Inclusion, access, and accessibility of educational resources in higher education institutions: exploring the Ethiopian context

Abstract

The right of persons with disabilities for equal access to education and educational resources is enshrined by international and country-specific anti-discrimination laws. Taking the Ethiopian context as an example, this paper sought to identify barriers of access to educational resources and explored ways for removing them. Seventeen students with visual impairments studying at Hawassa University were selected for semi-structured interviews. Moreover, five individuals working at the disability centre and the university library were interviewed. The results of the interviews were analysed thematically using the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF) as a framework. Access and accessibility problems that emanate from the learners' diverse background, lack of educational resources in alternative formats, lack of institutional tools (policy, procedure, guidelines, etc.) to bridge the gap between law and practice, and the digital divide were among the problems identified and discussed. At the end, the paper showed how libraries, revitalised as learning and information commons, could help to ensure the accessibility of educational resources and help learners with disabilities to acquire skills that may help them in their studies and their future undertakings.

‘It is unbelievable how many come to us’:

“…Although digital inclusion is directly related to the digital divide, the former being the solution to the latter, we found that the digital divide as a challenge was more focused in the literature compared with practices of digital inclusion. Also, our search in Web of Science showed that those studies focusing on digital inclusions tended to focus on cases in developing countries and in the context of other inequalities (Aziz, 2020;Beyene, Mekonnen, & Giannoumis, 2020;Robinson et al, 2020).…”

The Implementation of Inclusive Educational Policies in Elementary School

“…Based on the finding of the research, the resources in schools that provide inclusive education are categorized as adequate, however many respondents have complained about the facilities and infrastructures. The lack of inclusive school facilities can be an obstacle in the learning process (Beyene & Giannomuis, 2020;Yusuf et al, 2017). Meanwhile, in terms of community support, the results showed that parents of students with special needs participated actively in the implementation of activities at school.…”

Kebijakan Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka: Pehahaman Persespsi dan Kendala Impementasinya bagi Mahasiswa Disabilitas

“…Berkembangnya norma dan peraturan yang mengakui hak-hak disabilitas (Hockings, Brett, and Terentjevs 2012) menjadi salah satu faktor yang mendorong banyak Institusi pendidikan tinggi mulai menerima mahasiswa dari berbagai latar belakang dan juga mahasiswa dengan penyandang disabilitas di kelas reguler (Beyene, Mekonnen, and Giannoumis 2020), termasuk di Indonesia. Melalui Permenristekdikti 46 Tahun 2017 tentang Pendidikan Khusus dan Pendidikan Layanan Khusus di Perguruan Tinggi, pemerintah Indonesia mendorong perguruan tinggi untuk menerima mahasiswa berkebutuhan khsusu termasuk di dalamnya mahasiswa dengan disabilitas dengan menekankan budaya inklusif.…”