Accessibility and universal design in higher education curricula: implications for inclusion/exclusion.
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| Title: | Accessibility and universal design in higher education curricula: implications for inclusion/exclusion. |
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| Authors: | Mavrou, Katerina1 (AUTHOR) k.mavrou@euc.ac.cy, Theodorou, Eleni1 (AUTHOR), Mouka, Maria1 (AUTHOR), Liasidou, Anastasia2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Teaching in Higher Education. Nov2025, Vol. 30 Issue 8, p1909-1929. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Higher education, *Curriculum, *Social alienation, *Disabilities, Universal design, Social justice, Web accessibility, Inclusion (Disability rights) |
| Geographic Terms: | Cyprus |
| Abstract: | This article is based on work undertaken in a cross-national European-funded project to explore how Universal Design (UD) and Accessibility are conceptualized in Higher Education (HE) curricula across different disciplines. This paper focuses on the case of Cyprus. The study utilized corpus linguistics and thematic analysis methods to investigate to what extent and in what ways Accessibility and UD feature in HE curricula. Findings suggest that UD and Accessibility – associated concepts are sporadically and inconsistently referred to, indicating low priority in Cyprus's HE curricula. The analysis critically examined the discourses underpinning these conceptualizations, ranging from social and rights-based to medicalized and individualized constructions of disability that reinforce conceptual binaries of normality/abnormality, and power asymmetries. These discursive manifestations' paradoxical coexistence highlight the need to universalize UD and Accessibility's critical intersectional, and rights-based dimensions, addressing ableist discourses, social injustices, and power dynamics hindering inclusive education reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Teaching in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 1 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 189325068 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Accessibility and universal design in higher education curricula: implications for inclusion/exclusion. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mavrou%2C+Katerina%22">Mavrou, Katerina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> k.mavrou@euc.ac.cy</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Theodorou%2C+Eleni%22">Theodorou, Eleni</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mouka%2C+Maria%22">Mouka, Maria</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liasidou%2C+Anastasia%22">Liasidou, Anastasia</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Teaching+in+Higher+Education%22">Teaching in Higher Education</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 30 Issue 8, p1909-1929. 21p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum%22">Curriculum</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+alienation%22">Social alienation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Disabilities%22">Disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Universal+design%22">Universal design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+justice%22">Social justice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+accessibility%22">Web accessibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inclusion+%28Disability+rights%29%22">Inclusion (Disability rights)</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cyprus%22">Cyprus</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This article is based on work undertaken in a cross-national European-funded project to explore how Universal Design (UD) and Accessibility are conceptualized in Higher Education (HE) curricula across different disciplines. This paper focuses on the case of Cyprus. The study utilized corpus linguistics and thematic analysis methods to investigate to what extent and in what ways Accessibility and UD feature in HE curricula. Findings suggest that UD and Accessibility – associated concepts are sporadically and inconsistently referred to, indicating low priority in Cyprus's HE curricula. The analysis critically examined the discourses underpinning these conceptualizations, ranging from social and rights-based to medicalized and individualized constructions of disability that reinforce conceptual binaries of normality/abnormality, and power asymmetries. These discursive manifestations' paradoxical coexistence highlight the need to universalize UD and Accessibility's critical intersectional, and rights-based dimensions, addressing ableist discourses, social injustices, and power dynamics hindering inclusive education reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Teaching in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=189325068 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/13562517.2025.2507244 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 1909 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Higher education Type: general – SubjectFull: Curriculum Type: general – SubjectFull: Social alienation Type: general – SubjectFull: Disabilities Type: general – SubjectFull: Universal design Type: general – SubjectFull: Social justice Type: general – SubjectFull: Web accessibility Type: general – SubjectFull: Inclusion (Disability rights) Type: general – SubjectFull: Cyprus Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Accessibility and universal design in higher education curricula: implications for inclusion/exclusion. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mavrou, Katerina – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Theodorou, Eleni – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mouka, Maria – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Liasidou, Anastasia IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 11 Text: Nov2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 13562517 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 30 – Type: issue Value: 8 Titles: – TitleFull: Teaching in Higher Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
