|
Memorandum submitted by Dr Rita Egan
I am writing in a personal capacity to highlight the issues I have confronted as a disabled teacher, university lecturer and Chair of Education, in this country and abroad.
Whilst there has been considerable attention in the past three decades to improving access for disabled students, and the training of teachers to work with students with special needs, little work has been undertaken to identify the needs of teachers with special needs or those who wish to work in the teaching profession. In fact, it is virtually impossible to find any evidence based research on this topic. The TDA has provided guidelines which cover some of the issues which I believe need to be addressed but do not provide supporting evidence that their advice has been followed.
The issues which I believe need to be addressed are as follows:
1. Is the teaching profession fully inclusive when it comes to recruitment and training of teachers with special needs?
2. Are schools accessible to teachers and students with special needs wishing to train as teachers?
3. Are schools fully inclusive in relation to the hiring, accommodation and retention of teachers with special needs?
4. Are colleges and universities accessible to students wishing to train as teachers?
I will address each of these issues in turn.
1) a. Although there is technically no barrier to applicants with special needs applying to become a teacher, it is likely that many potential students would be deterred from doing so because there is no explicit statement that special needs applicants are encouraged to apply. In fact, the statement on the Training and Development Agency site would have the effect, I believe, of deterring potential disabled teachers from applying. http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:7nnVeiGqIbEJ:www.tda.gov.uk/partners/recruiting/disability.aspx+tda+disability&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk. and http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/a/able_to_teach.pdf b. None of the promotional literature put out by the Training and Development Agency for Schools shows images of a physically disabled teacher and students in schools so rarely see a disabled teacher, it would be easy for them to assume that disabled people don't teach.
2) a) As far
as physical disability is concerned, a very large number of schools in b) The Better Schools for the Future project claims to address the issue of accessibility, but having visited a number of new builds, I am still not confident that architects and school design consultants understand the needs of teachers with special needs. For example, at the end of 2008 I visited a newly constructed academy to observe one of my students teach. Almost all of the ICT rooms in this new build were inaccessible as they consisted of rows of computer stations facing the wall (not the front of the classrooms) in gradated steps.
(picture of an ICT room not published)
How a physically disabled teacher in a wheelchair is supposed to mount these steps to work with students is a mystery. There were two ICT rooms which were accessible in the school, but surely all classrooms should be accessible to all teachers? Other new builds have different problems. Another academy I visited had doors which were difficult to manoeuvre in and out of, and it was impossible to get around the rooms to work with students. The rooms were relatively small and there was very little room between the desks. The problem of overcrowded classrooms is one of the most common barriers for teachers with physical disabilities. This school had a gallery design, as well and it was so narrow that it was very difficult for me to negotiate between classrooms if there were any people coming from the opposite direction. Clearly, there needs to be more consultation with disabled teachers before new schools are built.
c) We find it very difficult to place trainees for field experiences who are physically disabled and use a wheelchair as so few of the schools in our area are able to accommodate them. We have no audit to consult, just our personal knowledge of the school environment. When I travel around to visit my students in schools, they sometimes have to be moved to a ground floor ICT room because the classroom they are using is up a flight of stairs and there is no lift.
d) As far as other disabilities are concerned, we have also had trainees with Dyslexia. I find that the schools and the university are able to accommodate these trainees needs, but I do sense nervousness when a school discovers they are working with such a student. It seems that schools are fully appreciative of the need to accommodate their own students, but accommodating teachers or trainee teachers is another matter entirely. Sometimes I feel that schools are willing to accommodate a disabled teacher trainee, but they are nervous about hiring one because of the cost implications. I have only anecdotal evidence to support this claim as no studies have been undertaken to collect hard data.
3) a) Although I have been hired as a disabled teacher and arrived at my last school in a four wheeled mobility walker, I really don't think the school appreciated my special needs. I completed the necessary forms provided by the local authority and clearly stated my disability. I arrived to work in the school with my small Class 2 scooter, as I could not have used the walker for my daily work. I know that the school was surprised - but no-one sat down with me to discuss what accommodations might be appropriate for me. Over a two year period I experienced a great deal of difficulty at the school but I am not free to discuss the details for legal reasons. b) What I can tell you is that, at some point, fortuitously, as it turned out, I contacted the local Jobs Plus centre to try and determine what my employment rights were. The officer looking after disabled clients was extremely helpful and put me in touch with the Access to Work office in my region. They, again, could not have been more sensitive or helpful. They undertook a thorough assessment of my work environment and provided the school with an extensive report of what needed to be done to accommodate my disability. My employment with that school ended shortly after. I think the Access to Work agency is providing a critical service for teachers with disabilities, but I would rather that they did not have to exist. If schools could be made more aware of their obligations under the DDA and followed through on these, the Access to Work agency would not have to intervene as often as it does.
c) I know from discussions with the GTC and teacher unions that the number of disabled teachers is believed to be underreported (.02%) as there is substantial anecdotal evidence that applicants for teaching position are reluctant to identify their special need for fear of discrimination.
1) I have
not experienced any discrimination towards students wanting to enter the
teaching profession. I interview
potential trainees and when we offer a trainee a place, the university has an
excellent support system for that student.
Neither have I experienced any discrimination towards myself as a
university lecturer. Again, the three
universities that I have worked for in the
Recommendations:
1) Research should be undertaken to establish the following:
a) The
current state of accessibility of schools in the
b) An assessment of the accessibility within newly built schools.
c) The experiences of qualified disabled people seeking to become teachers.
d) The experience of qualified applicants looking for a teaching post.
e) The experiences of disabled teachers working in a school environment.
2) The TDA should reframe its policies and procedures in relation to the recruitment of disabled applicants so that they are more inclusive.
3) School Administrators should receive more training in how to recruit, accommodate and retain teaching applicants with special needs.
4) There should be more awareness of the needs of disabled teachers within the educational sector generally.
I would like to request the opportunity to make an oral presentation to the committee.
March 2009 |