Introduction: Students with disabilities are underrepresented in post-secondary education, including health professional programs. They experience higher rates of attrition and lower rates of graduation compared to their non-disabled peers. Some research indicates that educators engage in ableist practices preventing students with disabilities from successfully completing these programs. Educators report difficulty meeting the myriad of professional and educational expectations in professional programs. Rehabilitation professions provide a unique opportunity for research given their emphasis on participation and inclusion. Purpose: The purpose of this program of research was to explore the educator perspective in the accommodation of students with disabilities in professional rehabilitation programs. Method: There are three studies that constitute this thesis. The first study is a critical discourse analysis in which the most relevant texts in the accommodation process were examined. The second study is an institutional ethnography informed study, whereby university-based educators were interviewed about their actions in the accommodation process of students with disabilities. The final study is an interpretive description that involved interviews with fieldwork educators who provide disability-related accommodations to students in their work settings. Findings: The texts involved in the accommodation process revealed varied and conflicting discourses and subject positions for educators in rehabilitation programs. University-based educators identified tensions reconciling the focus on students in the post-secondary education context with the focus on clients in the healthcare context, for which they were preparing students. However, fieldwork educators were generally at ease with the accommodation process as they integrated accommodations into the broader goal of learning. Implications: This body of work provides insight into the reasons why educators may struggle with the accommodation process in professional rehabilitation programs. It also identifies potential solutions for educational programs and future directions for research. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Students with disabilities experience difficulty entering and graduating from health professional programs, including rehabilitation. This group of students face challenges in meeting all the requirements for their programs. Through three discrete studies, this thesis explores educators’ perspectives on the accommodation process of students with disabilities. The first study demonstrated that the most relevant documents to the accommodation process require educators to take on conflicting roles. The second study showed that university-based educators struggle with the focus on students at the university, which seemed to be prioritized over the focus on clients in healthcare, the context for which educators prepare students. The final study illustrated that fieldwork educators did not experience these struggles. Rather, they accommodated students as part of the students’ learning journey. These studies help explain why educators may have difficulty with the accommodation process of students with disabilities and offer solutions for educational programs and future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/28851 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Dhillon, Shaminder |
| Contributors | Solomon, Patricia, Rehabilitation Science |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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