Study looks at Covid impact on youths with disabilities

Researchers at UCC are to study how Covid-19 public health restrictions have impacted the lives of young people with disabilities, and what lessons educators can take from the pandemic.

Figures show that of the population aged 20-64, people with disabilities are over twice as likely to be unemployed as their able-bodied counterparts (26.6 per cent vs 11.5 per cent respectively according to the 2016 census) - an underrepresentation that may be made worse by the barriers to employment introduced by the pandemic.

Learning Disrupted is a new research partnership that will examine how the pandemic has affected young people with disabilities’ access to and experience of skills training and work placements. It will also explore the potential of alternative learning experiences such as remote work placements as a response to these challenges.

Examining the Covid-19 impact on 18 to 25 year olds, Learning Disrupted is a collaboration between the National Learning Network Cork and researchers in ISS21 (Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century) and UCC’s School of Applied Social Studies, Dr Claire Edwards and Dr Gill Harold.

It was recently awarded almost €12,000 in funding from the Irish Research Council as part of its New Foundations Scheme, which finances projects that will bring researchers and community/voluntary organisations together to share knowledge and develop new insights to help create a better society for all.

A total of 13 UCC research projects were granted funding.

Lead researcher Dr Claire Edwards said: “By engaging with young people, their families, NLN staff and employers, the research will explore not just the effects of the pandemic on young people’s lives, but the potential of future learning and training strategies – including remote learning – to support people with disabilities’ participation in education, employment, and ultimately, society.”

Focus groups, letters from students detailing their experiences, and interviews with educators will all form part of the research in the coming months.

It is hoped that the Learning Disrupted research will contribute to informing decisions within NLN about the future direction of learning policy and practice, contribute to national debates regarding how best to promote inclusive learning during Covid-19, build research capacity in higher education, and UCC specifically, around issues of inclusive learning, and establish on-going linkages and build networks between the university and civil society organisations working in this area.

The awarding of the 13 grants to the university’s researchers was welcomed by Professor John F. Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation at UCC, who said “this success reinforces UCC’s commitment to solving global problems through a locally-focused lens”.

The findings from the Learning Disrupted research is expected by the end of the year.