Ableism in Romanian Universities. An Exploratory Study

This study explores the concepts of able body and able mind in the Romanian academia. Ableism is present and hidden in universities and it is unacknowledged, hence the need to open a discussion around this topic. Teaching and research staff participated voluntarily in the first qualitative study on academic ableism in Romania, upon our knowledge. The results of our reflexive thematic analysis point to the perception of able body and able mind as related to the functional, performative body and mind. This is reflected in the three main themes, as evident in the current Romanian university context: (1) A healthy, functional, and autonomous body, (2) A functional and adaptive set of cognitive, executive, communicational and socio-emotional skills, and (3) Values, attitudes, knowledge, skills and resilience at work. The results of this study are aligned with the current research on academic ableism in other parts of the world.