Upper extremity impairments in higher education: Types of assessment accommodations provided and student perspectives

Abstract

Assessment accommodations in tertiary education levels the proverbial playing field for students with disabilities by removing disabling barriers related to assessments that may affect their performance. It is vital that effective assessment accommodations are provided by higher educational institutes in order to assess all students justly, equitably, and fairly. In this context, this research explores the assessment accommodations provided for students with upper extremity impairments in the University of Kelaniya. The research objectives are to identify the types of assessment accommodations provided by the institution for students with upper extremity impairments and to explore their reception by students with disabilities. To achieve these objectives, a qualitative research methodology was adopted. The documents related to assessment accommodations guidelines and data gathered through interviews were treated as primary data. The documents were subjected to manifest content analysis. Semi-structured interviews with two students with disabilities were conducted. Snowball sampling was used to identify research participants and their anonymity is ensured. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the interview data and the theoretical underpinning of this research relates to the socio-political understanding of disability. It was found that three types of assessment accommodations are provided by the institution: assessment accommodations related to the medium of presentation, medium of response, and the physical environment. Displaying varying opinions, students responded positively to accommodations related to the medium of presentation and response and held somewhat negative attitudes towards accommodations related to the physical setting due to the exclusion they may lead to. It is recommended that the institution revises assessment accommodations to improve the effectiveness of accommodations provided and involves stakeholders in the guideline formation/revision process.