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34Two case studies of students from California School for the Blind studying artworks in museums and on the Web are discussed. The analysis focuses on the traditional understanding that unreachable artworks in the museum are deciphered by non-intellectual elites primarily from the perspective of visual perception and museums are simple vessels of art, as contended by Ernst Gombrich and Pierre Bourdieu, and that exclusion is either passive or active. It is also argued that there is a bridge between…Read more
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15Attitudes toward disability and disabled people by Muslims—focusing on attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa—and Christians—focusing on the West (here taken to mean Europe and the Americas)—were examined through a grounded theory literature search, with the study being divided into three phases of reading and analysis. The aims of study were to develop a dialogue on disability between the two faiths, to inform an understanding of the attitudes to disability, and to inform the social prac…Read more
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33What can a visually impaired student achieve in art education? Can visually impaired students teach sighted students about elements of perception that sighted students would not normally consider? Are the legal moves towards rights to equal access for visually impaired people useful in asserting that visually impaired students can gain as much from gallery exhibits as sighted students can? In this article, these questions are studied in a practice report of a course involving visually impaired a…Read more
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16Over the past forty years, many industrialised countries have changed their epistemological focus of impairment and disability from that of a biological abnormality treated by therapies and separate education, to one of a problem of exclusion and social well-being, ameliorated through anti-discriminatory institutional policies, laws and inclusive environments. Since the 1980s, this has also been reflected internationally in the definitions and statements of the World Health Organisation (WHO) an…Read more
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9The Disabled Students Allowance is a government grant for students aged 18 years and over in English Higher Education. Amongst other things, this grant supports the provision of traditional assistive technologies. In April 2014, the UK’s Minister for Universities, Science and Cities proposed cuts to the DSA. Although a later announcement delayed these cuts until the academic year 2016−2017, a number of universities are already preparing alternative means to support disabled students. In this art…Read more
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43This article describes an investigation into the potential of mobile operating systems and native apps to transform educational inclusion for disabled students. It is framed by a philosophy of inclusive technology, which theorises that contemporary technologies, such as the World Wide Web, netbooks, tablets and smartphones, could possibly increase the social inclusion of people with disabilities, as these technologies are more portable, provide greater social access to institutional environments…Read more
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9This paper presents a case study of the use of the iPad 2 by a blind student at Sharjah Women’s College, Higher College of Technology. Emma was finding it difficult to read, write, understand normal graphics, use her computer without a great deal of assistance and use the complex equipment that she needed to be familiar with in her classes in order to work through her assessments. In addition, her increased workload at college was creating physical stress, with the strain on her eyes leaving her…Read more
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15This chapter presents results of a grounded theory literature search on sustainability of the disabled population in countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), which are composed of the countries surrounding the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and Oman. Research focused on the adaptability of the GCC’s Arabic culture to accommodate a growing number of disabled people in its population, the potential areas of an increase or a decrease in its disabled population…Read more
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27This article presents a grounded methodology literature review on the use of mobile devices by people with disabilities. In this article, inclusion in technology is defined and discussed. It is found that little literature is available on the inclusive use of mobile devices in the GCC, even though these technologies are in widespread use in this region. There is however a growing body of literature from Western countries on the use of mobile devices with disabled students; this shows a cultural …Read more
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23In this article, Assistive Technologies (AT) currently used at the Higher College of Technology (HCT) are discussed in the context of supporting students with special needs. A number of learning difficulties and physical disabilities are reviewed and possible technological solutions are identified, with examples of their functions described. In the course of the discussion, learning strategies are also discussed as a result of the introduction of AT. Together, these findings suggest that there i…Read more
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8In 1999, I embarked on a part-time Ph.D. study to examine the effects of early art education on cultural development in English schools for the blind. This study formed part of a larger grounded theory on the understanding and creation of what are thought to be the visual arts by blind adults and children. The main fieldwork for this study was conducted at RNIB New College, Worcester, and included participant observations, interviews and participant diaries. This article examines strategies invo…Read more
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46This article examines how the process of constructing knowledge has affected the institutional treatment of people with impairments and the construction of an ethic of disability. Its primary finding is that the process of creating knowledge in a number of contexts is influenced more by traditions and the biases of authors in order to signify moral and intellectual superiority, than by a desire to improve the lives of disabled people. Furthermore, this article finds that certain impairments are …Read more
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18This paper proposes a model of inclusive technical capital, and its use in the evaluation of technology and education designed to include students with disabilities. This paper also examines the role of mainstream mobile technologies and m-learning in the inclusion of students with disabilities. A recent research project on the inclusivity of native settings and apps on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating systems is reviewed, and a model of evaluation is proposed as a starting poin…Read more
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68This article examines how the process of constructing knowledge on impairment has affected the institutional construction of an ethic of disability. Its primary finding is that the process of creating knowledge ina number of historical contexts was influenced more by traditions and the biases of philosophers and educators in order to signify moral and intellectual superiority, than by a desire to improve the lives of disabled people through education. The article illustrates this epistemological…Read more
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8Three genres of photographs created by visually impaired people are discussed. The analysis focuses on the notion that two-dimensional art works can be understood more readily through experiential learning. The article concludes that whatever their level of vision, visually impaired people have shown their understanding of visual concepts through photography, and that sighted people can gain an understanding of the social and perceptual worlds of visual impaired people by reading their photograp…Read more
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11Three case studies of teachers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are discussed in the context of a larger grounded theory parent study of blind and visually impaired visitors, teachers and systems of instruction. The fieldwork focused on verbal imaging techniques to describe unreachable artworks. The analysis focuses on the traditional understanding that artworks in the museum are deciphered primarily from the perspective of visual perception, that museums are simple vessels of art, as contended…Read more
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11We are delighted to welcome Simon Hayhoe as the guest editor for this Special Issue on Disability, Christianity and Education. Simon is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK and is a distinguished scholar in this field, having undertaken extensive research in arts education of both blind adults and school children and published widely in disability and education. He is also a Research Associate in the Centre for the Philosophy of Natural and Socia…Read more
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19This paper proposes a model of inclusive technical capital, and its use in the evaluation of technology and education designed to include students with disabilities. This paper also examines the role of mainstream mobile technologies and m-learning in the inclusion of students with disabilities. A recent research project on the inclusivity of native settings and apps on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating systems is reviewed, and a model of evaluation is proposed as a starting poin…Read more