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Participants needed for research on Disability and Teaching in Higher Education

A postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa is looking for individuals to participate in a study on the experience of teaching and working in an academic capacity within the university environment.

Title of Project: Bridging Disability Barriers in Teaching: Communicating and Implementing Accessible Policies and Practices in Higher Education
 
Researcher: Dr. Natasha Saltes (SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow). Dr. Saltes has an MA in Critical Disability Studies from York University and completed her PhD in Sociology from Queen’s University where she researched disability and mobile technology in the context of access, inclusion and equality. 
 
This study examines the experiences that people, who identify as disabled, have teaching and working within the university environment. This study explores issues of access, accommodation and equality within the academic environment.
 
Voluntary participants are needed to answer an open-ended questionnaire and take photographs of their teaching and work environment at their university campus. The amount of time spent answering the open-ended questionnaire depends on how much the participant wishes to share. It is anticipated that the open-ended questionnaire will take approximately one hour to complete. In addition to completing an open-ended questionnaire, participants will also be asked to take between 2 and 6 photographs on campus that illustrates their experience teaching and working with a disability. Participants will be instructed to take photographs that do not include people and do not reveal specifics of their university in order to protect confidentiality. Participants will be asked to include a paragraph describing the photograph and the significance of the photograph as it relates to their experience. It is anticipated that this will take 60 to 90 minutes depending on how many photographs participants include and how much they write in their descriptive paragraph. A brief follow-up questionnaire may be sent to some participants to seek clarification on responses. This would take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
 
Eligible participants are those who a) identify in some way as disabled or experiencing disability b) hold a teaching position at a Canadian university c) have access to a camera or a mobile device that has a built in camera and agree to take 2-6 photographs on campus that illustrate their experience.
 
This study has received ethics approval from the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity at the University of Ottawa.
 
For more information about this study and to enquire about accommodation to participate please contact the researcher:
 
Dr. Natasha Saltes
nsaltes@uottawa.ca
Department of Communication
University of Ottawa
 



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