Percepción de estudiantes universitarios sobre la inclusión de personas con discapacidad física en la formación académica, 2023

Abstract

Background: The number of people with disabilities in Ecuador amounts to 471 205, however they continue to be an invisible population, which frequently affects their ability to obtain academic training at the university level. Aim: To understand the perception of university students with physical disabilities and without any type of disability regarding the inclusion of people with physical disabilities in academic training in the period 2023. Methods: A qualitative narrative study was carried out, through a semi-structured interview with students with physical disabilities and without any type of disability, about their perception for the inclusion of people with physical disabilities in academic training, there were 15 participants from each group, taking the saturation of the sample as a criterion was analyzed using the Atlas Ti software and triangulation of the data between both researchers. Results: There is no clarity about the relevance of the concept of a person with a disability among those interviewed. More adaptations are required both at the teaching level and infrastructure. The main problems are related to practical subjects, either due to the high physical demand or the need for fine motor skills. Conclusion: Various concordances and contrasts were evident between the perceptions of the group with and without disabilities, indicating that the issue of disability is not thoroughly understood, with barriers to inclusion still existing in the social sphere, infrastructure and mobility, being the field of Social Sciences and Humanities, where a better management of this issue has been achieved.