unIsichtbar - “I have something you don’t see.”
Participatory identification of specific challenges and needs when studying with invisible impairments and development of practice-relevant materials
Project description
More than half of those studying with a disability that makes studying difficult state that this is not noticeable to outsiders, even in the long term (Steinkühler et al., 2023). Although the degree of visibility has no fundamental significance in terms of the extent of the difficulties experienced in studying, the specific experiences and challenges of students with visible and invisible impairments can differ greatly. One special feature of invisible impairments, for example, is that students can decide whether or not to tell others about their impairment. The results of a nationwide survey (Labersweiler, 2018) show that a significant proportion of the students surveyed did not tell anyone at their university about their impairment due to negative experiences or fears. This non-disclosure contributes to the fact that students with invisible disabilities in particular are only able to exercise their rights to compensation for disadvantages, counselling and support to a limited extent or not at all, which in turn makes it more difficult for them to participate in their studies on an equal footing.
The aim of the project unIsichtbar – ‘I have something you cannot see’ was therefore to improve the conditions for studying with invisible disabilities at the University of Cologne, focusing on the participation and experiential expertise of students with invisible disabilities.
We were able to recruit 10 students with invisible disabilities to participate in the project (see participating students). In three workshops based on the design thinking concept, we worked together to develop two products designed to make studying with invisible disabilities more accessible (see products). The first workshop focused on exploring the problem space: the students worked together to identify and prioritise specific challenges of studying with invisible disabilities. Building on this, we designed the solution space at the second workshop: we collected ideas for materials (e.g. for teachers or counselling centres) that address the needs and challenges and contribute to greater visibility of the issue. The two products that were given the highest priority by the students were then developed by the project team so that the students could provide feedback on their implementation at a third meeting: Do the finished products correspond to what they had imagined? Are they as accessible as possible? What else could be added? The resulting materials were then revised once again and are now available for free use by all members of the University of Cologne and beyond. The results are presented again in compact form on the project's own Instagram channel (@unisichtbar_uzk).
Products
Guide to setting up a skills kit
PPT slides for promoting the skills kit
Postcards for promoting the teaching checklist and skills kit
Specification
Project Lead
Dr.‘ Jana F. Bauer
Linda Diekmann
Participating Students
Fenyx Lamberty
S. Lindblom
Paula Rasten
Anna Shurawljow
V. Vogt
Paula Wynhoff
Steph Zeiler
and three more students who did not want to be named.
Contact
unisichtbar-projekt@uni-koeln.de
Instagram: unisichtbar_uzk
Funding
Inklusions-Projekt-Fonds der Universität zu Köln
Duration
2024-2025