ABSTRACT

Disability discrimination and accessibility issues are frequently introduced to higher education institutions as primarily a legal issue (as opposed to an issue of equity, inclusion or social justice). At a higher education institution level, legislation is therefore frequently seen as the main driver for accessibility (Phipps et al. 2004) and accessibility is therefore presented as being about compliance with legal rules and the potential enforcement of those rules (McCarthy 2001; Wilder 2002). If we are to develop an understanding of accessibility practice at an institutional level we need a theory, model or framework that can help us explore the extent to which institutional responses to accessibility are influenced by rules and what mediates an institution’s response to rules.