Inclusive learning and teaching for Australian online university students with disability: a literature review

The aim of this review is to provoke discussion around the ways in which disability is addressed in Australian university learning and teaching. Focusing on online delivery, it presents three separate, but related thematic sections based on higher education policy, the student voice, and universal design for instruction (UDI). The themes are constructed to align with institutional practice, how those practices may play out in a student’s life, and an alternative design methodology. In doing so, both online pedagogy and educational technologies are described as creating potential barriers or enablers for students with disability. While this review acknowledges the effectiveness of UDI upon student learning is an emerging field of study, it also offers it as a plausible design framework moving forward. The concluding discussion supports the notion that action is required by various stakeholders including policy makers, educational leaders and curriculum designers.