Exploring concepts of access for people with learning difficulties: Making “good things” happen or preventing “bad things” from happening? Dr Jane Seale, PCET presentation 23 January 2007

Background ESRC Seminar Series Grant With Melanie Nind £15 K 2 years, 3 seminars a year Aim: to advance, through inter-disciplinary debate, our shared theoretical framework and understanding of the concept of access for people with learning difficulties.

ESRC Seminar Series Grant

With Melanie Nind

£15 K

2 years, 3 seminars a year

Aim:

to advance, through inter-disciplinary debate, our shared theoretical framework and understanding of the concept of access for people with learning difficulties.

Objectives To bring together , in ongoing, focused discussion, people with learning disabilities, practitioners and researchers To engage in shared questioning of the concept of access: For example, How do people with learning disabilities experience access? What is worth accessing? How can access be enabled and evaluated? To stimulate and enrich the debate about access for people with learning disabilities through input from presenters and participants working on access across a wide range of fields and disciplines

To bring together , in ongoing, focused discussion, people with learning disabilities, practitioners and researchers

To engage in shared questioning of the concept of access:

For example, How do people with learning disabilities experience access? What is worth accessing? How can access be enabled and evaluated?

To stimulate and enrich the debate about access for people with learning disabilities through input from presenters and participants working on access across a wide range of fields and disciplines

Access Themes Education Employment Health Leisure, sports and culture Community and belonging

Education

Employment

Health

Leisure, sports and culture

Community and belonging

Format Presentations Workshops Roundtable discussions

Presentations

Workshops

Roundtable discussions

Format Mixture of researchers, practitioners & people with learning difficulties who give the presentations, lead the workshops or facilitate the discussions

Mixture of researchers, practitioners & people with learning difficulties who give the presentations, lead the workshops or facilitate the discussions

The challenges For non-disabled presenters: making their talk accessible for the participants with learning difficulties But still making academics feel that it wasn’t being pitched “too low”

For non-disabled presenters: making their talk accessible for the participants with learning difficulties

But still making academics feel that it wasn’t being pitched “too low”

The challenges Making participation for people with learning difficulties genuine Not inviting them so they can be “poked at” like an object on display or “othering” them Finding empowering ways of supporting people with learning difficulties to present and share their experiences Having an expectation that they will contribute

Making participation for people with learning difficulties genuine

Not inviting them so they can be “poked at” like an object on display or “othering” them

Finding empowering ways of supporting people with learning difficulties to present and share their experiences

Having an expectation that they will contribute

The successes Built a high level of trust and acceptance To share positive and negative experiences and have them accepted as valid and important

Built a high level of trust and acceptance

To share positive and negative experiences and have them accepted as valid and important

The successes Opening up the university as a place for people with learning difficulties to feel welcome and comfortable

Opening up the university as a place for people with learning difficulties to feel welcome and comfortable

Emerging concepts

What kind of access do people with learning difficulties want? REAL AND GENUINE EQUITABLE (Same as other people) HOLISTIC (Across all areas of life) MEANINGFUL (Authentic and of personal importance) SUSTAINED AND PROGRESSIVE (Permanent and on-going)

What is involved in getting access? HAVING CONTROL TAKING RISKS (The chance to fail) HAVING OPPORTUNITIES (The chance to succeed) MAKING CHOICES (On own terms) BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE (To speak and to be heard) HAVING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Awareness) BEING READY AND PREPARED (Learning and practising)

Risk avoidance approach to granting or facilitating access RISK AVERSIVE INTERFERING LOW EXPECTATIONS OF SUCCESS BUREAUCRATIC HIGHLY PLANNED INFLEXIBLE

Risk embracing approach to granting or facilitating access RISK EMBRACING EXPERTLY JUDGED? HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF SUCCESS TRUST PREPARED TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH FLEXIBLE CO-OPERATIVE TOLERANT OF SERENDIPITY

There is dignity in risk

There is dignity in risk

Finding a theoretical framework Synergies with “possibility thinking” (re Anna Craft seminar on creativity in the curriculum) Experimentation and investigation Finding alternative routes to a barrier Engaging with problems: Embracing problems where there are no clear cut solution The encouragement of risk taking- committing to something when you can’t predict what the outcome will be

Synergies with “possibility thinking” (re Anna Craft seminar on creativity in the curriculum)

Experimentation and investigation

Finding alternative routes to a barrier

Engaging with problems: Embracing problems where there are no clear cut solution

The encouragement of risk taking- committing to something when you can’t predict what the outcome will be

Finding a theoretical framework Potential links with Dan Goodleys’ notion of “resilience” Resilience often exists in response to a disabling society Not an individual attribute but a product of the contexts in which it can emerge Resilience refutes the view that people with learning difficulties are nothing more than their perceived impairments Resilience is optimistic Encouraging supporters and professions to assume the potential for resilient lives when developing collaborative work with people with learning difficulties

Potential links with Dan Goodleys’ notion of “resilience”

Resilience often exists in response to a disabling society

Not an individual attribute but a product of the contexts in which it can emerge

Resilience refutes the view that people with learning difficulties are nothing more than their perceived impairments

Resilience is optimistic

Encouraging supporters and professions to assume the potential for resilient lives when developing collaborative work with people with learning difficulties

Finding links to PCET Research? Participation in HE: Equality of access Helen Connors’ talk: Admissions Tutors: “tendency to be risk aversive” e.g. ask for more Voc Quals than Non Quals to be on the safe side Levels of Trust: e.g.“low trust, low ability” educational systems Assumes students with vocational quals are not capable of significant academic achievements In reference to work by Brown & Lauder 1992

Participation in HE:

Equality of access

Helen Connors’ talk:

Admissions Tutors: “tendency to be risk aversive” e.g. ask for more Voc Quals than Non Quals to be on the safe side

Levels of Trust: e.g.“low trust, low ability” educational systems

Assumes students with vocational quals are not capable of significant academic achievements

In reference to work by Brown & Lauder 1992

Dr Jane Seale, Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) Research Group, University of Southampton [email_address] http://janekseale.blogspot.com/