Abstract:

Over the past few decades, globalization has brought about many changes to the education environment, such as enhanced aspirations and increased opportunities to participate in tertiary education. Tertiary study is encouraged at many levels: from individuals and their families pursuing future success and prosperity; to ministries of education within governments that are tasked, among other things, with raising the skills and capabilities, productivity, and international competitiveness of their country's citizens [see, e.g., 1-4]. Incorporated in the ever-increasing numbers that are entering tertiary studies are nontraditional students. These include those who are less academically inclined and enrolling in more work skills-based qualifications that are now available in many universities (as well as in polytechnics, institutes of technology, and TAFE - technical and further education - colleges where they had traditionally been offered); international students for whom the knowledge and experiences acquired from other countries might provide an advantage for future career prospects; mature students who have re-evaluated the relevance and desirability of tertiary education for themselves; returning students seeking further qualifications to improve promotional prospects or take on new directions in their careers; and students who have various forms of disabilities who, by their very participation, are contributing to dispelling the notions of disabilities on what an individual can achieve [see, e.g., 5-11]. To varying degrees, universities and tertiary institutions worldwide are taking steps to remove barriers that hinder the success of these non-traditional students. Such efforts include the provision of resources and support mechanisms aimed at alleviating disadvantages these students may experience, and the re-examination of educational views and teaching approaches to facilitate the necessary developments toward greater inclusiveness. This Special Issue of The Open Rehabilitation Journal focuses on programs and strategies that enhance learning outcomes for students with various forms of disabilities or impairments. The research literature on disability support has focused mainly on the visible or more obvious challenges faced by students with disabilities. These include reports on the implementation of strategies to facilitate mobility access, the provision of services for students with various forms of sensory impairment, the development of software to overcome or circumvent problems in access to or use of information - in essence, strategies that address minimizing the effects of physical and sensory impairments. In contrast, there is little research literature about strategies that address issues or challenges in effective learning once students with disabilities are enrolled in tertiary studies. However, students' abilities to learn effectively directly impact on their educational outcomes - whether they decide to complete their studies and, subsequently, whether they pass or fail. Even with state-of-the-art facilities, students who find it difficult to learn, to produce the necessary coursework, or to satisfactorily demonstrate their learning in assessments, would be negatively impacted in terms of their confidence and sense of self-efficacy, their motivations to learn and to persist, and ultimately their perceptions of the fit between tertiary education and themselves. From this perspective, attention to instruction and support services aimed directly at promoting more successful learning outcomes for students with disabilities ought to be a key priority, not just for researchers, but also for institutional service providers and decision makers in tertiary education. The Editors of this Special Issue, and the authors of the papers contained therein, hope that this publication will help stimulate attention to the research, as well as strategies development and implementation that are much needed in the area of learning support for tertiary students with disabilities. The first three papers in this Special Issue deal with learning support for students with sensory impairments. The first paper by Matthew Brett (University of Melbourne, Australia) describes the provision of live remote captioning (LRC) for Deaf and hard of hearing students whose language support needs cannot be adequately met by sign language interpreting and notetaking services that are usually considered adequate in community and other educational contexts. The use of LRC has received highly positive feedback from staff and students alike and, since its piloted use at the University of Melbourne in 2006, is now used in at least 10 other universities in Australia. The second paper by Kate Chanock (La Trobe University, Australia) discusses the value of working collaboratively with students who have disabilities, in developing appropriate methods for learning support. The student described in the paper, who is Deaf-blind, actively worked with a learning advisor in determining the most appropriate strategies to support her learning - and subsequently demonstrated marked improvements in her academic work. Jawakhir Mior Jaafar and Mac Yin Mee (University of Malaya, Malaysia) emphasize the importance of open communication and discussion in formulating appropriate support strategies -