Encountering students in disabling conditions in higher education

The aim of this paper is to discuss challenges for staff in Higher Education encountering students in disabling conditions. The study takes a point of departure in a series of workshops designed to strengthen the competence among staff at Malmö University to develop inclusive learning environments in their field of responsibility. The research questions concern the participants’ understanding of what constitutes an inclusive learning environment and their preparedness for acting in line with rights for people with disabilities to an education free from discrimination. Content analysis from field notes taken in dialogues with the participants showed that barriers exist e.g. due to procedures in order to get a statement qualifying to support as well as not having a statement meaning that the student becomes carrier of her/his own problems, responsible for telling each staff member about the disabling conditions and needs. Tension appeared in the analysis between giving support to the individual student and a proactive problem solving in a flexible learning environment to the benefit of all students. Principles of equal access and widened participation are not easily applied leading to the conclusions that further efforts need to be made to disseminate existing knowledge in the field and moreover to identify knowledge gaps by involving students, coordinators of support and other staff in different survey studies. The framework for the coming studies is anchored in theory and practice developed in Universal Design for Learning focusing staff development and students’ sense of belonging when facing disabling conditions in higher education