The Inclusion of Students with Learning Disabilities at University: An Explorative Inquiry at Flinders University

Abstract

This paper aims to address a current issue for Special Pedagogy: the educational inclusion of students with learning disabilities in academic settings. Specifically, what is presented in these pages represents part of a broader investigation activity carried out by the writer during the three-year Ph.D. program. In 2019, it has been possible to extend the data collection within Flinders University in Adelaide (South Australia) thanks to the support of «Erasmus+ study 2018/19» funds. The Australian experience represents, in fact, the subject of this article, which will present the case study carried out in the university of Adelaide. Following a description of the context and a summary of the recent history regarding the inclusion of people with learning disabilities in the world of education, we will report the data collected with some considerations «in progress» on what emerged. The survey, that has a qualitative matrix, wants to give voice to the perspective of the respondents (students and disability advisors), taking it (potentially) as a possible incipit for the start of further investigation regarding the inclusion of the target considered here.

Keywords

• Inclusion
• Learning disabilities
• University
• Instructional technology