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Alternative Educational Approach to Wheelchair Accessibility Awareness
Roxanna N Pebdani1, Paul J Bourgeois2
1Roxanna N. Pebdani, PhD, CRC, FHEA, is Senior Lecturer, Discipline of Rehabilitation Counselling, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; roxanna.pebdani@sydney.edu.au.
Summary
Disability simulation activities are no more effective than accessibility audits in improving attitudes toward people with disabilities. Educators should discontinue using disability simulations due to their criticisms and limited impact.
Area of Science:
- Disability Studies
- Educational Psychology
- Social Inclusion
Background:
- Disability simulation activities are widely used to foster understanding of disability challenges.
- However, these practices face criticism and have limited empirical research supporting their efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of disability simulation against an accessibility audit in changing attitudes toward disability.
- To evaluate the impact of these activities on attitudes, affect, cognitions, and behaviors.
Main Methods:
- A matched pretest-posttest design was employed with 88 undergraduate students.
- Participants were randomly assigned to either a 1-hour disability simulation or an accessibility audit activity.
- Attitudinal changes were measured via online pre- and post-intervention surveys.
Main Results:
- Both activities reduced negative emotional responses towards individuals with disabilities.
- The accessibility audit showed a slightly larger decrease in negative scores compared to disability simulation.
- No statistically significant differences were found in overall attitude changes between the two activity types.
Conclusions:
- Disability simulation activities offer no significant advantage over accessibility audits in improving disability awareness.
- Given the criticisms and marginal benefits, the use of disability simulation in educational settings should be reconsidered and potentially discontinued.