Towards the inclusion of students with special needs in higher education: Challenges and prospects in Kosovo

Abstract

Students with special needs experience various barriers to higher education inclusion that are highly diverse. However, studies examining the challenges of students with special needs in higher education are scattered and fail to address context-based problems. The purpose of this study, thus, was to investigate the challenges and prospects that students’ with special needs experience in Kosovo’s higher education. The study used an analytical framework for understanding inclusive higher education as a (i) policy problem, (ii) management problem, and (iii) teaching and learning problem. The study conducted 10 interviews with institutional management and academic staff, 2 in-depth interviews with students with special needs within higher education, and analysed numerous policy and programing documents at the national and institutional level. The goal of ensuring the full inclusion of students with special needs in higher education requires a multifaceted and long-term approach. This study contributes to the lack of literature by showing that values behind an inclusive higher education and formal efforts towards an inclusive higher education interact as push and pull factors that hinder the inclusive transformations in higher education. Hence, findings recommend strong collaborative efforts between policy, institutional management, and teaching and learning variables, coupled with positive values and attitudes cultivation, to ensure the successful inclusion of students with special needs towards an inclusive higher education environment.