University student engagement and disability

This chapter examines education policies and theory relating to student engagement and disability in university education. This is achieved by juxtaposing Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with Kahu’s student engagement framework (2013). This approach progresses an understanding of challenges and opportunities to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities. The Australian higher education policy and regulatory context is used as a case study to identify gaps between the ideal of full inclusion and contemporary realities. Student engagement is an important but under-explored dimension of disability inclusion. The chapter triangulates ideals of disability inclusion, Kahu’s student engagement framework, and empirical data on the student experience to quantify challenges in inclusion of students with disability. The chapter provides a call to action for changes in disability inclusion policy and practice both within the Australian context and internationally.