Peter Farrell

From September 2002 in the UK, the Special Education Needs Disability Act (SENDA, 2001) required that reasonable adjustments be made in further and higher education so as not to place disabled students at a substantial disadvantage. There is an anticipatory duty on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) - it is not acceptable to wait for disabled students to arrive and then think about how to make reasonable adjustments. To avoid discrimination and possible litigation it is important to ensure that learning experiences are, as far as is reasonably practicable, comparable for all students. This research will focus on disabled students with visual, hearing and mobility impairments (VHMI). A suite of reasonable adjustments will be presented at four stages in the learning process (i) learning outcomes, (ii) teaching and learning strategies, (iii) assessment, and (iv) assessment criteria. The methodology is based on a literature review and informal interviews with subject specialists, disabled students and practising construction professionals. The areas chosen for investigation are laboratory work, fieldwork and site visits. The design of reasonable adjustments is time consuming, and needs innovative thought and commitment from tutors. There is much work to be done in the built environment discipline to fulfil the anticipatory requirements of SENDA.

One element of work of UK construction professional institutions is to meet the needs of members. Local branches provide continuing professional development (CPD) and social events. CPD is increasingly important to business. Professional institutions have a responsibility to ensure that income is spent prudently. Some members are critical of the work of professional institutions, and question whether they get good value from subscriptions. A postal survey is undertaken of members of the Chartered Institute of Building in the Greater Manchester area. It aims to determine whether member needs are being met and to identify any areas where better service is possible. The sample size was 1 600 people, and 162 replies were received. The paper will report on statistical data, and use qualitative responses to give an insight into how members view their professional institutions. This work will be useful to construction professionals who are active in their institutions.

In the UK, the third and final stage of the Special Education Needs Disability Act (SENDA) comes into force in October 2005; the combined stages of which serve to force Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to comply with various standards of providing accessible education for disabled students. Using a survey instrument, sent to academics across the UK, the extent and effectiveness of SENDA compliance in the built environment (BE) subject area has been investigated for the first time. The analysis framework draws from Locke and Latham's conceptual model of goal setting theory (1979) where performance and factors contributing to performance, are measured in terms of four components: individuals' goal-based effort, their abilities, the institution support they receive and the rewards they experience from their efforts. The results suggest that fully accessible learning and teaching practices are not widespread in BE departments. In general, academics are attempting to improve accessibility, but this is dependent on their own goal-based efforts and abilities. Current initiatives to improve SENDA compliance instigated by HEIs are not influencing performance of BE academics in this area; in addition, the current job-related rewards are not motivating performance. Survey findings and analysis, point to the benefits of improving provision of training, guidance and information bespoke to the BE subject area, on overall performance levels. Also, creating links between levels of course accessibility and extrinsic rewards, by for example, acknowledging SENDA compliance in academics' performance review might prove beneficial. Ultimately, the results indicate that effective institution support is required to support the efforts of individuals.