Disability and Equality: the Case of Young Adults and Third Level Education in Northern Ireland

1
Disability and Equality the Case of Young Adults
and Third Level Education in Northern Ireland

• Working Paper 21
• Bronagh Byrne and Eithne McLaughlin
• School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social
  Work
• Queens University Belfast

2
Introduction

• Educational Achievement and Provision
• Disability and Equality Key Themes and Issues
• The Legal Context
• The Case Study

3

• There are approximately 540 hearing impaired and
  over 600 visually impaired young people enrolled
  in various education settings in Northern
  Ireland. (Byrne and Caul 2001)
• Only 8 of disabled people have a degree or
  higher education qualification compared to 22 of
  those without a disability (Equality Commission
  2000)
• In Northern Ireland, only 13 of hearing impaired
  young people progress to university compared to
  43 of those without a disability. (Byrne and
  Caul 2001)

4
Disability and Education National and
International Frameworks

• Disabled persons, whatever the origin, nature of
  
• seriousness of their handicaps and disabilities,
  have the
• same fundamental rights as their fellow citizens
  of the
• same age which implies first and foremost the
  right to enjoy
• a decent life as normal and full as possible.
  (Article 3)
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
  Disabled
• Persons

5

• persons with disabilities are members of society
  
• and have the right to remain within their local
• communities. They should receive the support they
  
• need within the ordinary structures of education,
  
• health, employment and social services (para 26)
  
• UN (1994) Standards and Rules on the Equalisation
  of
• Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

6
The Legal Context

• In Northern Ireland, there are two key equality
• provisions relating to educational provision
• Section 75 of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Order
  (SENDO) - September 2005

7
Equality Issues facing Young People with
Disabilities in Education

• Segregation from mainstream educational provision
  at primary and secondary level
• Low expectations
• Underachievement at GCSE and A-Level
• Physical barriers
• Communication barriers
• Inadequate information about support available
• Inadequate funding and resources
• Disabling rules, regulations and procedures
• Lack of awareness among college staff
• Exclusion from social side of college life

8

• Sample Breakdown
• Student Sample 20 in total
• 10 students in higher education
• 10 students in further education
• Of these, 8 had a visual impairment
• 12 had a hearing impairment

9
Sample breakdown cont

• NGO Sample 9 representatives from a range of
  disability organisations
• Third-Level Education Providers 10
• (5 in HE 5 in FE)
• Of these, 5 at senior management level
• 5 support providers/coordinators
• Policymakers - 7

10

• When I went to do electrical engineering the
  tutor would talk through things and then ask me
  questions. And then I would answer back and the
  tutor would always use to say oh isnt this
  students interpreter so clever? As if the
  interpreter can come out with all these clever
  answers. It wasnt the interpreter at all. It
  was me who was coming out with the answers. So
  they didnt understand anything about
  interpreters. Also I thought some of the tutors
  were a bit cheeky. For example at break time the
  tutors used to go to the interpreter and say do
  you not get awful sore hands from signing all the
  time? and you sort of thought hang on a wee
  second, what are they doing? (Patrick- FE
  student)

11

• In secondary school I definitely didnt have
• encouragement from teachers. You could feel
• that they thought I wasnt going to go any
  further
• than school. I bumped into one of my old
  teachers
• the other day and she said what are you doing?
  I
• said Im in my second year at university now and
• she said I didnt think you would have made it
  that
• far.
• (Lauren- HE student)

12

• I didnt get a note-taker until half way through
  the
• first year. The note-taker left after three weeks
  so
• then there was a problem of going to find another
  
• note-taker. I didnt get a note-taker until the
  end of
• the first year (Lauren- HE student)
• I have thought about going to the counsellor in
  the
• university because of struggling and worrying
• about my work now. (Lauren HE student)

13

• Whenever you register that you need specific
  exam requests with the
• examiner they will ask would you like to go to
  a separate room?
• And I am thinking I can read whether I am
  inside or outside. So I said
• no. I would rather be in the big hall and I
  would rather
• do my exam with everybody else. I dont want you
  to take that
• experience, the imposingness of a large assembly
  hall when you are
• doing an exam. Dont take that experience away
  from me. No way! I
• wouldnt allow them to do that. (Jodie HE
  student)

14

• They (the support provider) did make me feel
  that I was a
• burden almost and that I had a problem and that
  they know
• best. I think that is really how it came out and
  it was just
• like, why do I suddenly feel different now that I
  have asked
• for support. I was perfectly happy living with my
  hearing.
• Yes it is not perfect, but that is just me. But
  suddenly I felt
• uncomfortable of the fact that I had a hearing
  problem and
• the fact that I need the support and they made a
  big issue
• out of something that I didnt think really
  needed to be
• made an issue out of. That is my experience of
  it. It wasnt
• a very positive experience.
• (Gareth HE student)

15
Conclusion
16

• Thank You!
• See Working Paper 21 Disability and Equality
  The Case of Young Adults and Third
• Level Education in Northern Ireland
• Also Working Paper 9 Disability and Equality
  Themes of sameness and difference
• Available on Conference Website
• Contact Details
• Eithne McLaughlin Bronagh Byrne
• e.mclaughlin_at_qub.ac.uk b.byrne_at_qub.ac.uk