Attitudes of academics to special needs accommodations in Kuwait

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the perceptions of academics working in Kuwait towards potential accommodations for university students with disabilities. A focus on students with disabilities is relatively new in Kuwait, but this study considered staff within a university with the stated aim to support students with disabilities. An independent, anonymous online questionnaire was distributed to staff (76 respondents). The 13 items were reduced to four factors that related to increasing levels of providing accommodations: (i) Basic, (ii) Alternative, (iii) Individualised/flexible, and (iv) Changes in course materials. Findings indicated that the staff were willing to implement accommodations for students with disabilities. In terms of characteristics influencing perceptions, there were no differences across gender or academic discipline. However, staff with more teaching experience indicated that they were more likely to allow alternative and flexible accommodations. Staff who had taught students with a disability previously were more variable in their views about allowing more flexible accommodations, possibly due to positive/negative prior experiences. These data argue for generally positive attitudes within this relatively inexperienced context, but argue for the need for additional training to support less experienced staff and to ensure previous experiences can enhance positive staff development.