Intellectual Disability in
University
Case studies across the world
By: Khofidotur Rofiah
Pedagogical University of Krakow
Inclusion
• Inclusive education is a right for
persons with disability, and a key
element in their labour market inclusion
and participation in society, as defined
by the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (United
Nations 2006).
• From a social perspective, it is an
ethical imperative of any democratic
society (Herrero et al 2020).
When
Inclusion in
education
should be
applied?
The concept of inclusion does not
only apply to compulsory
education, but also to
postsecondary and higher
education.
This right has been recognized by
many countries through specific
legislation (O’Connor et al. 2012).
Problems
and Facts
People with intellectual
disability still encounter
larger barriers when
accessing higher
education than students
with other types of
disability
(O’Connor et al. 2012).
• The Higher Education Opportunity Act
(2008) outlined specific measures to
promote the inclusion of students with
intellectual disability (Lee 2009)
Cases from USA
and Canada
• In the US, with the creation of the
Consortium for Postsecondary
Education for Individuals with
Developmental Disabilities (Plotner and
Marshall 2015)
• In Canada, with University of Alberta’s
On Campus Programme (1987)
(Uditsky and Hughson 2012)
Cases from
Australia and
UK
• Australia and the UK have passed antidiscrimination legislation that has
effects on post-compulsory education;
respectively, the Disability Standards
for Education (2005) and the Equality
Act (2010) (O’Connor et al. 2012).
• In Australia, The Up the Hill project has
been developed at Flinders University
since 1990 (Rillotta, Arthur and
Hutchinson 2020)
Cases from
Ireland
• The National Plan for Equity of Access
to Higher Education 2015–2019 aims
at increasing the degree of
participation of people with intellectual
disability in higher education
(Corby, Taggart, and Cousins 2018).
• Trinity College Dublin’s 2-year-long
Certificate in Arts, Science and
Inclusive Applied Practice, created in
2005 (O’Connor et al. 2012).
Cases in Spain
• The Ley Organica de Universidades
(Organic Law of University Education)
(2001) and the Ley General de
Derechos de las Personas con
Discapacidad y de su Inclusion Social
(General Act of Rights of Persons with
Disability and their Social Inclusion)
(2013) guarantee equality of
opportunity to university students and
staff with disability.
• The Promentor Programme offered
since 2004 by Universidad Autonoma
de Madrid
The models of educational inclusion of students
with intellectual disability in higher education
Substantially
separate
model
Inclusive
individual
support
model
Mixed/hybrid
model
(Hart et al. 2006)
Inclusive
individual
support
model
• Regular degree courses are adapted so
that a student with intellectual disability may
be able to follow classes together with
students without intellectual disability
• Unesa represented this model
Substantially
separate
model
• Students participate only in learning
activities with other students with
intellectual disability
Story from Australia
Mixed/hybrid
model
• Students participate in some classes or
activities with people without intellectual
disability, and also participate in others
together with classmates with intellectual
disability
• Students enrolled in the programme study
their modules in a group together with other
students with intellectual disability; however,
they join students without intellectual
disability from Education degrees both by
attending some of their classes, and also by
working with them through learning
communities
An Example of Mixed Model
• The programme curriculum includes both competences linked to the specific subjects, and cross-curricular
ones related to self-determination, social and emotional skills or social and professional responsibility.
Story from Spain
Eight quality standards for inclusive programmes
for students with intellectual disability
academic
access
career
development
campus
membership
Selfdetermination
integration with
college
systems and
practices
Coordination
and
collaboration
sustainability
ongoing
evaluation
Grigal, Hart, and Weir (2011)
Barriers and
Challenges
• From a student perspective, university environments
can be adequate for the education of students with
intellectual disability at the postsecondary stage;
therefore, the creation of evidence-based inclusive
higher education programmes should be
encouraged.
• As the programmes are implemented, university
lecturers should receive training in inclusive
education, so that they may utilize teaching
methodologies that foster inclusion in their
classrooms.
• Higher education institutions must take into account
the voice of vulnerable groups of students in order to
effectively eliminate existing barriers.
References
• United Nations. 2006. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New York: United
Nations
• O’Connor, B., J. Kubiak, D. Espiner, and P. OBrien. 2012. “Lecturer Responses to the Inclusion of Students with
Intellectual Disabilities Auditing Undergraduate Classes.” Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities 9 (4):
247–256. doi:10.1111/jppi.12009.
• Lee, S. 2009. Overview of the Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act. Think College. Boston, MA: University of
Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Community Inclusion.
• Izuzquiza, D., and P. Rodr ıguez. 2016. “Inclusion of People with Intellectual Disabilities in University. Results of the
Promentor Program (UAM-PRODIS).” Siglo Cero: Revista Espa~nola Sobre Discapacidad Intelectual 47 (4): 27–43.
• Uditsky, B., and E. Hughson. 2012. “Inclusive Postsecondary Education: An Evidence-Based Moral Imperative.” Journal
of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities 9 (4): 298–302. doi:10.1111/jppi.12005
• Hart, D., M. Grigal, C. Sax, D. Mart ınez, and M. Will. 2006. “Postsecondary Education Options for Students with
Intellectual Disabilities.” Research to Practice 45 (3): 56–87.
• Grigal, M., D. Hart, and C. Weir. 2013. “Postsecondary Education for People with Intellectual Disability: Current Issues
and Critical Challenges.” Inclusion 1 (1): 50–63. doi: 10.1352/2326-6988-1.1.050.
• Plotner, A., and K. Marshall. 2015. “Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with an Intellectual Disability:
Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation.” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 53 (1): 58–69.
doi:10.1352/1934-9556-53.1.58