Students with Disability: Beyond reasonable adjustments

In the Australian Higher Education sector, Students with Disability are one of the equity groups designated by the Federal government as a target cohort of students who are not represented in the same numbers as their non-disabled peers. It has been the goal of policymakers to seek to increase students’ participation and representation from within the equity categories, underpinned by assumptions this would also lead to associated social and economic benefits. This push is associated with discussions and findings of policy papers such as ‘the Dawkins Review’ (1988) and A Fair Chance for All (1990), which put into action a formalised effort to increase access and participation for historically underrepresented groups in the higher education sector, including Students with Disability. The practice of making reasonable adjustments to accommodate the effects that disability has on students is now commonplace. Assuming ‘Students with Disability’ are a homogenous equity group, neatly categorised and measurable, is inherently problematic. A diversity of disabilities and corresponding diverse impacts of disability occur within and across the group. In addition, it is difficult for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to understand whether or how reasonable adjustment regimes are working to support the participation and inclusion of Students with Disabilities. This paper conducts a scoping study to discuss how researchers, practitioners and policymakers can move toward better understanding Students with Disability inside the Widening Participation field by examining the dilemma of disclosure. This scoping study also identifies the medicalised, deficit discourse of disability within higher education and looks at the case of international Students with Disability.