Having made enquiries about the idea of a student survey to find out what barriers physically disabled students come across at LCF, I stumbled on a barrier myself. Finding those students! LCF has a number of students who identify as having a disability, however these are mostly learning differences, neurodiversity and mental health conditions. I have looked on social media to see if there are any UAL student disability support groups etc and I found nothing that is currently active. Due to confidentiality, I am struggling to find an option for doing a student survey and finding participants. I have asked colleagues in general if they have students with physical disabilities or mobility impairments on their courses and what adjustments if any are boing made. I have had a resounding no, we don’t have any that we know of.
As much as this makes me want to bang my head against a wall, as I feel as though I take one step forward and two steps back. It also confirms to me that there is a reason why these students are not here and that needs to change.
Unfortunately, I will have to think of another research method for now.