Assistive Technology for Higher Education Students with Disabilities: A Qualitative Research
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The objective of this qualitative investigation is to identify the assistive technology recognized by students with disabilities and to determine the assistive technology (software apps and devices) they require both at university and at home. A total of forty-two students, comprising 20 males and 22 females, were recruited from four different countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain) for participation in this study. The sample encompassed 10 students with visual impairments, 11 with hearing impairments, 11 with mobility impairments, and 10 with specific learning disabilities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students either online or in person. Content analysis was employed to scrutinize the data obtained from these interviews. The outcomes of this analysis shed light on the assistive technology acknowledged, utilized, or desired by students with disabilities in both academic and domestic settings. The findings from this study carry practical implications for fostering inclusive and accessible education within higher education institutions, benefiting accessibility units/offices staff as well as teaching personnel.
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Technology has the promise to empower disabled students in higher education and to enhance their ability to participate in academic tasks, improve accessibility, and increase self-efficacy.
“Considering the promise of technology to empower disabled students in higher education and to enhance their ability to participate in academic tasks, improve accessibility, and increase selfefficacy [48, 68]”
From Rethinking “Empowering Technology” in Higher Education Accessibility: A Case Study of Disabled Students’ Experiences at a German University (2026) · cites this paper as [68]
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- Authors
- Papadopoulos, K., Koustriava, E., Isaraj, L., Chronopoulou, E., Manganello, F., & Molina-Carmona, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Macedonia (GR)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- National Research Council (IT)
- University of Alicante (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Papadopoulos, Konstantinos
- ORCID
- Venue
- Digital
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-05-23
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 501-511
- ISSN
- 2673-6470 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4398251461
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 23.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Digital (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RUA, Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Alicante (Universidad de Alicante) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Erasmus+ (2021-1-EL01-KA220-HED-000032260)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Education and Employment
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
- Keywords
- assistive technology, students with disabilities, higher education, visual impairment, hearing loss, mobility impairment, specific learning disabilities, accessibility, inclusive education
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