THE CONCEPT OF HANDICAP

• According to handicapped students, what are the factors that make their studies easier or harder? • What are the differences and the similarities between students with handicaps and those without? • What can cégeps do to improve the quality of life and graduation rates for handicapped students? 16 PÉDAGOGIE COLLÉGIALE VOL. 19 NO 4 ÉTÉ 2006 In North America, between 5 and 11 % of students at postsecondary level in North America have one or more handicaps. These are the fi ndings of a Pan-Canadian study carried out by our team. The research shows that almost all Canadian postsecondary institutions have handicapped students enrolled; that only one-third to one-half of students with disabilities are registered for services available for the handicapped at their college or university; and lastly, that there is a higher percentage of handicapped students enrolled in Canadian colleges (including cégeps) than in universities (3.74% versus 1.62 % 1). Québec has approximately ten times fewer students with disabilities enrolled at postsecondary level than all other provinces: 0.5 % versus 5.5 % for the remainder of the country (Fichten et al., 2003). These studies were recently reproduced fo