CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.15 STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES/CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED BY ACADEMIC STAFF
to a disability, but the students have argued that this aspect is not one which will hinder them from working in that field after graduation. A flexible curriculum includes flexible teaching approaches, the use of appropriate technology, assistive devices, and other
mechanisms to facilitate access to learners
(http://www.ccc.newcastle.edu.au/studentsupport/DisabilityResourceKit/overview%20a).
Hampton and Gosden (2004), state that universities provide a competitive environment that in some way resembles the sporting field. But unlike the arrangements made for athletes with disabilities, for whom separate fields of competition are available, students with disabilities are required to enter into open competition with non -disabled students.
To make this open competition fair, students with disabilities are provided with a range of accommodations to compensate. So to compensate, universities are required under the provisions of anti-discrimination legislation to make special concessions and accommodations for students with disabilities
(Nichols, www.canberra.edu.au/pathways/pap.).
2.15 STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES/CHALLENGES
involves attention to academic planning and processes to evaluate and assess student performance. It is, therefore, imperative that academic staff receive the necessary support in the form of definite guidelines and policies on accommodations for students with disabilities from the institutions.
Wardle (2000, www.bath.ac.uk/leaming-support/webb/wardle.html) outlines some of the challenges faced by lecturers in dealing with students with disabilities:
~ Medical/deficit model of disability: lecturers sometimes expenence difficulties in their interactions with persons with disabilities due to their perceptions of the meaning of disability. Lecturers, like the rest of the educational community, need to see the person as a person, not the disability, and also recognise that students are best qualified to assess their own needs;
~ Disability awareness: most lecturers have no specific knowledge of disability, or think that disability is limited to overt physical disabilities only. Chafee and Sherr (1992) as cited by Wardle (2000) suggest that some lecturers cannot see the student as someone who can competently express his or her educational needs, and justifiably insist that those needs be met.
~ Classroom management with diverse groups of students in multicultural or multilingual environment. If there is a hint, however, that the disability is being exploited for extra benefit, this may evoke unpleasant responses from both the lecturer and other students.
~ Need to accommodate certain practical aspects of having a person with a personal assistant in the classroom eg a guide dog in the classroom.
~ Knowledge of legislation about discrimination and equity: lecturers need to be made aware of how legislative changes regarding disabilities relate to classroom practice.
~ Student support services: research indicated that the disability service was valued by lecturers. Many lecturers, however, tended to make referrals
solely to the disability service. Wardle(2000) is of the view that although it is important for students to be referred to the disability service to find out what services are available, it is also important for other student services to participate in supporting students. The support of students, therefore, can only be effective when there is a network of support, and an institution - wide commitment to it.
~ Ignorance, fear and prejudice: concern for an extra workload are some reactions of lecturers. One comment from a lecturer who had a young woman with low vision in his class summed this up. When asked for assistance with course notes he said "if she tells me which overhead transparency (aRT) she needs, I will copy it for her." Re did not read the aRT out in class, so how could she be able to identify it! (Wardle,2000:4)
Washington& Bruce (1999
www.deakin.edu.au/ncet/archives/information and orientation guideline.J
are also of the view that academic staff at universities are selected from amongst the highest performing people in research, academic studies and specific professions but, generally, they have no training in teaching except that which they have experienced as students themselves. The absence of ongoing in- service training of educators often leads to insecurity, uncertainty, low self esteem and lack of innovative practices in the lecture rooms. In learning to deal with diversity and meeting different needs among learners it is important to recognize that few lecturers at institutions for higher education have qualifications in education per se, and therefore require training in instruction or knowledge-transfer. The nature of teaching and therefore the capacity to meet different learning needs depend on the individual skills of the lecturers, rather than on knowledge- based skills acquired formally. The Department of Education confirms that there is growing realization ofthe need to equip lecturers with skills to facilitate learning more effectively, hence a number of institutions have initiated in- service courses for their teaching personnel (Department of Education, 1997:37) .
It is hoped that, through increased education and awareness training, staff will anticipate the need for adjustment of academic materials into a format that is most accessible to the individual student.
For this reason Armstrong (2002, www.humanrights.gov.au/disability-rights/education) states that it is important for staff to assess each student's needs on an individual level.
The student knows best what works for them and what formats are most accessible