ABSTRACT
Since 1983 Maureen Turnham has been a lecturer in a college of further education with responsibility for a group of students categorised as having severe learning difficulties who are on a ‘life-preparation’ course at her college. In this chapter she discusses her preconceptions and first impressions of further education, then describes her own and her students’ experience of their course and their attempts to participate with other students in the life of the college. She questions the selection procedures for students with difficulties and disabilities and discusses the barriers to participation posed by the arrangement of the buildings and people’s attitudes. She reviews her own changing perceptions in the light of a commitment to equality of opportunity for all learners.
