Illusions of Equity: Fulfilled and Unfulfilled Needs of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

ABSTRACTThis study documents both the accommodations and fulfilled/unfulfilled needs of students with disabilities (SWD) in one US university and two universities in Morocco, . The empirical facts from the two case studies are not in dispute; rather, how these two settings approach the concept of equity were very different, indicating that equity itself is a contested concept. However, our purpose was to explore whether fulfilling the needs for SWDs – as ‘legitimate’ equitable practices in diverse settings – might provide leadership and systemic change insights in higher education. The data was collected qualitatively using semi-structured interviews with SWD and – the US – university staff assigned to the area of student accommodations. Equity in Morocco assumed a personal humanistic approach embedded within the liberal arts and, therefore, took a laissez-faire approach institutionally. Equity in the US was manifested institutionally through individual accommodations across academics in terms of tutoring and assistive technologies, and through social and emotional learning supports. The implications for leadership suggest how institutions could improve upon fulfilled needs and how unfulfilled needs remain problematic. Thus, the meanings of equity in practice indicate how the illusions of equity continue to dominate leadership discourses. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Fulbright Morocco.Notes on contributorsAbdelaziz ZohriAbdelaziz Zohri holds a PhD in EFL and the Evaluation of Education Systems from the college of education sciences at university Mohammed V in Morocco. He currently serves as an associate professor of Research methods and EFL at the National School of Business and Management (ENCG), university Hassan I. In 2021, he was a post-doctoral Fulbright scholar at the college of Education in Florida Atlantic University, USA. Dr. Zohri is also a co-founder of Africa Voices Dialogue- a pan African NPO that amplifies the voices of African educators and learners across Africa and beyond. His research interests span across change management in turbulence, research methods, educational leadership, educational social psychology and educational policy analysis.Ira BogotchIra Bogotch is a scholar renowned for his extensive research in the realms of leadership and social justice. Since 2000, he has been a faculty member within the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methods at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Bogotch's academic pursuits are centered around several key areas of interest, including the profound impact of socio-cultural and historical factors on school leadership, innovative leadership pedagogies, the internationalization of educational leadership, and the exploration of potential correlations between school leaders and the promotion of social justice. Notably, his recent work has focused on the critical examination of research methodologies, particularly within the context of Newcomers, such as refugees and asylum-seekers.