plans to fill by providing context and supportive information on how best to approach the problem that remains to be addressed. That problem is identified as the need for colleges to provide solutions for students with disabilities, as the ten articles show; the gap in the literature that exists is related to the issue of which method, plan, program or policy can best be utilized, implemented or developed to address the needs of these students. Currently, there is little scholarly information available that either tests the efficacy of programs, initiatives, policies, or methods that apply to supporting students with disabilities in higher education. Similarly, there is little scholarly information available on how such programs, initiatives, policies and/or methods might best be implemented in order to provide consistent, inclusive, effective, supportive and realistic help to students with learning disabilities.