Barriers and enablers to higher education: the experiences of disabled students from minority cultural backgrounds

Project leader(s): Chris Corcoran
Theme: Access, Participation and Success
Faculty: STEM
Status: Archived
Dates: October 2021 to January 2025

The aim of this project was to look at processes and experiences that were either a barrier to students to joining the University or an enabler– another way of looking at this is what helped and what stopped students registering and joining their course. Rather than focus on one particular descriptor of research participants, this project took an intersectional approach to examine the student experience from the combined perspectives of social and cultural background and disability – this would give a broader overview of the student experience. The aim of the project was to investigate the challenges faced by students who fell into these categories within STEM focusing specifically on registration to the end of the first year of study. The research approach taken was to use both quantitative and qualitative data from students in two different courses i.e. T192 and U116; the aim was to identify what were the key barriers and enablers to the pursuit of their studies with the Open University. The research approach adopted was that of an on-line survey using both closed and open-ended questions to ensure that students had the opportunity to expand on their experiences.

The primary aim was to investigate what processes supported the student to negotiate registration and how they used the Student Support Team and their tutors to help them navigate their learning journey. Following due ethical process, students in these modules were approached to take part in the survey. Although the response rate was not as high as hoped, the results were positive and demonstrated the supportive role that the Student Support Team and tutors played to help students join the university. The challenges that some students found harder was accessing the on-line material as unfamiliarity with OU systems made this challenging to navigate. That said, respondents were positive about support received from the Student Support Team and their tutors.

The findings of this research have demonstrated that there are some areas that could be improved and others where there is a very high standard of good practice. These findings have been used to inform research into further project to map how student’s use different support mechanisms and in a pan university project about the barriers and enablers experienced by students with mental health difficulties (see Patel et al 2024 and Comfort, Corcoran and Corcoran 2024).