Can disabled people’s experiences of exclusion in pandemic higher education encourage the promotion of inclusive research practices?

Read, S, Parfitt, A and Bush, T (2025) 'Can disabled people’s experiences of exclusion in pandemic higher education encourage the promotion of inclusive research practices?' In: Sati, S, Das, S and Mahanta, B, eds. Narrative universes of disability: global perspectives. Springer, Singapore, pp. 183-197. ISBN 9789819633838

Text 17028.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 29 April 2026.

Abstract

The Coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly caused significant disruption in how higher education operates, both in terms of the processes of teaching and learning, and research cultures. In light of these challenges and necessary changes, there is a clear opportunity for rethinking cultures, specifically those where qualitative person-focussed research is carried out and, by so doing, promote inclusive research practices. In this chapter, written by three disabled academics, we contend that, for such inclusive research practices to emerge, disabled people’s experiences of conducting and participating in research, as well as being in academia in general, need to be considered. We demonstrate that disabled people’s experiences of disadvantage and how they respond to exclusionary barriers faced within academia offer important insights and facilitate innovation for building inclusive research cultures post-pandemic. Empirical data supporting our argument comes from two focus groups conducted during the pandemic with seven disabled people, including the authors of this chapter. These focus groups explored the barriers that disabled people encounter when conducting and participating in academic research. Our suggestions for how to implement inclusive research practices going forward are grounded in these narratives.

Item Type:	Book Chapter or Section
Keywords:	disability, inclusive research, higher education, Coronavirus pandemic, ableism
Divisions:	Chancelry and Research Management School of Education
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2025 17:09
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2025 17:09
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17028

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