Higher education for students with disabilities in the Republic of Macedonia: Challenges and perspectives

One of the priorities of the European Union in the field of higher education is to build an inclusive and connected system of higher education. Inclusion in higher education means greater involvement of underrepresented groups and groups with special needs in the higher education process. The approach that the higher education process should be only elitist and exclusive is slowly being abandoned, and it is gradually shifting to a democratic and inclusive one. This study aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges for the inclusion of students with disability in higher education in North Macedonia by examining the attitudes of students with disability and the academic staff. Our findings identified that the lack of adapted study programs and didactic materials, professional development of academic staff to improve the quality of higher education for students with disabilities prevents academic staff from adequately facilitating teaching and student learning. The findings of this study highlight the role of student supports in improving institutional response to the needs of students with disabilities. Some of the responsibility lies with the students (and pre-admission preparation), but faculty and staff play a strong role in supporting student development and growth in self-advocacy as well.