Talking about disability or ticking the box? A study of Equality and Diversity training in UK Higher Education.

Kember, Martha

Abstract

This article presents extracts from a doctoral study which explored how, if at all, Equality and Diversity (E&D) training in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) represents the voices and lived experience of disabled people. Article 1 of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) includes the principle that people with an impairment have ‘full and effective participation and inclusion in society on an equal basis with others’ (United Nations, 2006, p. 5) and UK HEIs have a specific duty, framed by the Equality Act (2010), to promote equality and diversity. The Act requires universities to have due regard to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between ‘persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it’ (Equality Act, 2010, s149). HEIs were the subject of the National Association for Mental Health (Mind) inquiry (1999) which highlighted the need for increased awareness and understanding of people with a disability through training. Studies suggest that, despite legislation, HEIS ‘under-support, under-represent and marginalise the voices of disabled people’ (Kikabhai, 2018, p. 176), and adopt ‘practices which work to the disadvantage of disabled people’ (Barnes, 1995, p. 66). Brown and Leigh (2018, p. 987) write of an ‘internalised ableism’ in a sector which is simply ‘ticking the box’ through the delivery of E&D training.

Citation

Kember, M. (2021). Talking about disability or ticking the box? A study of Equality and Diversity training in UK Higher Education. Educational developments, 22(1), 20-25

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Deposit Date: Sep 7, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 14, 2021
• Journal: Educational Developments
• Print ISSN: 1469-3267
• Publisher: Staff and Educational Development Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 20-25
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3833413