Call for Papers on (Dis)ability in the University

[Jill Anderson]

Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion is an international peer reviewed Open Access journal that addresses research on risk groups and marginalization. This special issue of the journal  focuses on the inclusion of disabled people in post-secondary education as researchers, collaborators, teachers, and students. We are interested in papers exploring the experiences of disabled people in any of these roles, the ways in which inclusion is related to the visions and policies held by post-secondary institutions (which can include universities or third level colleges), and the barriers people experience and how these might be removed. Post-secondary education is widely recognized to increase employment opportunities, maintain employment and reduce exposure to poverty and socio-economic marginalization. The extent to which such institutions accommodate a diverse workforce is one of the issues that this special issue will explore. This special edition of Vulnerable Groups and Inclusion seeks to collect a body of papers that identifies and analyses a number of these issues. We would particularly like to hear from disabled people who have worked within academia, either as staff or students, and see this as an opportunity to explore some of the issues working in this environment have raised for them.

Disabled people are not only involved as teachers and researchers or as students within post-secondary institutions, but are increasingly involved in partnerships and collaborations between universities and user led organisations. We are interested in how these partnerships evolve and develop and the experiences that both parties may have in working together. While we are happy to consider papers on a diverse range of themes, authors may wish to consider those listed below. We are particularly interested in papers that are written by or with disabled people.

Proposed themes:
Putting policies into practice. Most universities now have policies designed to support disabled staff and students. How well are these translated into practice? What makes ‘good’ policy? Researching together. There is a considerable history in some countries of academic and disabled researchers working together on research. Papers are welcome that reflect the processes involved in this, the advantages of this approach and the difficulties that may be encountered by either one or both partners.

The nature of inclusion in post-secondary education. What does this mean to disabled staff and students and to university policy makers and administrators? Vulnerable Groups& Inclusion

Disabled people as students. This may include accounts of the issues that are experienced by students, programs or courses designed specifically for disabled people or those in which an inclusive approach is taken to mainstream programs. Guest Editors: Kelley Johnson, PhD, Director of the Social Policy Research Centre, the University of New South Wales, Australia, and James G. Rice, PhD, Centre for Disability Studies, University of Iceland.

Enquiries about this special issue should be sent to Dr. Rice ([e-mail]). Deadline for full papers: November 1st 2014.

How to submit: The instructions for authors can be found on the journal website, www.vulnerablegroupsandinclusion.net. Papers should not exceed 7000 words. Please submit your work via the journal’s website.

Publication fee: Authors specifically invited by the guest editors are exempt from the article processing fee. For non-solicited submissions, publishing in Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion incurs a charge of €850, excl. VAT (Europe), $1175 (rest of the world) for articles up to 15 typeset pages (B5). Articles exceeding 15 typeset pages incur an additional charge of €35/$50 per page over 15.

For a list of universities/institutes and funders supporting Open Access publication, please visit the journal website; information on how to claim reimbursement/support for publication fees is also available. Waivers or partial waivers are available on a case-by-case basis. Write [e-mail] prior to submission.

View this call online