Towards inclusive universities: Promoting self-advocacy and active citizenship for students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders

Journal title EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN LEARNING AND TEACHING
Author/s Lucia Borsini, Noemi Del Bianco, Catia Giaconi
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/1
Language English Pages 16 P. 80-95 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/exioa1-2025oa20584
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

View article Download Open Access article

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The pursuit of inclusion in higher education requires reevaluating the roles and practices of universities. While institutions are increasingly recognized as essential agents in promoting social equity and community well-being, students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders continue to encounter barriers that prevent their full participation in academic and civic life. These challenges highlight the shortcomings of current approaches and emphasize the need for systemic innovations that prioritize both citizenship and active engagement. In this context, the University of Macerata has launched a project aimed at including students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders, seeking to develop transformative strategies that align educational equity with broader objectives of promoting community development and welfare.

Keywords: ; inclusion; higher education; citizenship; participation; self-advocacy

  1. Aiello, P., & Giaconi, C. (Eds.) (2024). L’Agire inclusivo. Interfacce pedagogiche e didattiche. Manuale per l’insegnante. Brescia: Scholè.
  2. Bellacicco, R. (2018). Verso una università inclusiva: La voce degli studenti con disabilità. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  3. Canevaro, A. (2014). Educazione come inclusione. Civitas Educationis. Education, Politics and Culture, 3(1), 81-98.
  4. Canevaro, A. (Ed.). (2007). L’integrazione scolastica degli alunni con disabilità. Trent’anni di inclusione nella scuola italiana. Trento: Edizioni Erickson.
  5. Conferenza Nazionale Universitaria dei Delegati per la Disabilità (CNUDD). (2014). Linee Guida.
  6. Cook-Sather, A. (2002). Authorizing students’ perspectives: Toward trust, dialogue, and change in education. Educational researcher, 31(4), 3-14. -- https://www.jstor.org/stable/3594363.
  7. Cook-Sather, A. (2018). Listening to equity-seeking perspectives: How students’ experiences of pedagogical partnership can inform wider discussions of student success. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(5), 923-936. DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2018.1457629.
  8. Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
  9. d’Alonzo, L. (2015). Didattica speciale per l’inclusione. In L. d’Alonzo, F. Bocci, S. Pinnelli (Eds.), Didattica speciale per l’inclusione (pp. 11-22). Brescia: La Scuola SEI.
  10. d’Alonzo, L. (2022). Promuovere l’inclusione in Università: un salto di qualità. Education Sciences & Society, 1, 347-361.
  11. d’Alonzo, L., & Giaconi, C. (Eds.) (2024). Manuale per l’inclusione. Brescia: Scholé.
  12. D’Angelo I., Giaconi C., Del Bianco N., & Perry V. (2020). Students’ Voice and Disability: Ethical and methodological reflections for Special Pedagogy research. Education Sciences & Society, 11(1), 112-123. -- https://journals.francoangeli.it/index.php/ess/article/view/9537.
  13. Daly-Cano, M., Vaccaro, A., & Newman, B. (2015). College Student Narratives about Learning and Using Self-Advocacy Skills. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 28(2), 213-227. -- https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1074673.pdf.
  14. Del Bianco, N., & Paviotti, G. (2024). Self-advocacy. La nuova sfida educativa per l’inclusione. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  15. Del Bianco, N., Giaconi, C., Gison, G., D’Angelo, I., & Capellini, S. A. (2021a). Inclusion at the University through technology: A case study in Italy. Journal of Education and Special Education Technology, 7, 1-15. DOI: 10.18844/jeset.v7i1.6793.
  16. Del Bianco, N., Paviotti, G., D’Angelo, I., Tarantino, A., Capellini, S. A., & Giaconi, C. (2021b). From university to the world of work world. Traineeship as a gateway to employment and social inclusion. Italian Journal of Special Education for Inclusion, 9, 61-68. DOI: 10.7346/sipes-02-2021-07.
  17. Di Vita, A. (2017). «Student Voice» per la valorizzazione delle risorse personali. Journal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies (ECPS Journal), (16), 269-294. DOI: 10.7358/ecps-2017-016-divi.
  18. Edwards, M., Poed, S., Al-Nawab, H., & Penna, O. (2022). Academic accommodations for university students living with disability and the potential of universal design to address their needs. Higher education, 84(4), 779-799. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-021-00800-w.
  19. Elia, G., Seveso, G., Giaconi, C., & Vannini, I. (2024). Editorial. Pedagogia Oggi, 22(1), 9-18. DOI: 10.7346/PO-012024-01.
  20. Gazzetta Ufficiale. (2010). Legge 170. Nuove norme in materia di disturbi specifici di apprendimento in ambito scolastico.
  21. Giaconi, C., & Del Bianco, N. (Eds.) (2018). Inclusione 3.0. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  22. Giaconi, C., Taddei, A., Del Bianco, N., Caldarelli, A., & D’Angelo, I. (2020). Dalla “voce degli studenti” alla co-progettazione di percorsi inclusivi: uno studio di caso. SIRD, 2, 186-193.
  23. Gillespie-Lynch, K., DeNigris, D., Cheriyan, B., Massa, A., Wong, V., Kostikas, C., et al. (2017). “Fostering effective teaching using strategies developed by peer mentors for autistic and non-autistic undergraduates”. In R. Obeid, A. Schwartz, C. Shane-Simpson, and P. J. Brooks (Eds.). How We Teach Now: The GSTA Guide to Student-Centered Teaching (Washington, DC: Society for the Teaching of Psychology).
  24. Grimes, S., Southgate, E., Scevak, J., & Buchanan, R. (2019). University student perspectives on institutional non-disclosure of disability and learning challenges: Reasons for staying invisible. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(6), 639-655. DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2018.1442507.
  25. Grion, V., & Cook-Sather, A. (eds.) (2013). Student Voice. Prospettive internazionali e pratiche emergenti in Italia. Milano: Guerini.
  26. Grion, V., & Dettori, F. (2014). Student Voice: nuove traiettorie della ricerca educativa. In M. Tomarchio & S. Ulivieri (eds.). Pedagogia militante. Diritti, culture, territori (pp. 852-857). Pisa: ETS.
  27. Healey, M., & Jenkins, A. (2009). Developing undergraduate research and inquiry. Innovations in Practice, Celt Journal, 2(1), 3-15.
  28. Hong, B. S. (2015). Qualitative analysis of the barriers college students with disabilities experience in higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 56(3), 209-226. DOI: 10.1353/csd.2015.0032.
  29. Ju, S., Zeng, W., & Landmark, L. J. (2017). Self-determination and academic success of students with disabilities in postsecondary education: A review. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 28(3), 180-189. DOI: 10.1177/1044207317739402.
  30. Kimball, E.W., Wells, R.S., Ostiguy, B.J., Manly, C.A., Lauterbach, A.A. (2016). Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Future Research. In Paulsen, M. (Eds.) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 31. Cham: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-26829-3_3.
  31. Kubiak, J. (2015). Using ’Voice’ to Understand What College Students with Intellectual Disabilities Say about the Teaching and Learning Process. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 17(1), 41-48. DOI: 10.1111/1471-3802.12098.
  32. Lombardi, A., Gelbar, N., Dukes III, L. L., Kowitt, J., Wei, Y., Madaus, J., ... & Faggella-Luby, M. (2018). Higher education and disability: A systematic review of assessment instruments designed for students, faculty, and staff. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11(1), 34-50.
  33. Matthews, K. E., & Dollinger, M. (2023). Student voice in higher education: The importance of distinguishing student representation and student partnership. Higher Education, 85(3), 555-570. Doi. 10.1007/s10734-022-00851-7.
  34. Moriña, A. (2017). ’We aren’t heroes, we’re survivors’: higher education as an opportunity for students with disabilities to reinvent an identity. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 41(2), 215-226. DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2015.1070402.
  35. Moriña, A., & Biagiotti, G. (2022). Academic success factors in university students with disabilities: a systematic review. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 37(5), 729-746. DOI: 10.1080/08856257.2021.1940007.
  36. Mura, A. (2012). Barriere architettoniche e percorsi di inclusione: un’esperienza internazionale nella scuola primaria. Revista de Educación Inclusiva, 5(2), 95-102.
  37. Nazioni Unite (UN). (2015). Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile.
  38. Palumbo, M., & Proietti, E. (2020). Le Università come parte del sistema di welfare territoriale: il caso dell’Apprendimento Permanente e della Certificazione delle Competenze. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 43(1), 87-105. DOI: 10.1447/97471.
  39. Pavone, M. (2014). L’inclusione educativa. Milano: Mondadori Università.
  40. Pavone, M., Arenghi, A., Borgonovi, E., Ferrucci, F., Genovese, E., & Pepino, A. (2022). Un ponte tra università e mondo del lavoro per l’inclusione e la vita indipendente. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  41. Sahu, K. K., & Sahu, S. (2015). Attitudinal barrier experienced by people with disabilities. Journal of Disability Studies, 1(2), 53-54.
  42. Seale, J., Colwell, C., Coughlan, T., Heiman, T., Kaspi-Tsahor, D., & Olenik-Shemesh, D. (2021). ’Dreaming in colour’: disabled higher education students’ perspectives on improving design practices that would enable them to benefit from their use of technologies. Education and Information Technologies, 26, 1687-1719. DOI: 10.1007/s10639-020-10329-7.
  43. Soorenian, A. (2021). Equal and Inclusive Study Experiences for International Students with Disabilities. Comparative & International Education Series. -- https://www.ojed.org/cies/article/view/1284.
  44. Taddei, A., Giaconi, C., Girotti, E., & Capellini, S. A. (2024). The Inclusive University: Practices and reflections for student community well-being. Education Sciences & Society: (1), 148-158. DOI: 10.3280/ess1-2024oa17632.
  45. Tai, J. H. M., Dollinger, M., Ajjawi, R., Jorre de St Jorre, T., Krattli, S., McCarthy, D., & Prezioso, D. (2023). Designing assessment for inclusion: An exploration of diverse students’ assessment experiences. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(3), 403-417. DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2022.2082373.
  46. Test, D. W., Fowler, C. H., Wood, W. M., Brewer, D. M., & Eddy, S. (2005). A Conceptual Framework of Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 26(1), 43-54. DOI: 10.1177/07419325050260010601.
  47. Traina, I., Leader, G., Ghirotto, L., & Andreoli, M. (2022). I programmi a sostegno della transizione al lavoro di giovani con disabilità intellettiva: una integrative review. Education Sciences & Society, 2, 264-283. DOI: 10.3280/ess2-2022oa14236.
  48. United Nations. (2020). Resolution adopted by the General Assembly. Quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system.
  49. Vaccaro, A., Daly-Cano, M., & Newman, B. M. (2015). A Sense of Belonging Among College Students with Disabilities: An Emergent Theoretical Model. Journal of College Student Development, 56(7), 670-686. DOI: 10.1353/csd.2015.0072.

Lucia Borsini, Noemi Del Bianco, Catia Giaconi, Towards inclusive universities: Promoting self-advocacy and active citizenship for students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders in "EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION IN LEARNING AND TEACHING" 1/2025, pp 80-95, DOI: 10.3280/exioa1-2025oa20584