Allies for Inclusion (PDF)

Here is an overview of students with disabilities inpostsecondary institutions and the importance of allies in theirlives. It is a call to action for faculty, staff, andadministrators in all facets of higher education, and emphasizesthe shared responsibility toward students with disabilities andtoward creating meaningful change.

This monograph begins with a look into the future of disabilityeducation. How will students create their own identities? Willthere be a need for disability accommodations or will a universallydesigned world eliminate that current necessity? It also looks atthe past, with discussions of disability legislation such as theADA of 1990, the impact of Supreme Court decisions, descriptions ofcollege students with disabilities, and the paradigm shift from themedical "deficit" model of disability to one thatfocuses on the individual's lived experience as a socialconstruct.

Drawing on theoretical frameworks in multiple disciplines,disability identity development is explained, ally development isdefined, and disability services are explored. The monograph endswith a discussion of where disability education is now and howfaculty, staff, and administrators will continue to be allies ofinclusion for students in the years to come.

This is the 5th issue of the 39th volume of the Jossey-Bassseries ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is thedefinitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based onthorough research of pertinent literature and institutionalexperiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Notedpractitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write thereports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscriptbefore publication.