Academic Support for Disabled Students as an Example of Social Responsibility of University Ireneusz Bialek Małgorzata Perdeus Dagmara Nowak-Adamczyk
Jagiellonian University Founded in 1364
Disability Support Service academic center providing educational support for disabled students of the Jagiellonian University, candidates, university staff, people supporting the idea of inclusive education to the mainstream mission: ensuring equal educational opportunities, equal rights, equal responsibilities
Disability Support Service’s offert is focused on: students with visual impairment students withhearing impairment students with mobility impairment students with mental health diffficulties students with dyslexia, dysgraphia students with other disabilities university candidates university academic staff and administration Statistics 2010/2011: all students at the Jagiellonian University/667 disabled students
Responsible university Academic model of students’ support Support in a process of learning/teaching Disability awareness student Disability Support Service academic staff
The Constellation Leo: The educational support programme for Jagiellonian University students with mental health difficulties
Why the project? Significant increase in the number of students with mental health difficulties 10 x
Statistics in detail: 2009/2010 28 % of students with depression 23 % of students with schizophrenia 12 % of students with drug addiction
About the Project Duration time: January 2010 – August 2011 Participants: 40 Jagiellonian University students Criteria: - motivation, - need of psychological support
Prorities to offer wide-ranging psychological support to students with mental health difficulties to offer such students bespoke training programmes focusing on maximum use of their potential related to the educational process and their functioning in knowledge-based society to open the website, facilitating a better understanding of problems faced by students with mental health difficulties and promoting solid knowledge on mental illnesses and their consequences, and combating stereotypes related to mental health difficulties in the academic community.
Actions: First stage: psychological support Second stage: personalized training programmes supporting a learning process Parallel: educational platforme student with mental health difficulties inclusion academic community
Results inclusion of 40 students with mental health difficulties in a comprehensive programme of psychological support and personalised training programmes on social competences; in justified cases, referring the students to high-quality specialists in psychiatry offering consultation; launching a debate in the academic community on mental health difficulties and their consequences for the teaching process, and equipping the broadly understood academic community with the ability to respond to problems and challenges related to the presence of persons with mental health dificulties at university.
‘My Journey’ - reflections on mental health and university education „These are my two biggest dreams in life: to be healthy and to graduate from the university”. Ewa Kowalska, My Journey