Contextualising the Scene
In this section, I will provide an overview of how we will define and use key terms such as disability, ICT and Higher Education. I will then provide an overview of relevant international legislation.
Definitions and Use of Terms
For the purposes of this book, disability is defined broadly to include physical, sensory, mobility, social and cognitive disabilities. It is acknowledged, however, that disability does not define a single homogeneous group; students with different disabilities and within disability groups show substantial variation in terms of their experiences and attainment. The contributing authors to this book come from five different countries and as a consequence, the exact terminology used varies. In some countries, writers refer to ‘students with disabilities’ while in others they refer to ‘disabled students’. There are considered arguments for the use of each term (see, e.g. Seale, 2014), but in order to main consistency across the whole book we will use the term ‘students with disabilities’.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is understood broadly to include online learning (both distance and blended learning), assistive technologies such as screen-readers, general use technologies such as tablets, social and networking applications such as Facebook as well as specific application technologies such as statistics packages. Different countries and different authors use different terms such as Information Technology (IT), but again in order to maintain consistency, whenever referring generally or collectively to technology in this book we will use the term ICT. Sometimes, in the book, a distinction will be made between mainstream and specialist technologies, where specialist refers to assistive technology (AT). There are many definitions and categorisations of AT (see Seale, 2014 for an overview) but for the purpose of this book it will be understood as ‘any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities’ (United States Congress, 2004).
The term Higher Education (HE) will be used broadly to mean education which is normally delivered by a university or college. More specifically, the focus is on the teaching and learning experiences of students with disabilities registered for undergraduate or postgraduate degree programmes. Alternative terms used in other countries include tertiary education, post-secondary education or post-compulsory education.
Throughout this book, we will explore the role that ICT can play in enabling access to HE and more specifically access to positive learning experiences. An associated term that will be frequently used within the book is accessibility. There are a range of definitions of accessibility (Seale, 2014), but for the purposes of this book, accessibility will be understood as:
[…] the ability of the learning environment to adjust to the needs of all learners. Accessibility is determined by the flexibility of the education environment (with respect to presentation, control methods, access modality, and learner supports) and the availability of adequate alternative-but-equivalent content and activities. The needs and preferences of a user may arise from the context or environment the user is in … Accessible systems adjust the user interface of the learning environment, locate needed resources and adjust the properties of the resources to match the needs and preferences of the user. (IMS Global Learning Consortium, 2004, Section 2)
As a definition of accessibility, this one is quite attractive for three main reasons. Firstly, it rejects a focus on just disabled learners, preferring instead to address the needs of all learners. Secondly, it rejects a deficit approach to disability. Finally, it locates responsibility firmly with all relevant stakeholders to influence the ability of the learning environment to adjust to learner needs and preferences.
Accessibility Legislation
A review of research and practice literature over the last thirty years reveals that legislation has been a core focus of attention (Seale, 2006, 2014). The majority of stakeholders have argued that the best way to reduce the disadvantage that students with disabilities experience within HE with regard to their ICT access and use is to introduce legislation that makes it mandatory for HE institutions to ensure their ICT is accessible and to threaten severe consequences if they do not. The contributing authors of this book come from the United States of America (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and Israel where legislation that has some relevance to accessibility has been established; some more recently than others.1,2,3,4,5,6
In the USA, there is the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its 2008 Amendments7 and other relevant federal statutes, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see Hums, Schmidt, Novak, & Wolff, 2016 for a summary). The Office for Civil Rights (n.d.) enforces a variety of American federal laws that apply to HE. Rowland (2012), Director of WebAIM, highlighted legal action taken in America against a number of colleges and universities between 2009 and 2012 concerning the inaccessibility of their ICT. Probably as a reaction to such complaints, the United States Departments of Education and Justice jointly issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” in 2010 to presidents of colleges and universities expressing concern over the use of emerging technologies (U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, 2010). This was followed by a supplement which provided guidance on the use of emerging technology and institutions’ obligations to students with a broad range of disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Axelrod (2018) wrote that in the USA, publishers do not have to make their books accessible. If materials are not accessible to students with disabilities, the HE institution is liable. Recommendations about how to avoid legal action are available in Rowland, Whiting, and Smith (2015).
In 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act (Advance HE, n.d.) brought together previous equality legislation. In relation to HE institutions, the Equality Act protects staff and students with a variety of characteristics, including disabilities. It places a duty on HE institutions to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for staff and students with disabilities. More recently, in September 2018, the United Kingdom adopted the European Union’s Directive on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications (The Paciello Group, 2018), which covers HE institutions. The Directive includes technical requirements aligned with WCAG 2.1 (2018), but also goes beyond technical compliance. It requires HE institutions to provide a website statement on compliance, a mechanism for end users to report accessibility issues and a link to report complaints. Enforcement mechanisms, however, are not as strong as some might like. They depend on individuals making complaints to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and, if successful, will provide for compensation but not fines (Christopherson, 2018).
In Germany, Section 2.4 of the Higher Education...