Throughout the world, persons with intellectual disability (ID) are excluded from many areas of life, often segregated in specialised systems including special schools, sheltered work environments, and congregate living facilities. These arrangements adversely affect their learning opportunities and have a negative impact on their opportunities as adults and their quality of life. Inclusive post-secondary education (IPSE) for individuals with ID, which are programmes housed in traditional colleges and universities, is a relatively new practice that holds much promise for improved adult outcomes. Currently in Europe, however, relatively few IPSE programmes for young adults with ID exist. This suggests there is both a need and an opportunity to greatly increase these programmes. This is the primary objective of the proposed project. We have recently identified nine IPSE programmes in five countries, and seven of these institutions are partners in this proposed project: • Austria: University of Education Salzburg • Germany: Catholic University of Applied Sciences Berlin • Iceland: University of Iceland • Ireland: University College Cork, Waterford Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin • Switzerland (as an associated partner): University of Education Zürich All the partners have significant experience and competence related to operating IPSE programmes at their universities, and each has demonstrated unique strengths in key areas. Because of their expertise, we feel the proposed project will greatly benefit from each partner’s contribution. The proposed project has five distinct goals: 1) Increase the access of persons with ID to IPSE programmes throughout Europe; 2) Focus on developing fully inclusive programmes for persons with ID in current and future IPSE programmes; 3) Enhance IPSE programmes to focus on employment outcomes for persons with ID in self-determined career areas; 4) Develop instruction for IPSE staff and student volunteers to improve their knowledge of strategies promoting inclusion and self-determination for persons with ID; 5) Develop and disseminate quality indicators for IPSE programmes to colleges and universities throughout Europe. The following products will be developed during the project to help achieve the above goals: 1) IPSE Curriculum Framework: Currently, IPSE programmes offer a range of curricular options. While all programmes have different valuable features and strengths, no standard curriculum model is broadly implemented. We feel there is a need for a broad curriculum framework across IPSE programmes to better assure the direction and quality of programmes. 2) Strategic Inclusive Information Training Modules: For IPSE programmes to develop fully inclusive models, there is a need to prepare two key constituency groups to implement these models: a) professional staff who operate IPSE programmes; and b) college students with and without disabilities who populate the programmes. During the project, to prepare these groups for inclusion, we will develop and test two sets of instructional modules, one set for each group. The modules will be developed for use in live, face-to-face sessions, or in online webinars. They will address these critical topics: What is inclusion (what does it look like)? Why is inclusion important (what does research say about the effects of inclusion)? And, How does inclusion work (what strategies can be used in IPSE programmes to implement inclusion successfully)? 3) IPSE Knowledge Centre: A Web-Based Resource for Programmes, Students, and Families. To provide a wide array of information about IPSE programmes for students and their families, and to provide practical information for current and developing programmes in Europe, we will develop "IPSE Centre". This web-based programme will digitally house different kinds of information and various resources. While these resources will be fully determined during the project, we currently envision four main functions or components of the website: • A database listing all current and future IPSE programmes in Europe and containing key information about the programmes • Information sharing blog that will allow professionals, persons with disabilities, and families to share key ideas and successful practices related to operating IPSEs • Accessible published materials relevant to IPSEs • Sources of technical assistance IPSE Knowledge Centre will be installed and operated at the University of Education Salzburg. This will allow the site to be maintained after project funding has been terminated. 4) IPSE Conferences: The ultimate purpose of the project is to encourage and enlist European universities to develop and implement IPSE programmes for students with ID. Therefore, during the life of the project, we will offer two international conferences. The final of these conferences, a “state of the art conference,” will launch a post-project series of conferences that will occur biennial.
By implementing this project, we wanted to increase the access of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) to IPSE programmes throughout Europe. In addition, we wanted to develop fully inclusive programmes for persons with ID in current and future IPSE programmes and enhance IPSE programmes to focus on employment outcomes for persons with ID in self-determined career areas. Another goal was to develop instruction for IPSE staff and student volunteers to improve their knowledge of strategies promoting inclusion and self-determination for persons with ID. Finally, developing and disseminating quality indicators for IPSE programmes to colleges and universities throughout Europe was also one of our main objectives. To achieve those goals, we developed the following products: - IPSE Curriculum Framework: IPSE programmes offer a range of curriculum options, but no standard curriculum was broadly implemented to improve programmes‘ quality. -Strategic Inclusive Information Training Module for professional staff and college students- IPSE knowledge centre, which consists of a web-based resource for programmes, students and families. - IPSE conferences to encourage European universities to develop IPSE programmes.
Throughout the world, persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) are excluded from many areas of life, often segregated in specialised systems, including special schools, sheltered work environments, and congregate living facilities. These arrangements adversely affect their learning opportunities and hurt their adult opportunities and quality of life. Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) for individuals with ID, which are programmes housed in traditional colleges and universities, is a relatively new practice that holds much promise for improved adult outcomes. However, only some IPSE programmes exist for European young adults with ID. This suggests a need and an opportunity to increase these programmes significantly. This is the primary objective of the proposed project. Before applying to this project, nine IPSE programmes were identified in five European countries. Seven of those institutions participated in the application process. All the partners have significant experience and competence in operating IPSE programmes at their universities, and each of them has demonstrated unique strengths in critical areas.