East Asia Disability Studies Forum (EADSF) 2023 Oct 27th, 28th(Fri, Sat) 2023, at E-room Center, Korea
Accessibility and Changes in Graduate Studies During COVID-19: A Student's Viewpoint, Inspired by Professor Shinya Tateiwa
NAKAI Ryohei
Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences, Ritsumeikan University
gr0476ex@ed.ritsumei.ac.jp
■しかくBackground
This panel provides an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the author's student life and examines the challenges faced in attending graduate school lectures and events, particularly as a person residing in a remote area. The author was student of Professor Shinya Tateiwa, who was outstanding thinker and sociologist having deep knowledge of disability studies and has been involved in a research project at the Institute for Ars Vivendi, led by him. Tateiwa frequently employs online lectures and highlights their advantages, which will be discussed later. As a member of the Institute the guidance of Tateiwa, I was involved in organizing the East Asia Disability Studies Forum and the Japan Society for Disability Studies Conference. Both of these events took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I will provide separate reports on them during this forum.
■しかくNavigating Graduate Life: Experiences of Distance Learning Students under the COVID-19 Pandemic
The author's situation involves residing far from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture, where I pursued my academic research. Furthermore, my living circumstances entail caring for a sick and disabled family member, which makes relocating to Kyoto impractical. In the spring of 2020, the author made the decision to enroll in the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences at Ritsumeikan University and followed in the footsteps of many (students) in the past facing similar challenges related to disability or geographical distance. Upon entering the program, the author harbored various concerns. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced the course of students’ studies. During the first two years, a large portion of lectures and school activities transitioned to online formats. By the third year and beyond, faculty members, having become accustomed to online teaching, was able to provide hybrid lectures. This shift allowed students with remote access requirements to participate more readily.
■しかくOnline Lectures: What has moved away and what has come closer?
The author had the opportunities to hear the opinions at school regarding online lectures, and a prevailing sentiment among them is that online lectures are suboptimal because they lack the opportunity for informal discussions and interactions with faculty members and fellow graduate students outside of class sessions. Undoubtedly, the author, like others, appreciates the value of engaging in casual teaching or conversations with faculty and peers during the rare occasions when in-person lectures are attended. However, the author's situation is marked by a crucial consideration. Online lectures have been an essential lifeline, enabling students with remote access to pursue studies. If online lectures were not available, the author would have encountered significant challenges or may not have been able to participate in academic life at all. Even in scenarios where hybrid lectures are the primary mode of instruction, the author's experience would have been distinct if he were among the few students participating remotely, potentially leading to challenges or feelings of isolation. One such illustration beyond the classroom context is the discontinuation of the online (mail-in) library book lending service (2020-2021), initially introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision virtually made the author unable to borrow books from the library.
Notably, Professor Tateiwa expressed a preference for online lectures over in-person ones, frequently noting that online lectures have many participants compared to in-person lectures. Although he did not convey this directly to the author, it is apparent that his perspective encompassed the idea of equalizing conditions for individuals facing diverse circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of online platforms facilitated the delivery of such lectures and allowed for Tateiwa's participation in online lectures and Public Hearing of doctoral thesis and so on. Without the widespread use of online lectures and the associated digital infrastructure during the pandemic, it is uncertain whether such instructional opportunities by Tateiwa would have been feasible, and the reception of these methods among students and fellow faculty members might have differed significantly.
■しかくEnsuring Information Security Amidst the COVID-19 Epidemic
As a consequence of the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, lectures from the fiscal year 2022 onward was primarily be conducted in person. Special considerations for graduate students facing difficulties in commuting to the university was phased out. And now, it is announced that the university would not be directly involved in the considerations and that students would ask their lecturer individually about supports for them. What form did the actual lectures take? Based on the author's observations and the input of fellow graduate students, there appears to be some degree of flexibility in the response to online learning. However, this is anecdotal and based on a small sample, and it's important to recognize that having to request accommodations itself can be a barrier.
Despite the challenges, this case study approaches the situation from the perspective that the reduction of barriers through online lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic has persisted in the form of hybrid learning and information access for certain students even after the pandemic-related measures have been relaxed. The case study will delve into the implications of hybrid learning and information access considerations for these students. Online lectures have not entirely vanished even after the shift to primarily in-person instruction. For instance, Professor Tateiwa, who passed away in July, continued delivering his lectures online without interruption during this academic year. Many faculty members also offer hybrid lectures to accommodate students who face commuting challenges. The format of lectures appears to be determined, to some extent, at the discretion of the faculty member responsible. Regarding information access in online lectures, Ritsumeikan University's Disability Resource Center began offering text-to-speech interpretation through a web conferencing system after the start of online learning. This service involves contracting a specialized organization for text interpretation, which assigns a text interpreter to attend online lectures. The interpreter converts spoken content from each participant into text and displays it in real time on the students' devices. Text-to-speech interpretation is provided to students requiring information access following individual interviews, and this service is available in the current academic year. It's noteworthy that the university now officially offers information security during online (hybrid) lectures which provided by the discretion of faculty members, even though the institution has announced that it doesn't provide formal accommodations regarding changes of course format. Typically, organizations like universities do not make exceptions and adhere to precedent-driven principles. Given this context this response initially appears exceptional and unusual.
However, in the context of precedent-based decision-making, the adoption of online lectures and with information access during the COVID-19 era might have established a precedent that endures (at least temporarily) even after the relaxation of COVID-19 measures at universities. This could explain why these accommodations persist (for the time being) beyond the pandemic. Considering the Office for Students with Disabilities' policy of tailoring support based on individual interviews, there may be a possibility that text-to-speech interpretation would be provided if online lectures were conducted, but the existence of online lectures in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely. Through uniform online lectures and the associated information access, universities and faculty members have come to realize the benefits of online teaching and the presence of students who require these accommodations.
■しかくDiscussion
This panel illustrates the author's engagement in lectures and events at Ritsumeikan University Graduate School from remote locations during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects on the transition of response to the pandemic. It's evident that measures taken in many countries to control the epidemic, such as social distancing, have led to physical disconnection among near ones and have had profound, irreversible effects on some individuals. Conversely, as demonstrated in this panel, actions to maintain convenience and communication while adhering to social distancing guidelines may have unintentionally reduced barriers to participation in social contexts for certain individuals.
However, it's crucial to recognize that a reduction in barriers that occurs without a deliberate intention to do so may be fleeting and subject to reversal with changing circumstances. This paper serves as a documentation and preservation of the experiences learned within a context.