Abstract
This article explores visually impaired (vi) and blind students’ experiences of support as an undergraduate student in UK higher education (he) by focusing specifically on relationships and interactions between vi and blind students and support staff within Higher Education. Participants within this research show how their experiences highlight an uneven and often exclusionary Higher Education landscape. Constructions of disability and impairment show a complex relationship between support provision as it is offered and experienced. The findings overall suggest the experience of support is more than the placing together of student and support worker and concerns the management of this relationship, particularly around underlying assumptions about being vi. Support is not unnecessary or unwelcome, instead, the complexity of the relationship, the additional work associated with support experienced by these students, combine to shape academic experience.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 136-157 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Journal of Disability Studies in Education |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 30 Dec 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2022 |
Keywords
- visual impairment
- higher education
- disability
- ableism