Access of students with disabilities to higher education: case study at the Technical University of Manabí.

Abstract

The disquisition made addressed the factors that influenced access to higher education, focusing on students with disabilities, which allowed representing the complex situations related to economic, social and labor characteristics of the family environment. The objective was to identify the economic factor as a determinant for access to higher education for students with disabilities at the Technical University of Manabí. For this purpose, a non-experimental design with a qualitative approach was used, supported by bibliographic, analytical and descriptive methods, which made it possible to fulfill the proposed objective. Various socioeconomic characteristics involved in the research were highlighted, using the interview technique and the interview guide directed to the Social Worker of the Inclusion Department of the Technical University of Manabí. A documentary analysis of previous research on disability in the Social Work career was also carried out, as well as in books and web page records. As a result, it was found that, in the period from May to October 2020, 209 people with disabilities were legally enrolled in the Technical University of Manabi, of which 79 were in the Faculty of Humanistic and Social Sciences, in face-to-face and online modalities. Of these students, 47 had physical, 16 visual, 2 intellectual, 12 hearing, 1 language and 1 psychological disability.