What question did this study set out to answer?

To understand students' perceptions of disabilities and their informal definitions at the university.

June 9, 2026Open Access

Student Perceptions of Disabilities at a Small Japanese University

Key Points

To understand students' perceptions of disabilities and their informal definitions at the university.
Conducted a survey to measure students' understandings of disabilities.
Focused on the social environment that students with disabilities encounter.
Planned future surveys to assess changes in perceptions over time.
Identified key aspects of students' perceptions regarding disabilities.
Gathered insights to inform the creation of tools and resources for disabled students.
Intended to measure evolving perceptions during students' time at the university.

Abstract

For this study, we attempted to ascertain students' perceptions of disabilities at our university.We were specifically interested in what students considered to be a disability.One goal was to measure the students' colloquial understanding of disability in order to better realize the informal social milieu that students with disabilities are entering as they attend our university.It is also hoped that this survey will be used in the future with the same students, so that we can measure what students learn about this topic during their time at the university and how their perceptions of those with disabilities evolve.Additionally, by learning what students think, we look forward to creating tools and resources for better serving and understanding disabled students.13

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