“I Have Never Met a Student With a Disability in My 15 Years of Teaching”

Abstract

The study presents results of a survey concerning students with disabilities, their chances to study at universities, and accessibility of higher education in the Czech Republic. We conducted interviews of academic employees at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Ústínad Labem in the Czech Republic when I worked there. The chapter reveals the current state of accessible higher education. Further, it shares results from research conducted among existing faculty and administration about their attitudes towards students with disabilities as well as about their preparedness to accommodate candidates and to modify their own courses. We revealed intensive attitudinal barriers that existed among faculty. Some of the respondents even expressed an opinion that disabled students should be excluded from higher education. Professors and instructors were not aware of the needs of students with disabilities or how to include them in the learning process. They never thought about how inaccessible their courses were regarding representation, expression, engagement, or assessment.