The number of students who identify as disabled attending higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom has significantly increased over the past decade. According to recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, 2025), around one in five UK higher education students report having a disability, meaning approximately 441,600 students declared a known impairment, health condition or learning difference in the 2022–23 academic year. This increase is explained by higher rates of disability disclosure and widening participation policies (Advance HE, 2022). However, this data relies only on disabled students who disclosed a disability (Shaw, 2024). While this increase gives the impression that HE has become more ‘inclusive’, disabled students still report having to navigate disabling and ableist structures and practices, and often experience exclusion as a result (Wertans & Burch, 2022).

‘[While there is the] impression that HE has become more ‘inclusive’, disabled students still report having to navigate disabling and ableist structures and practices, and often experience exclusion as a result.’

The term ‘disabled student’ indicates my alignment with the social model of disability, which highlights how disability is produced by the structural and attitudinal barriers experienced by people with impairments, resulting in their marginalisation and exclusion (Oliver, 2013). Nevertheless, other terms, such as ‘person with disability’, are also used and/or preferred in other contexts (Ferrigon & Tucker, 2019).

Liddiard et al. (2024, p. 3) define ableism as ‘a world view – a dominant grand narrative – that prioritises and values those deemed to be able-bodied and minded.’ Ableism is rife in education, privileging ability (in the forms of able-bodiedness and able-mindedness) and invalidating disability.

As a lecturer I started contemplating what an ‘anti-ableist classroom’ might look/feel/sound/be like. This was the result of student feedback, my research interests and being a reflective practitioner, whose values align with critical pedagogy (hooks, 1994). I developed the ‘Anti-ableist Pedagogical Principles’, which include (but are not limited to) those outlined in figure 1.

 Figure 1: The anti-ableist pedagogical principles

I always start my teaching with reference to these principles. I do so through a range of channels, such as a slide, a verbal announcement and a poster, and I further invite students to reflect on and add to them. This pedagogical approach provides an opportunity to debunk ableist educational myths, such as eye contact and sitting still indicating a learner’s engagement, stimming and distractions ‘disrupting’ learning, responding to questions within seconds being a sign of one’s intelligence (Parekh, 2023). Moreover, these principles enable students to reflect on and ‘unlearn’ deeply rooted understandings of what teaching and learning is like, often shaped by their own educational experiences in ableist educational institutions.

Students’ responses to the principles, gathered through different channels – such as informal feedback, formal course evaluations and reflection activities – have been highly positive:

I really liked the caveat at the beginning about the expectations within a classroom or education setting are often ableist, as a disabled student it is really reassuring. (Postgraduate disabled student)

Moreover, in my teaching I invite students to identify and question mundane ableist educational practices they have experienced, as shown in the following activity (figure 2).

Figure 2: A reflective activity on ableism in education

In conclusion, while the increase in the number of disabled students accessing HE is a positive step, as educators we also have a duty to ensure all students have a positive experience of education, which entails feeling respected, valued, included, and a sense of belonging. Access is only one among many other steps, such as reflecting on and shifting our pedagogy, towards a truly inclusive HE. As bell hooks (1994, p. 12) argues, ‘The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.’ This space should enable everyone (educators and students) to name, call out and confront ableism.

References

Advance HE. (2022). Equality in higher education: Statistical reports 2022. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/equality-higher-education-statistical-reports-2022

Ferrigon, P., & Tucker, K. (2019). Person-first language vs. identity-first language: An examination of the gains and drawbacks of disability language in society. Journal of Teaching Disability Studies, 1, 1–12. https://jtds.commons.gc.cuny.edu/person-first-language-vs-identity-first-language-an-examination-of-the-gains-and-drawbacks-of-disability-language-in-society/

Higher Education Statistics Agency [HESA]. (2025). Who’s studying in higher education? https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he/characteristics

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.

Liddiard, K., Atkinson, L., Evans, K., Gibson, B., Goodley, D., Hale, J., Lawson, R., Runswick-Cole, K., Spurr, R., Vogelmann, E., & Watts, L. (2024). ‘No-one’s contribution is more valid than another’s’: Committing to inclusive democratic methodologies. Research in Education, 121(2), 158–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/00345237241249376

Oliver, M. (2013). The social model of disability: Thirty years on. Disability & Society, 28(7), 1024–1026. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.818773

Parekh, G. (2023). Ableism in education: Rethinking school practices and policies. Routledge.

Shaw, A. (2024). Inclusion of disabled higher education students: Why are we not there yet? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(6), 820–838. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1968514

Wertans, E., & Burch, L. (2022). ‘It’s backdoor accessibility’: Disabled students’ navigation of university campus. Journal of Disability Studies in Education, 3(1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1163/25888803-bja10013