LE3 .A278 2011

2011

Rippeyoung, Phyllis

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Sociology

Sociology

This thesis explores the physical, attitudinal, support services, personal and institutional barriers that are present for students with physical disabilities at Acadia University. In this research, I carry out an institutional ethnography through the use of a thorough review of national, provincial, and university policy; an autoethnography to explore my own experiences as a student with a physical disability; and interviews with the President of the University and with staff from the Student Resource Centre. From this, I am able to provide insight into the points of view of both those who experience barriers due to a disability and those who are in a position to help these students. I found that students with disabilities do face many more barriers within a post secondary education setting than average students. There is also no central legislation that helps to protect the rights of students with disabilities. I conclude with recommendations for how to improve accessibility on the Acadia campus, including the need for increased accessibility of buildings, rewriting the Senate Policy on Students with Disabilities that Affect Learning, and hiring an equity officer to ensure that issues of accessibility do not go unfixed.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:791