Education is an important domain where we’re supposed to be taught the essential skills that we will use in later stages in life. Although advances in accessibility legislation have taken place in Europe during the last decades, educational systems still have room for improvement when it comes to being fully accessible. That was the main message of the AccessibleEU Consortium’s hybrid event hosted in collaboration with the University of Porto on October 30th.
As inclusion in the current Higher Education landscape was the main subject of the conference, Silvia Duarte, from Fundación ONCE, emphasised how important it is to raise awareness on this topic at an international level. “In Spain, very few students with disabilities engage themselves in international mobility programs, such as ERASMUS+”, she stated. “We’ve tried to help to bring down barriers in this domain through EU-funded projects such as EUni4All, which allowed us to work with several stakeholders across the EU. Cooperation and partnership is crucial to bring positive impact”, added Silvia.
One of the ideas that was widely discussed during the session was the need to take students with disabilities’ feedback while designing educational and training programs. In line with this, Alice Ribeiro, from the University of Porto, explained how this institution has developed several indicators to measure up PWDs’ overall satisfaction with its services. “We need to know how our initiatives are doing, this will also tell us more about the students needs in terms of accessibility and inclusion”, she pinpointed. At the same time, other speakers, such as Gerald Craddock (Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, CEUD), explained the importance of following the principles of Universal Design in aspects such as the built environment, technology or staff training so learning-friendly environments can be created.
An essential task: revising educational curriculums
While universities themselves play a key role in bringing the changes needed, national authorities must also bear in mind how accessibility is conceived and integrated within the policymaking process. Roberta Lulli (European Disability Forum) explained attendants how EDF is working in that direction through the ATHENA Project. “Through this initiative, we’re studying the different dimensions to be considered in more accessible Higher Education models. Thanks to our findings so far, we have drafted some recommendations for policymakers”, she highlighted.
Speakers also flagged the increasing importance of the concept of Universal Design for Learning. “This new perspective hasn’t been fully explored yet from an institutional point of view. People need to see the benefits associated to this approach which places its focus on dimensions such as funding or multidiscipline among staff”, said Frederic Fovet (Thompson Rivers University). At the same time, other participants, such as Pedro Encarnação (AAATE), reminded the crucial role played by assistive technology in this process, thus underlining how essential it is to teach students the essential skills to be able to cope with the changes brought by digitalisation.
If you wish to learn more about the AccessibleEU consortium’s upcoming events, you will find more information at the following link.