CONFERENCE – May 19th 2010
Invitation
“WE ARE ALL A LIMITED EDITION”
The Support Center for Inclusive Higher Education organizes the conference “We are all a limited
edition”. ‘LIMITED EDITIONs’ are popular and wanted!
Higher education institutions meet a great diversity of students. Every student is different, with his own
qualities that make him or her unique. The same applies for staff working in the higher education
institutions. This uniqueness holds a lot of opportunities. Higher education institutions can take
advantage of this diversity as it improves the quality of education and it generates talent for the labor
market.
This conference looks at how we can organize higher education in a way that makes everybody feel
welcome and supported. How can we appreciate diversity? How can we take maximal advantage of it?
How can we motivate students and staff to do so?
We would like to welcome you at 9h with a cup of coffee. We end the conference at 17h after a drink.
PROGRAM (Simultaneous translation into English will be provided)

The changing policy ecology of postsecondary Education – Dr. Susan Gabel (National-Louis
University of Chicago)

The Hunt for Disability Culture in Higher Education Curriculum – Dr. Linda Ware (State
University of New York, Geneseo)

Design for (Every)One – Lieven De Couvreur (Howest University College West Flanders)

Inclusion and identity as pragmatic, social-constructionist metaphors in contemporary
(educational) culture – Joeri Van den Brande (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

The insider perspective of students with a need for support – Ruth Cnockaert and Marieke De
Smet (Howest University College West Flanders)

Personal study coaching for a student who has a visual disability – Steven Bladt and Jan
Smeyers (vzw Braille op Blad)

Regretful but too bad! – Sara Drieghe and Lieven Vernaeve
The changing policy ecology of postsecondary Education – Dr. Susan Gabel (National Louis
University, Chicago)
One of the changing ecologies in our changing world can be found at many institutions of
postsecondary education. Worldwide, higher education is faced with challenges of “equity of
conditions of access". Internationally, disabled people represent one demographic group seeking
increased access to postsecondary education. In the United States, for example, it is reported that 1011% of undergraduate postsecondary students are disabled (US Department of Education, 2006).
Examples of numbers, set-asides, and funding mechanisms for disabled students and many others
suggest significant implications for the policy ecology of postsecondary institutions.
In this talk, Dr. Gabel uses international examples to describe the changing policy ecology.
The Hunt for Disability Culture in Higher Education Curriculum – Dr. Linda Ware (State
University New York, Geneseo)
Disability typically resides in higher education departments that have historically assumed “treatment”
approaches to disability and pedagogies that privilege normalization. Psychology, sociology, education
and medicine are common locations in higher education that emphasize “treatment” and repair of the
“problem” of disability. The approach I will describe promotes understanding disability through a
cultural perspective that can be readily infused throughout the undergraduate and graduate curriculum
with the goal of making disability an integral part of community and curricular diversity at the university.
Examples will be drawn from efforts underway in institutions of higher education in the United States.
Design for (Every)One – Lieven De Couvreur (Howest University College West Flanders)
Design for (every)one is a multidisciplinary research project between the training Industrial
(product)design and the training Occupational therapy in the Howest University College West
Flanders. A bridge is built between universal design and assistive technology. Nowadays new digital
technologies and the role of the internet create new opportunities for people with a disability. They
open the way to new design scenarios where the end user is able to develop his own assistive tools.
Inclusion and identity as pragmatic, social-constructionist metaphors in contemporary
(educational) culture – Joeri Van den Brande (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
This is a philosophical consideration (or word game) around the concept ‘inclusion’. Inclusion will be
considered from ironical pragmatism of Richard Rorty and the social-constructionism from Kenneth
Gergen.
The insider perspective of students with a need for support – Ruth Cnockaert en Marieke De
Smet (Howest University College West Flanders)
Researchers from Howest University College West Flanders are exploring the insider perspective of
students with a disability and how this perspective can be used as a lever for inclusion in higher
education. In this session the researchers introduce their basic principles and choices. Subsequently
they present the results of their interviews. The focus lays on good practices: what are the core
elements for good support?
Personal study coaching for a student who has a visual disability – Steven Bladt en Jan
Smeyers (vzw Braille op Blad)
A person who is born blind learns to ‘see’ in another way. He perceives things from a different point of
view. The personal coach has to listen to the point of view of the student who is blind and has to
synchronize his view with that of the visual thinking society. The student has a central role and
chooses how he wants to be supported.
Regretful but too bad! – Lieven Vernaeve en Sara Drieghe (Hogeschool Gent)
‘Thank you for your interest but you are not selected for the job’. It’s disappointing to hear this phrase
and students with a disability hear it more often than others. Researchers Sara Drieghe and Lieven
Vernaeve will talk about the flow-through of students with a disability to the labor market from the
employer’s perspective.
Where?:
Flemish Government, Ellips building, Koning Albert II-laan 35, Brussels
Registration:
Online registration on www.siho.be (until 3/05/2010) or by e-mail to
info@siho.be. Feel free to ask assistance.
Payment:
50€ (account number 001-2584732-49, Howest University College West
Flanders) Please note ‘Studiedag 19/05 SIHO’
Free for students but online registration is necessary.