Implementing disability policy in teaching and learning contexts:shop floor constructivism or street level bureaucracy?

Wray, Mike and Houghton, Ann-Marie (2019) Implementing disability policy in teaching and learning contexts:shop floor constructivism or street level bureaucracy? Teaching in Higher Education, 24 (4). pp. 510-526. ISSN 1356-2517

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Abstract

Since 1995 the UK higher education sector has been required to implement national disability related legislation. This paper reports on a study which explored the role that policies play in influencing how staff support disabled students. In particular the extent to which staff in HE behave in similar ways to those described as street level bureaucrats by (Lipsky, M. 1980. Street- Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation). Semi-structured interviews undertaken with 34 staff in the case study university provided the substantive data. Although there was little evidence to show that policy had a direct influence on practice, it was clear that staff made considerable efforts to support disabled learners and these efforts were based on values associated with providing an equitable experience for all students. Additionally, staff were able to exercise discretion in the way they responded to disabled students and constructed responses to policies without significant influence from institutional managers, national legislation or broader policy discourse.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Teaching in Higher Education
Additional Information:
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Teaching in Higher Education on 28/6/2018, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2018.1491838
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/aacsb/learningandpedagogical
Subjects:
?? INCLUSIONIMPLEMENTATIONDISABLED STUDENTSPOLICYSTREET LEVEL BUREAUCRACYEDUCATIONLEARNING AND PEDAGOGICAL ??
ID Code:
126215
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
18 Jul 2018 09:44
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
05 Nov 2023 01:07