Employment Skills within an Accessible Curriculum ESAC

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Employment Skills within an Accessible Curriculum
(ESAC)
Michael Reynier

• Background to ESAC
• Project Aims
• Skills Building
• The ESAC Philosophy
• ESAC Outputs ?

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Background to ESAC
Improving Provision for Disabled Students (HEFCE
2002)

• Widening Participation
• DDA, SENDA 2002
• Hefce 02/21 Call

• Why the University of Leicester?
• Project administration (funding, duration,
  set-up) ?

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ESAC Project Aims
From the Project Proposal (HEFCE 02/21)

To develop and disseminate materials that will
support students with disabilities and specific
learning difficulties to develop key
employability skills through an embedded
curriculum model
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Skills Building
Why do students find it difficult to learn key
skills?

• Employment skills comprise sub-skills
• e.g. listening, making judgements, summarizing
• Progressive development of sub-skills may augment
  competency in major skill areas
• Sub-skill development is more accessible to
  disabled students ?

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The ESAC Philosophy
We believe that

• Students learning is not defined by their
  disability
• The challenges that disabled students experience
  are also challenging to students who are not
  categorised as disabled ?

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ESAC Outputs
HEFCE 02/21 Proposal (2002)

• Audit (online survey)
• Identify effective learning, teaching
  assessment activities (sub-skills)
• Develop staff resources (generic)
• Develop student guides
• Customize resources (archaeology)
• Dissemination (? conference / workshops
  /website).

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Contact Details
Dr Michael Reynier Project Manager
(mjr19_at_le.ac.uk) Dr Annie Grant Project
Director (ag2_at_le.ac.uk) Website (includes
survey) http//www.le.ac.uk/edsc/ESAC/

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Oral Presentations Some Challenges
Comments from Focus Groups (2003)

With MS my speech becomes slurred with fatigue
giving the impression of being drunk. Having
to look very closely at my notesimpossible to
maintain eye contact. I have a very weak voice
and if I try to speak loudly it just goes croaky
and disappears altogether