In 2022, people with disabilities made up just 6.3 per cent of university enrolments in Australia, and only 1.2 per cent had a profound disability. Of those, only a handful studied science. Geologist and lecturer Melanie Finch believes the lack of inclusion in geoscience is an attitude problem rather than a lack of opportunities for disabled academics.
An estimated 10% of school students (aged 5–18) in Australia have a disability, although this number is much higher in some states. Most of these students (89%) attend mainstream schools, but an increasing number of students with disability and their families are choosing special schools.
But Ms Sayers argues separating students into mainstream and special schools is “a form of segregation”, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “We need to be transforming our education system so that all students are included alongside their non-disabled peers in education,” she said.
If you asked me at the time, I would have gladly skipped school and played video games instead. And yet, I did learn. I learnt how to spell, write, to do maths, languages, chemistry and drama. More importantly, I learnt soft skills. I made friends, navigated social cliques, traded lunchbox snacks, was teased, teased others, took risks and learnt from them, avoided girls then later discovered they weren’t so bad after all.
children have developed by the time they commence school. Key findings from the 2021 AEDC data found that children who started school in 2021 experienced some disruption to their early learning, but at a glance, the majority of children were developmentally on track on all five domains.
Mary Sayers, chief executive of Children and Young People with Disability Australia, said the organisation was calling for federal funding for the plan to be created and rolled out over a decade.
Almost one in three students expelled from Victorian government schools during the first year of the pandemic had a disability, up from one in seven the previous year, in a pattern of exclusion that youth disability advocates warn is merely “the tip of the iceberg”.
Monash flips on ‘ableist’ learning model
Monash University’s law faculty has sensationally scrapped its “ableist” ban on recorded lectures following fierce backlash from students.
Education is not only a fundamental human right, it also acts to amplify other rights – this is called a multiplier effect. Inclusive education must go beyond simply including children with disability in a space, as there’s often an invisible door that stops a true sense of belonging. This ‘exclusion within inclusion’ also has negative psychological and biological impacts, poor sleep, reduced or excessive eating or exercise.
The report provides a general description of how Commonwealth funding for education operates; a detailed explanation of how laws regulating education for students with disability function in each jurisdiction; and an examination of each jurisdiction’s anti-discrimination laws as they apply to education (including the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 issued under that Act.)
In an age when digital is no longer optional for finding work, it is crucial that students with special educational needs leave school with the skills and kit necessary for full digital access. Yet our research has found that education providers do not know enough about AT, the funding available for it, or inclusive digital practices. Teachers and specialist staff often do not have any training in AT and don’t know how best to support their students.
This podcast series features casual conversations with families of children with disability and/or developmental delay and the professionals they work alongside. The aim is to support and build families’ knowledge, skills and confidence when navigating the early childhood intervention (ECI) landscape. It is also an opportunity for parents to share their individual stories of everyday life in family with a child diagnosed with a disability and/or developmental delay.
Education Minister James Merlino has pledged to tackle “school gatekeeping” – where students with disabilities are steered away from a particular school – describing it as an “ugly lottery” for parents. Mr Merlino said the Victorian government’s $1.6 billion changes to student disability funding – which was announced in the 2020 state budget and will be rolled out in 340 schools this year – would ensure every school was “truly inclusive” for students with disabilities.
The class of 2020 can teach us a lot about equitable education. As a disabled student finishing year 12 in 2020, I can tell you that studying through that unprecedented year was a challenge. Yet as students, teachers and families prepare for a return to school in 2021, and the temptation to dust your hands clean of 2020 looms, I ask that you consider what can be learned from thousands of disabled students like me.
Advocacy groups say the commission must recognise that segregation of people with disability is discrimination and a breach of human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (of which Australia is a signatory).