Universally Acclaimed?: A Critical Literature Review of Universal Design for Learning

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Yeon Soo Ha

• Working in postsecondary student services, in accessibility, I have encountered universal design for learning (UDL) as a potential approach to handling students’ accessibility needs in professional development workshops, training materials, conversations with colleagues, and best practice guides.
  While all of these encounters referenced UDL positively, none have pinpointed exactly how it can quantifiably impact accessibility in postsecondary campuses, and what the process of implementing UDL could look like. This paper reviews the landscape of UDL in higher education throughout its history, and determines how the concept is understood today.
  Through a critical disability theory lens, and drawing from professional experience working in student accessibility services, I trace the emergence of UDL as a framework in higher education, assess the impact of UDL on students and instructors described in the available literature, and
  review UDL’s viability in the current higher education landscape.

• Date created

  2024-06-12

• Subjects / Keywords

  • universal design for learning (UDL)
  • higher education
  • accessibility
  • accommodations
  • disability
  • student services

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-73ww-p285

• License

  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International