| Abstract [eng] |
Lately the number of disabled students in Lithuania has increased. Although the accessibility of higher education is stated in national legislation, disabled students still encounter problems such as physical inaccessibility of their environment, a lack of adapted training and educational materials (literature in braille, audio books, etc.), living conditions (e.g. in dormitories) not adapted to their specific needs, a need of assistants and a negative attitude of members of the academic community. England has been working on this domain for several decades. The number of disabled students in higher education institutions in the England is relatively high. Moreover, a system of disabled students special needs facilities has been created. The goal of this survey is to compare the attitude of experts in England and Lithuania towards higher education accessibility for disabled students in their countries. To reach this goal, qualitative research was implemented. Four experts from England and Lithuania – disabled students and tutors – were interviewed. The survey revealed that the biggest problems disabled students are facing in England is a negative attitude from some members of teaching staff, while in Lithuania they are facing inaccessibility of their physical environment. Higher education institutions both in England and Lithuania are taking care of disabled students. The main difference is that in England a disabled students representation system has been developped, acknowledged on a state level. In Lithuania the institutional responsibility is definable by the institutions themself, meaning that higher education institutions have to take care of disabled students and it is being understood within the frame of physical accessibility. When talking about the attitude shift towards disabled students, there can be found similarities between England and Lithuania in existence of prejudices from administration of higher education institutions and support from course friends. Likewise, the main attitude differences could be revealed by mentioning that in England there is a practice of disability aspects inclusion in the teaching process, whereas in Lithuania shifting attitude tendencies towards disabled people are still being discussed. Both in England and Lithuania, the most important aspect to seek higher education lies within the student. The main difference is the motivation to enter higher education: in England disabled students are entering because of a wish to get skills and self-confidence, in Lithuania they enter higher education seeking for independence and a sense of security. |
