A social innovation approach to strengthen participation for students experiencing disability in higher education. Rethinking (dis)ability, participation, and inclusion

Abstract

Access to education is a human right and an important facilitator to personal and social welfare. According to human rights conventions and Norwegian law, education should not discriminate on the basis of function, and this also applies at higher education level. Nevertheless, many students in higher education experience barriers to social and academic participation that affect their ability to complete their studies, future job opportunities and financial prospects. Higher education is one of the most important pathways into employment for people experiencing disability. To reach social and political goals of inclusive higher education, there is a need for innovative approaches and to involve the students concerned. This thesis aims to explore how social innovation strategies such as co-creation and co-production can strengthen participation for disabled students in higher education. Eleven students living with disability have participated in this project. The students have taken on the role of ambassadors for inclusion, collaborating with researchers and other university staff to create relevant understandings of the barriers and implement solutions. The thesis is based on four studies where study I followed a scoping review methodology and studies II-IV were based on a participatory action research design which generated data through co-creation workshops and action and reflection. In the respective studies, we; (1) mapped student ambassador interventions in higher education (2) explored the processes of cocreation with disabled students (3) explored the students’ experiences of being in ambassador roles, and (4) explored the processes empowering disabled students during the co-production of inclusive education. The results from paper I indicate a gap in research involving disabled students as active stakeholders in interventions to strengthen participation in higher education. outcomes of co-creation, influencing how the students view disability, barriers, and their own capabilities in changing their situation. The students’ experiences in paper III indicate that being ambassadors comes with benefits and challenges, but further empowers students in advocating for their rights and provides them with strategies relevant for the future. The findings in paper IV point to the significance of building trustful relationships, both students-to-student and students-to-staff, to promote student empowerment. Across the studies, the result indicates the importance of students having arenas to experience social belonging, mastering, and the freedom to be just another student. The result, as such, point to an imminent need for rethinking the current approaches to including disabled students, which can promote feelings of being different rather than belonging. Social innovation has the potential to create relevant understandings of the barriers for participation and strengthen both students and staffs’ capability to make changes and promote inclusive learning environments. The concepts of (dis)ability, participation, and inclusion in the context of higher education needs to be rethought in terms of approaching disability as a context-specific phenomenon, addressing the ableist structures instead of the students themselves, and viewing participation and inclusion as a matter of social justice.