Disability service provision and the delivery of education and training programmes: a new approach to improving education and training services for tertiary students with disabilities: a report to the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training

In recent years, disability services in tertiary institutions in Australia have faced increasing demands to provide services to students with disabilities and medical conditions. In many of these institutions, meeting these increased demands is being attempted with little or no increase in disability resources or funding. Within this context, this study sought to take an alternative view of disability service provision for the educational and learning needs of students in tertiary institutions. It focused on the issue of flexibility within mainstream, on-campus educational and training programs and drew a distinction between these and other learning programs such as distance education and courses that are solely delivered electronically or online. The methodology included a review of literature on the learning experiences of students and a survey of the views and attitudes of teaching and disability staff towards the delivery of more flexible and accessible methods. The survey of teaching staff included university and TAFE lecturers from both metropolitan and regional centres in Western Australia. Both teaching and disability staff recognise the potential benefits of flexible teaching and learning (FTL) for meeting the learning needs of students with disabilities. However, due to various important factors such as time and resources and institutional culture, a more systemic model of service provision is not operating. The consequence of this is that the potential benefits of meeting the learning needs of students with disabilities through such methods as FTL are not being realised in a comprehensive or planned way. The study identified a number of steps which disability staff can take to support the move towards more accessible and flexible delivery of education and training programs. Show less