Personal, Social and Vocational Outcomes of Inclusive University for People With Intellectual Disability

ABSTRACT Background Though people with intellectual disability have historically been excluded from university education, over the past three decades programmes facilitating the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in higher education, including university, have been developed in some ju...

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Published in:	Journal of intellectual disability research Vol. 69; no. 12; pp. 1448 - 1473
Main Authors:	O'Donovan, Mary‐Ann, Wedgwood, Nikki, Westermann, Greta, Rillotta, Fiona, Aitken, Tess
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2025
Subjects:	Academic achievement Access Attitudes Autonomy college College students Colleges & universities Data analysis Data quality Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Employment Higher education Humans Inclusive education Intellectual disabilities Intellectual Disability Intellectual Disability - psychology Intellectual Disability - rehabilitation Intellectually disabled people Interpersonal Competence Learning disabled people Mainstreaming, Education outcomes People with disabilities Personal Autonomy Persons with Intellectual Disabilities - psychology postsecondary education Program Design Quality assessment Self Concept Social factors Social Skills Student Participation Students Students - psychology Students with disabilities Teaching Universities university college outcomes university higher education inclusive education postsecondary education intellectual disability
ISSN:	0964-2633, 1365-2788, 1365-2788
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	ABSTRACT Background Though people with intellectual disability have historically been excluded from university education, over the past three decades programmes facilitating the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in higher education, including university, have been developed in some jurisdictions such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, Europe and Australia. There is limited examination of the full range of potential outcomes for students with intellectual disability participating in such programmes. Such research rarely explores barriers and facilitators in relation to particular programme models and the achievement of the potential outcomes. The current study set out to examine the range of outcomes associated with inclusive university programmes, with a particular focus on autonomy, self‐confidence, inclusion and employment. Method For this scoping review, six academic databases were searched using broad search terms. Forty‐five studies meeting our inclusion criteria were subjected to quality assessment to ensure only high‐quality evidence informed data analysis. Twenty‐two studies were included in the final review, from which data were extracted to answer our research question. Results Students were reported to achieve outcomes related to employment, confidence, autonomy and social skills. Factors reported as either facilitating or impeding positive personal, vocational and/or socio‐emotional outcomes for students with intellectual disability participating in inclusive university programmes included accessibility, expectations, supports, attitudes and acceptance, pedagogy and programme design. Conclusions Programmes that provide individualised support for the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in university life led to primarily positive outcomes for people with intellectual disability. We argue that a whole‐of‐university approach to supporting full and genuine inclusion of students with intellectual disability is needed and we provide recommendations for research and practice.
Bibliography:	Funding The funding was provided by the National Disability Research Partnership, hosted by the University of Melbourne and funded by the Department of Social Services, Australian Government. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23
ISSN:	0964-2633 1365-2788 1365-2788
DOI:	10.1111/jir.70042