The Third Phase of the Project

In the third phase of the project the research has been done that was aimed to establish what the perceptions of employees at universities in Serbia on the situation of students with disabilities was, what is the opinion of employees on the architectural faculty accessibility and accessibility of content, to determine the degree of discrimination, and how many professors are willing to adapt their work to capabilities of students with disabilities. The survey was conducted during April and May of 2008. Research results can be seen here.

The results have been promoted on info stands that were set in several faculties. As in previous info stands, this time too students with disabilities shared their experiences with students and colleagues, and talked about changes that occurred over the past years.

Since the activities of this phase focused on the teachers and staff at universities, workshops were held at universities to which employees were present. At the workshops they were presented with the situation on universities received through research results. The legislation in our country that relates to equality and equal opportunities for all students, terminology, and types of disability approach were presented.

Perhaps the most interesting activity in this phase was "Simulation of barriers". At the Faculty of Organizational Sciences in Belgrade, professors were put in the position of their future colleagues with disabilities for the moment,  and tried to overcome the three most common obstacles on which they encounter. They tried to orient in the building blindfolded, tried to overcome the architectural barriers ranging in wheelchairs, and to communicate with students with hearing impairment with, and without, assistance of sign language interpreter in order to realize the difference in ease of communication.