Recognizing students with intellectual disabilities in higher education

Abstract

According to Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), state parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. In this paper we focus on access to higher education for persons with intellectual disabilities and the recognition or non-recognition of these persons as students and learners. The year 2024 marks 30 years since the Salamanca Statement was adopted, and the system of inclusive education still faces many challenges. One challenge is that persons with intellectual disabilities have not yet been included in higher education, although they are included in primary and secondary education as students in special needs education. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss possibilities and obstacles that may be arise when granting persons with intellectual disabilities participation in higher education. Based on experiences from a single case study – a pilot project developing a higher education programme in human rights for students with intellectual disabilities – we examine possibilities and obstacles at the institutional level. Using Honneth’s relational theory of recognition, we analyse the results with a focus on what can be learned from this project in regard to welcoming students with intellectual disabilities in higher education.