African Journal of Disability

ISSN: (Online) 2226-7220, (Print) 2223-9170

Page 1 of 9 Original Research

Exploration of the academic lives of students with

disabilities at South African universities: Lecturers’
perspectives

Authors: Background: A decade has passed since South Africa signed and ratified the Convention on
Oliver Mutanga1
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a human rights treaty that protects the rights and
Melanie Walker2
dignity of people with disabilities. However, not much have changed for students with
Affiliations: disabilities.
1
Institute of Health and
Society, Faculty of Medicine, Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore lecturers’ experiences with, and perspectives
University of Oslo, Norway on, disability as well as with students with disabilities. It was hoped that this would contribute
to the ongoing policy debates about diversity, inclusion and support for students with
2
Centre for Research on disabilities at universities.
Higher Education and
Development, University of Methods: In an effort to understand the lives of students with disabilities better, a study which
the Free State, South Africa
included students with disabilities, lecturers and disability supporting staff was conducted at
Corresponding author: two South African universities – University of the Free State and University of Venda. The
Oliver Mutanga, paper takes a snapshot view of four lecturers and their perceptions of the lives of students with
oliverm.junior@gmail.com disabilities at their respective universities.
Dates: Results and Conclusion: Although most disability literature report students with disabilities
Received: 16 Sept. 2016 blaming lecturers for their failure to advance their needs, this paper highlights that the
Accepted: 19 Dec. 2016
Published: 30 Mar. 2017 education system needs to be supportive to lecturers for the inclusive agenda to be realised.
An argument is made for a more comprehensive approach towards a national disability policy
How to cite this article: in higher education involving many stakeholders. Without a broader understanding of
Mutanga, O. & Walker, M.,
disability, it will be difficult to engage with the complex ways in which inequalities emerge
2017, ‘Exploration of the
academic lives of students and are sustained.
with disabilities at South
African universities:
Lecturers’ perspectives’,
African Journal of Disability
Introduction
6(0), a316. https://doi. The aim of this paper is to understand lecturers’ thoughts and views on how the needs of students
org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.316 with disabilities1 are acted upon at these selected universities. Insights from these lecturers
Copyright: provide data that are helpful in comprehending the experiences of students with disabilities in
© 2017. The Authors. South African universities. This contributes to our understanding of lecturers’ roles in the lives of
Licensee: AOSIS. This work students with disabilities, the barriers they face and also the support they might need to enable
is licensed under the
Creative Commons
them to deal with diversity in higher education.
Attribution License.
As of 2016, there has been no legislation that specifically looks at disability issues in South African
higher education. With specific reference to disability, and to facilitate the inclusion and
participation of people with disabilities in all spheres of the economy, the National Commission
on Special Education Needs and Training and the National Committee on Education Support
Services were appointed in 1996. Their findings (DoE 1997), produced in 1997, stated that:
The primary challenge to higher education institutions at present is to actively seek to admit learners with
disabilities who have historically been marginalised at this level, providing them with opportunities to
receive the education and training required to enter a variety of job markets. Alongside this is the challenge
to develop the institution’s capacity to address diverse needs and address barriers to learning and
development. This includes not only learners with disabilities, but all learners. This requires that adequate
enabling mechanisms be put in place to ensure that appropriate curriculum and institutional transformation
occurs, and that additional support is provided where needed. (p. 126)
Read online:
Scan this QR This report pointed out that there was a need to admit more students with disabilities and to
code with your
smart phone or facilitate their full participation (Matshedisho 2007). The Integrated National Disability Strategy
mobile device
to read online. 1.In this paper, disability refers to disadvantages caused by multiple factors (social, economic, political, environmental and personal) on
people with various impairments.

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 Page 2 of 9 Original Research

(INDS) was introduced in 1997 with the intention to both to provide equipment and resources to a section of the
guide and support increased employment of, and to some population, justifying this in economic terms, the paper
degree to serve, people with disabilities within government arguably risks perpetuating inequalities. Instead of the
structures. Former President, Thabo Mbeki (Office of the assurance of service provision, this paper places the burden
Deputy President [ODP] 1997), acknowledged this: on disabled students to justify their right to be included in
This White Paper [INDS] represents the government’s thinking higher education in such a way that does not place economic
about what it can contribute to the development of disabled people burdens on higher education institutions.
and to the promotion and protection of their rights. We believe in a
partnership with disabled people. Therefore, the furtherance of In 2013, the White paper for Post-School Education and
our joint objectives can only be met by the involvement of disabled Training was released. It states that higher education
people themselves. (p. 2) institutions need to accommodate students with diverse
needs and remove barriers that hinder the development of all
The government thus recognised both the need for the students. This is a positive move towards inclusive practices
rights of disabled people to be protected as well as their in higher education. The paper states that the government
involvement and participation in matters affecting their remains committed to improving access and success for ‘non-
lives (Howell 2005). traditional students’ (disabled, black and female students).
Therefore, it prioritises increasing student participation rates
In 2001, the government released the National Plan for and improving their performance, success and throughput
Higher Education (NPHE). The NPHE outlines the rates. The paper (Department of Higher Education and
framework and mechanisms through which the policy goals Training [DHET] 2013) further says that it will develop a
and transformation imperatives of the White paper 3 and strategic policy framework to drive this initiative:
Higher Education Act could be implemented (Ministry of The DHET will develop a strategic policy framework to guide the
Education [MoE] 2001). Among other things, the NPHE improvement of access to and success in post-school education
established indicative targets for the size and shape of the and training for people with disabilities. The framework will
higher education system. Although there is no reference to require all post-school institutions to address policy within
students with disabilities, of particular relevance in the institutional contexts and to develop targeted institutional plans
context of this study is the strong focus on equity issues to address disability. (p. xv)
through the identification of non-traditional students as a
target group for inclusion in higher education.2 It also This policy framework is problematic in that it fails to
recommended that participation rates in higher education recognise heterogeneity within the persons with disabilities
should increase from 15% to 20% by 2016 (MoE 2001). In the and lumps all ‘people with disabilities’ into one group. A
same manner as the INDS, the MoE lamented a lack of data one-size-fits-all approach has the danger of failing to meet
on the status of students with disabilities in South African the needs of individuals with certain impairments. In
higher education (MoE 2001). Again, in the same year, the December 2014, a Ministerial Committee was set up by the
Education White Paper 6 primarily covering the education of Minister of Higher Education and Training to develop the
students with disabilities at the primary and secondary strategic policy framework as articulated in the 2013 White
school level was released, stating that students with paper. The committee is still working on that framework.
Even though certain elements require ongoing critical debate,
disabilities should have fair and equal opportunities to access
inclusive initiatives in South African higher education
and succeed in higher education.3 The paper provided
as explicated in various policy documents are currently
guidelines to remove obstacles and challenges that hinder
being pushed and action is evident. Notwithstanding these
students with disabilities’ access and participation. It was
significant policy initiatives, a number of challenges continue
also suggested that higher education institutions’ response to
to confront higher education, including universities. For
the needs of students with disabilities was important and
example, the responsibility of ensuring disability rights in
regional collaboration among them was important in this
higher education is relegated only to one department –
regard. However, although it purports to cover inclusive
DHET. Furthermore, some goals and values are in tension
education and participation of students with disabilities in
with one another; for example, pursuing social equity and
higher education, some of its provisions seem to suggest
redress alongside the production of high-quality graduates
otherwise. For instance, Section 2.2.5.3 (DoE 2001) states that:
in the context of inadequate public funding and initiatives to
It will not be possible to provide relatively expensive equipment support underprepared students (who include students with
and other resources, particularly for blind and deaf students, at disabilities). While the policies are impressive on paper, the
all higher education institutions. Such facilities will therefore real question is why there are still challenges within
have to be organised on a regional basis. (p. 31)
the South African higher education system. Commenting on
the issues of inclusion, Carrim (2002) argues that:
There are no details on how this can be implemented in
Although it would be fair to state that South African education
practice. Moreover, there are no legal sanctions for failure to
and training legislation and policies promote an expanded and
comply with this duty. By insisting that it ‘will not be possible’ rich use of the notion of inclusion, it cannot be assumed that this
2.These include workers, mature students, female students and disabled students. is reflective of current, and emerging, practices. Instead,
3.This paper is entitled ‘Special Needs Education: Building an inclusive education and
mounting evidence seems to suggest that various forms of
training system’. exclusion still prevail throughout the system currently. (p. 14)

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 Page 3 of 9 Original Research

This calls for more careful consideration of the equity issues possible avenues towards full academic inclusion and
and the barriers within universities which restricts full participation of students with disabilities.
inclusion and participation of students with disabilities. The
current policy momentum clears the way for a platform to Understanding lecturers’ views regarding disability at
contribute the findings from this study. universities is important as the behaviour of some lecturers
exclude students with disabilities. This was highlighted in
Students with disabilities’ perceptions of their a study by van Jaarsveldt and Ndeya-Ndereya (2015) on
lecturers the e-learning needs of students with disabilities at a
South African university. Lecturers’ responses in this study
Few studies have investigated the experiences and
indicated that while some lecturers used their personal
perspectives of lecturers regarding the experiences of
agency to respond to the needs of students with disabilities,
students with disabilities at South African universities.
some lecturers distanced themselves from the responsibility
Among these studies, a degree of scepticism about disability
of providing support to students with disabilities. Those who
among able-bodied lecturers was identified, including
distanced themselves displayed a lack of involvement with
concerns about the fairness of allowing students with
the students and tended to refer them to the Disability Unit
disabilities greater access to materials and additional
(DU) at the institution. Van Jaarsveldt and Ndeya-Ndereya
contact with staff and questions about whether some
(2015) then argue that although higher education institutions’
students with disabilities should be given university places
disability policies are necessary, personal responsibility
at all (Mayat & Amosun 2011; Riddell et al. 2007). Most
from lecturers is also essential in bringing about inclusive
South African disability studies (Engelbrecht & de Beer
campuses.
2014; Ntombela & Soobrayen 2013; Ohajunwa et al. 2014;
Swart & Greyling 2011; Tugli et al. 2013) have explored the
Some students perceive that lecturers’ lack of disability
lives of students with disabilities by examining, and often
awareness results in them failing to make necessary
exclusively, only their views and/or support staff. However, provisions (Matshedisho 2010). Swart and Greyling (2011)
this approach leaves out other parties such as lecturers, found that students in the Humanities and Social Sciences
family members, administrators and management involved were more positive about the support they receive from
in the lives of students with disabilities, whose experiences lecturers than other students in the Natural, Economic and
and perceptions are important for the improvement of Business Sciences. Focusing on one higher education
disability policy and practice. institution, Ohajunwa et al. (2014) investigated whether,
and how, disability issues are included in the teaching and
Some studies report that lecturers lack disability awareness. research of three faculties: Health Sciences, Humanities, and
In one such study, Crous (2004) found that 67% of students Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of
with disabilities believed that their lecturers had limited Cape Town. Similar to Swart and Greyling (2011), this study
knowledge of disability. Where lecturers thus seemed reveals low levels of disability inclusion and disability not
unhelpful, for example, in terms of time allocated to being viewed as an issue of social justice. However, there
complete assignments, students often related it to their were pockets of inclusion, the nature of which differed from
lack of awareness regarding disability, rather than their faculty to faculty, for example, out of 35 participants across
unwillingness to help them. The lack of awareness on the the three faculties, 31 indicated that they include disability
part of lecturers was also highlighted by Mayat and Amosun issues in their teaching (Ohajunwa et al. 2014:108). They
(2011) in their study, which explored the perceptions of went on to report that in the Faculty of Engineering
academic staff of admission of students with disabilities, and and the Built Environment, disability was included as an
their accommodation once accepted into a Civil Engineering issue of legislation, space and environment. At the Faculty
programme at a South African university. Mayat and of Humanities the focus was on the socio-cultural and
Amosun (2011) observed that students with disabilities in economic impact of disability. The Faculty of Health
South Africa are still excluded from certain academic fields Sciences introduced disability with an emphasis on
like Engineering and Natural Sciences. Even though the five individual impairment, environmental effects, community-
participating staff members expressed willingness to teach based rehabilitation and inclusive development, as well as
students with disabilities, they showed some reservations. the prevention and management of disability. The authors
The authors argue that staff members were concerned about rightly proposed the creation of an institutional system that
the perceived limitations of students with disabilities. They will build the capacity of lecturers to include disability in
expressed concern that students with disabilities would not teaching and research across faculties, in line with the
be able to meet all the course requirements. One lecturer even university’s transformation agenda. The fragmentation of
wondered whether students with disabilities would not be how universities through their departments respond to
an ‘embarrassment’ to their able-bodied peers (Mayat & disability, as shown in this study, calls for an urgent need to
Amosun 2011:55). Although these unjustified perceptions understand how different universities are addressing the
will likely vary depending on the type and severity of needs of students with disabilities.
impairment, the issues raised from these two studies makes
a case for continued probing from the lecturers’ side on how These studies clearly show how lecturers from different
they perceive disability matters at universities and work on departments and universities understand and view academic

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 Page 4 of 9 Original Research

lives of students with disabilities. Lecturers are often the first

point of contact for students, especially in the first year of
Findings
study (Bierwert 2002). Research cited above indicated that Findings are organised into four themes: lectures’ attitudes
the learning attitudes and approaches of lecturers are likely towards students with disabilities; disability awareness
to have an impact on students’ learning (Cameron & training; institutional disability arrangements and the
Nunkoosing 2012). These assertions made the exploration of preparedness of students with disabilities for higher
lecturers’ experiences and perspectives justified at the education.
universities in this study, as no such study as this has been
undertaken before in South Africa. We considered that the Attitude of lecturers towards students with
lecturers would provide insight given studies already done disabilities
at other universities. This would further inform the debate Both negative and positive attitudes towards students with
about the inclusion of students with disabilities in higher disabilities were found. Below are some of the elements of
education. negativity:
‘The only time that the faculty can know that a student has a
Methodology disability is when we are informed about that. We cannot do
anything if we don’t know that a certain student has a disability.
Purposive sampling was employed to recruit participants
I have been the teaching and learning manager within the faculty
into a qualitative study. Participants included 14 students
since last year but I have not seen any student coming to me
with various types of impairments (hearing, physical, visual saying that he/she has a disability and that he or she needs
and mobility), 4 able-bodied lecturers and 3 disabled assistance…I think that disability issues should be dealt at the
DU staff. This paper only reports the data from lecturers. institutional level and not individually by each faculty or lecturer
They were recruited through their respective Heads of because it’s an issue that needs to be addressed at institutional
Departments. A hard copy information sheet was provided level. Something like that should come from the institutional
to every lecturer. This was accompanied by a conversation policies.’ (Dr H, male, lecturer)
clarifying the objectives of the study before they signed ‘How do I know that a student has a learning disability? If I
the consent form. Data were collected through in-depth just think of spellings, conceptualising and formulations, it’s
interviews. Findings from this paper are based on the a massive problem for most of our students.’ (Prof. J, male,
narratives of four lecturers, two from University of the Free lecturer)
State (UFS) and two from University of Venda (UniVen),
about their experiences with students with disabilities in These two lecturers are raising pertinent challenging
higher education, how their socio-cultural backgrounds issues faced by lecturers. However, underlying the above
influence their perceptions regarding disability and their statements are features of shifting the blame from individual
role in their university lives. Their names have been teaching staff to either the students with disabilities and/or
anonymised. Each interview lasted between 40 and 60 their respective institutions. These lecturers’ views suggest a
minutes and data were digitally recorded and transcribed. lack of understanding of diversity which leads to exclusion
The transcribed interviews were then analysed with the help of students with disabilities in teaching and learning
of NVivo software by coding themes to generate tentative activities, and consequently to their failure at universities.
descriptive labels. Although this sample is not large enough While one can argue that the lecturers are referring to
to make generalisations, future studies that utilise mixed students with severe learning disabilities, this cannot be a
research methods might generate generalisable data. Bassey justification for failing to attend to their needs. The fact that
(1981) makes a valuable point by stating that the relatability they would have succeeded in the pre-university education
of a case study is as equally important as generalisability. In is a testimony that they have the potential of succeeding at
his opinion, an important criterion for judging the merit of the university. Challenges faced by students with disabilities
a study is the extent to which data are sufficient and are individualised in the absence of an integrated approach
appropriate for someone working in a similar situation which takes into account individual factors as well as other
or condition to make policy decisions based on what is external factors. This, unfortunately, leads to lecturers failing
described in the study. It is our hope that this paper, with to make necessary provisions for students with disabilities.
data from a sample of four lecturers, is valuable for inclusive Dr H points to the fact that if the affected students do not
policy and from which further studies can be developed. To disclose their disabilities, they cannot be offered help by the
set the scene and give this discussion a context, we provide teaching and learning staff. Prof J thinks that learning
the lecturer profiles in Table 1. disability is difficult to detect as some of the symptoms are

TABLE 1: Profile of lecturers.

Name Institution Race Gender Number of years in practice Field
Prof J UFS White Male More than 25 years Education
Dr H UFS White Male Less than 10 years Law
Prof M UniVen Black Male More than 15 years Human and Social Sciences
Mr L UniVen Black Male Less than 5 years Mathematical and Natural Sciences
UFS, University of the Free State; UniVen, University of Venda.

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related to challenges that are also faced by non-disabled lecturers are supposed to provide alternative teaching,
students. It might be true that in an environment like the learning and assessments for students with disabilities.
South African education system which still grapples with
the effects of the apartheid system, distinguishing students
Disability awareness training
facing learning challenges as a result of disabilities from
those having challenges as a result of an unfair pre-university The lecturers report a lack of professional training in dealing
background is difficult. However, it cannot be a justification with diversity matters, and particularly disability issues.
not to respond to the needs of students with disabilities. This contributes to the lack of awareness, and ultimately
It is also important for lecturers to make some effort to to their ignorance and negative attitude towards disability
understand why students with disabilities do not disclose issues:
their status and to come with measures that distinguish ‘The issue is that as lecturers, we are not trained to handle
challenges faced by students with learning disabilities and [disability] matters e.g. we have to deal with the slowness [of some
those faced by non-disabled students in class. disabled students] while at the same time you have big classes and
you are rushing to meet department and faculty deadlines.’
Some university teaching and learning practices that are not (Prof J, male, lecturer)
related to disability but which affect how they transmit ‘I am a Physics lecturer and all I want is my students to get the
knowledge to all the students, including students with fundamentals of Physics. I don’t think I am equipped to deal
disabilities, were also mentioned at both universities. Large with disability matters.’ (Mr L, male, lecturer)
classes and limited resources were highlighted:
Another striking finding from this study is the
‘Some lecturers do not want to spend much time on one or two
acknowledgement by the lecturers of their lack of awareness
students because of pressure and demands coming from huge
classes. In some classes there are over 500 students. It becomes on how to react and act when confronted by students with
tough for one lecturer to provide individual attention.’ (Prof. J, disabilities or disability issues in their practice:
male, lecturer) ‘How do I know that a student has a learning disability? If I
‘We only have two laboratory technicians who are supposed to just think of spellings, conceptualising and formulations, it’s a
help between 20 and 50 students daily. How can we work well massive problem for most of our students.’ (Prof. J, male, lecturer)
under these conditions?’ (Mr L, male, lecturer)
However, while there is an acknowledgement of not knowing
This evidence from these lecturers shows areas of how to respond to disability challenges by these lecturers,
commonality regarding the challenges faced by students some of their statements point to the existence of subtle
with disabilities and those faced by non-disabled students. negative attitudes:
These findings are important in challenging the idea of ‘It’s a punishment. I have to change the font size in a lecture with
treating students with disabilities as a homogenous category visually challenged students, a lecture which is supposed to be
as this overlooks the varied experiences among students. one hour takes me two hours for those guys.’ (Mr L, male,
lecturer)
On a positive note, not everything about lecturers’ responses
to the needs of students with disabilities is negative. Some Mr L views his responsibilities as burdening. He seems not to
positive attitudes towards students with disabilities were view it as part of his job to make sure that all his students
reported and these resulted in positive outcomes for students access teaching and learning in an equitable manner. While
with disabilities: Mr L might be trying to portray the challenges of heavy
teaching load placed on the lecturers and lack of appreciation
‘Some of our practical exercises in class cannot be taken by other
regarding the academic needs of students with disabilities,
students e.g. partially sighted students because some of the
instruments we use. An endoscope e.g. has too much light inside
disability awareness workshops emphasising the need to
which is not good for the eyes. We also use laser which again is attend to academic needs of students with disabilities might
not good for the eyes and the vernier callipers which are very be helpful for the lecturers.
sharp. In instances like these we make alternative practical
exercises for the partially sighted students. The reason for these Institutional arrangements also negatively affect lecturers in
adjustments is that we want fair assessment for everyone.’ (Mr L, attending to the needs of students with disabilities:
male, lecturer)
‘Some buildings were built years ago without disabled students
‘Assessments should be varied according to the barriers a in mind. What can I do when I have classes in those buildings?
student is experiencing. We try to be sensitive by having Students in wheelchairs are entirely excluded.’ (Prof. M, male,
alternative assessments.’ (Prof. J, male, lecturer) lecturer)

It is refreshing to note that lecturers appreciate alternative In case of physical buildings and other institutional
teaching, learning and assessment methods that cater for the arrangements, lecturers might have less influence to bring
needs of the students. However, these are ad hoc individual about positive change. However, together with other
initiatives which leave students with disabilities at the mercy stakeholders like students with disabilities, university
of their individual lecturers. It is, therefore, important for management and government and private sector players,
institutions to be clear in their policy documents on how all alternative arrangements and solutions might be found.

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This points to the fact that although lecturers in their teaching and learning. The same challenge of students with
individual capacities can act to bring inclusion and access disabilities being exposed to different arrangements for the
for students with disabilities at universities, full inclusion first time in the university was highlighted by Prof. J also
for the success of students with disabilities is possible when who complained that as university lecturers, ‘we cannot
all the stakeholders are included and are working together. make them [students with disabilities] recover all that has been
lost at school…’. There are interventions that have been put
Institutional disability arrangements in place at the two case study universities to help students
with disabilities. However, these interventions are discipline-
At the time of our research, there was no formal disability focused, for example, having alternative practical exercises
policy at UFS, while at UniVen a one-page policy document and assessment criteria in Science and Information
was provided. This leads to different, inadequate and Technology subjects. Existing interventions do not cover all
fragmented ways of responding to the needs of students with aspects of students with disabilities’ lives and other
disabilities at these universities. departments do not have any interventions.

Lecturers highlight that the administration and the students

Besides a lack of preparedness, it is reported that some
have an important part to play in creating a good environment
students with disabilities lack agency to take initiative that
for students with disabilities in the university:
might help them to flourish in higher education:
‘On the application forms students are asked to declare disability
‘If a student with disabilities experiences a barrier but
status. The administration captures the data but as the lecturers
communicates well with a lecturer things are likely to run
we never receive this information from them afterwards. The
smoothly but the student must come to the fore. It is very tough
administration must tell us in advance about the specific students
if there are invisible disabilities that are not reported and it’s not
who need special attention.’ (Mr L, male, lecturer)
known by the lecturers.’ (Prof. J, male, lecturer)

This is indicative of the fact that lecturers need information ‘Some students with disabilities have negative attitude towards
learning. I expect my students to be at a certain level of
and support to build inclusive campuses. In order for
competence in my course at a certain time regardless of one’s
lecturers to create inclusive environments, it is necessary for
status but if someone wants to be treated in a special way in
them to be aware of disability matters. The current situation
school work because of a disability, it becomes a challenge and
might result in students with disabilities performing poorly definitely people like that fail.’ (Mr L, male, lecturer)
in academics as a result of the lack of support from lecturers.
Prof. J and Mr L highlight important aspects which need to
Although some lecturers are generally supportive of students be examined. Firstly, though they want students with
with disabilities, they sometimes feel overwhelmed by disabilities to flourish, they seem not to be encouraging them
requests for individualised support and are unsure how to
by inviting them to discuss their needs. These lecturers seem
balance maintaining academic standards and accommodating
to distance themselves from the responsibility of providing
the needs of students with disabilities. However, this need
support to students with disabilities. Secondly, their
not be an either–or situation as the needs of students with
expressions convey an ‘us versus them’ discourse (van
disabilities can be provided while academic standards are
Jaarsveldt & Ndeya-Ndereya 2015:207). This leads to poor
being kept. This finding is the same as reported by Riddell,
academic performance among students with disabilities. As
Tinklin and Wilson (2005) who suggest that not having
pointed out by Morris (2001), social inclusion cannot be
enough time to pay attention to each student is one of the
accomplished as long as conditions which maintain exclusion
reasons lecturers are reluctant to change or adapt their
stay untouched. As such, we need to pay attention to the
teaching methods. This links to an increasing issue of pressure
everyday language and how people with disabilities are
of increased workload raised by academics in South African
represented. Besides a lack of training on diversity matters,
higher education system.
individual agency on the part of the lecturers to enhance
their own understanding of disability is also vital. These will
Students with disabilities’ preparedness and help foster disclosure of disability status among students
their attitudes at universities with disabilities who fail to disclose because of stigma (De
It emerged from the interviews with lecturers that some Cesarei 2015).
students with disabilities display negative attitudes and a
lack of preparedness for higher education. Consequently, this Responsibility lies with the entire university population.
affects their full inclusion in higher education. For example, Moreover, concerned lecturers who are aware of, and take an
some students with disabilities are exposed to new technology interest in, students with disability issues make an effort to
or ways of doing things, which are meant to help them, only learn about disabilities. Greyling’s (2008) claim is valuable.
after they have been admitted into university: She says that although DUs or divisions for student support
‘Some students come here not knowing e.g. how to use braille services are crucial in providing individual support and
materials. It’s a mountain to climb.’ (Prof. M, male, lecturer) addressing institutional barriers, they should not be seen
as the exclusive providers of support to students with
Prof. M’s statement indicates the challenges faced by students disabilities. Not only are the universities supposed to remain
with disabilities at universities in order for them to access responsible for the transformation of different departments,

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 Page 7 of 9 Original Research

but all relevant players are responsible for creating an mandates, for example, taught modules delivered in a given
inclusive environment. timeframe. In some cases, this challenge is acknowledged
and corrective measures are put in place. University staff are,
Ethical consideration among other performance measures, evaluated by the
amount of hours spent delivering lectures to students. As
Ethical clearance was given at the two institutions. At the such, the need to attend to pedagogical issues (e.g. paying
University of the Free State, the reference number is UFS- individual attention to the needs of students with disabilities)
HUM-2014-46. is relegated as a secondary issue.

Discussion The lack of a sound relationship between lecturers and

Lecturers’ narratives highlight that in most cases, they are students with disabilities has a negative effect on the inclusion
aware of the need for creating an inclusive atmosphere for all and participation of students with disabilities. Ginsberg and
Wlodkowski (2009) express this:
students. However, they face challenges in their quest to
promote and create barrier-free environments for students …teaching methods and educational environments that
with disabilities. Some of these challenges are influenced by motivationally favour particular learners to the exclusion of
institutional policies and practices. This might be stemming others are unfair and diminish the chances of success for those
learners discounted or denied in this situation. (p. 32)
from a concern or a belief that accommodating the needs of
students with disabilities might lower academic integrity or
It is, therefore, important to pay attention to these issues in an
is unfair to students who are not disabled (Fuller, Bradley &
attempt to create inclusive environments. Stojanovska-
Healey 2004). While previous studies (Fuller et al. 2004;
Dzingovska and Bilic (2012) report in their study that
Matshedisho 2010; Moriña, Cortés & Melero 2014) portray
lecturers kept a distant from students with disabilities
students with disabilities as victims and lecturers as
intentionally as they were afraid of offending their students
perpetrators of social injustices, these four lecturers highlight
by using inappropriate idiomatic expressions. Furthermore,
that teaching staff are also victims of a system that fails to
Swart and Pettipher (2011) argue that beliefs and attitudes
equip them to deal with diversity challenges in higher
are directly translated into actions and educational practices,
education. They also point to the fact that in some instances,
and inform decision-making. They further state that attitudes
students with disabilities create barriers to learning by their
about diversity can either be a barrier to or an enabler in the
attitudes towards learning. Thus, disability policies need to
realisation of an inclusive environment. While participating
be multi-focused – targeting students with disabilities as well
lecturers did not show strong evidence of reflection
as encouraging them to be an active agency in their own lives.
behaviour, lecturers need to be aware and be reflective of
their perspectives and behaviour. Self-reflection, which
With regard to teaching staff’s awareness of disability issues involves deep inward looking into every action is critical for
and their attitudes towards students with disabilities, data lecturers to become more aware and active in meeting the
show that positive attitudes towards disability depend on the needs of all students. This is only possible if lecturers are
initiatives by the individual lecturers. This is not surprising willing to self-examine their own conceptions. However,
considering how lecturers are appointed and promoted in short awareness seminars can help in this regard.
these universities. In most cases, a lecturer is appointed into
his or her field of expertise based on the academic record for Lecturers in this study had varied backgrounds (race,
the related courses and the ability to conduct research in his institutional affiliation, fields of teaching and number of
or her field. Except for some programmes (e.g. Education years in the teaching profession). Although this was not the
where subjects like classroom management, pedagogies and focus of this study, one cannot produce any link between
curriculum studies are taught), in other disciplines, this is left lecturers’ biographic characteristics and their perceptions
to the lecturer concerned to handle. This is contrary to the and attitudes regarding disability and students with
UFS’ mission of ‘Advancing social justice by creating multiple disabilities in higher education. This differs from previous
opportunities for disadvantaged students to access the studies (Rao 2002; Rao & Gartin 2003; Vogel et al. 1999),
university’ (UFS 2016), or UniVen’s mission statement, which found a positive relationship between discipline
‘responsive to the development needs of the Southern African (education, humanities and architecture), age (junior v senior
region, using appropriate learning methodologies and lecturers) and experience with teaching students with
research’ (UniVen 2016). In practice, the advancement of disabilities, with the willingness to provide accommodations
social justice and appropriate learning methods for all and support to students with disabilities. A possible
students are missing at these two universities. Increased explanation for this might be the limited number of lecturers
expectations on lecturers such as teaching large classes with involved in this study. As highlighted in this and other
around 700 students (ibid.) make it difficult to dedicate time studies (Hadjikakou & Hartas 2008) that lecturers are not
to the needs of all students. trained to deal with disability issues, it is important for
lecturers to receive professional development through
Lecturers highlighted another dilemma which confronts disability awareness workshops, emphasising, for example,
university teaching staff, that is, the need to balance classroom different types of impairments, the importance of an inclusive
management and the need to reach the required departmental environment, how to encourage disclosure among students

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 Page 8 of 9 Original Research

with disabilities, how to teach and assess the progress of

students with disabilities without excluding anyone.
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