Inclusion from the experience of university students with disabilities at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Abstract

This study describes the support, barriers, and needs experienced by university students with disabilities at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) throughout their admission, progression, and graduation. Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews that were conducted with eleven university students, both men and women, with disabilities. From their experiences, participants highlighted that the institution does not fully comprehend diversity and assumes the role of a judge, selecting who gains access based on a normative ideal. There is also a lack of awareness about diversity within the university community, and students with disabilities tend to self-manage their own support. Participants perceive that inclusion is delegated to the actions of the teacher and is seen as an act of pity based on individual wills, rather than as a matter of human rights.