Terreberry, S. C. (2017). Understanding student and faculty perceptions of the accommodation and support procedures for students with LD in Ontario universities: A mixed methods approach (Publication No. 29245206) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Ontario]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2714865355

The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, CANADA). Also located on U webpage https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5024/

Accommodations were not specified in advance of this investigation. The perceptions and experiences of postsecondary students with learning disabilities and faculty members were investigated pertaining to accessing and supporting the use of accommodations.

Sixty-four (64) postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LD) enrolled at two universities in Canada responded to and completed a student survey; 57 student respondents were undergraduates across five years of enrollment, and 7 (11%) were graduate-level students. The population of eligible students with learning disabilities totaled about 700 across the two universities. Demographic information such as gender were collected, and their academic courses of study were social sciences (n=51) and sciences/mathematics (n=12). Faculty members (n=128) from the same two universities responded to and completed an educator survey. Their amount of teaching experience varied across 0–20+ years, with 34% having 20 or more years; faculty rank and position were also reported. Nearly equal halves taught either in the social sciences or in sciences/math. From these student and faculty survey respondents, 11 students and 20 faculty members volunteered and completed interviews with the researcher.

In this parallel mixed-methods study, surveys were administered to student and faculty respondents, and interviews of each group were completed. The student survey was a researcher-adapted version of the Faculty Preparedness Questionnaire (FPQ; Hansen et al., 2017), which the researcher called the "Student Perceptions of Faculty Preparedness Questionnaire (SPFPQ)." The changes included (a) shifting the wording of the items to inquire about the perspectives of students with learning disabilities about whether and how faculty members seemed knowledgeable in, and well-inclined toward, addressing the needs and skills of students with learning disabilities at the postsecondary level, (b) adding two items on specific knowledge of accommodations procedures and (c) adding two items on perceptions on accommodations. The researcher also adapted the original version of the FPQ, with 17 items, and administered the educator survey to university faculty respondents, in order to measure both knowledge and attitudes; the changes included four additional items to the original nine knowledge items and four more items to the original nine attitude items. Semi-structured interview protocols consisted of 13 questions for student participants and eight questions for faculty participants. Student interview questions addressed their experiences at the postsecondary level, including their perceptions of faculty members and their challenges and successes gaining academic support when needed. Faculty interview questions addressed their preparation for, perceptions of, and challenges in teaching students with learning disabilities. Participants' accommodations experiences were emphasized in this summary.

Postsecondary students with LD, both survey respondents and interview participants, who felt that they were doing well in courses indicated that their professors were prepared to meet their needs; however, those who felt that they were not doing well in courses indicated that their professors were not prepared to do so. Students' perspectives incorporated the view that barriers to accessing support were associated with (a) faculty members not providing the complete range of accommodations, (b) disability services offices (DSOs) not being available in a timely manner, and (c) matters of broader stigma and self-advocacy. Faculty members seemed to students to be willing to provide accommodations identified by the disability services offices—such as extended time, separate or specialized exam setting, and uses of technology—but not necessarily willing to provide other supports to address needs—such as adjustments in teaching techniques or changes to exam structures. Students attributed those faculty decisions to: (a) lack of professors' knowledge of effective supports, (b) professors' concerns about maintaining the integrity of course components, and/or (c) professors not investing the time and effort needed. Students indicated that barriers to accommodations from DSOs seemed to be related to delays due to limited availability of personnel to assist them, and other perceptions of slow responsiveness; another concern was that accommodations seemed not to be available for experiential learning courses. Faculty members indicated that the challenges they have had in providing supports including accommodations to postsecondary students with LD were: (a) limited knowledge of the needs of students with LD, (b) insufficient time to support students with LD, and (c) ensuring fairness to all students when supporting students with LD. The researchers seemed not to discuss how faculty addressed these challenges.