wHo we are:
Our initiative for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education is driven by our desire to fill a gap that will ensure people with diverse learning styles are included as students in the academic and social life of colleges and Universities in Nova Scotia. The primary aim of inclusion is the possibility for building relationships and having opportunities to meet new people, connect with peers and creating life long learning. Following 4-5 years in university, students will graduate with a certificate of completion. Graduates will use their learnt skills to pursue careers and other aspects of community life.
Axcess Acadia at Acadia University is currently the only post-secondary institution offering this wonderful opportunity. However, there is no financial assistance available to cover tuition and living expenses. This causes IPSE to not be a viable option for most, unless the family can afford out of pocket. In order to get any bursaries or grants, one has to qualify for at least $1.00 worth of student loan. Student loans do not cover IPSE.
I called the leaders in IPSE advocacy, Alberta Association for Community Living (Read their awesome story HERE) to see how IPSE was funded in their province. They use a bursary system to fill the gap, so why can't we? And so, Bursary for IPSE in Nova Scotia Fund has been born. Please help it grow. Share the vision for a better Nova Scotia.
We have three board members so far and will be adding more from other areas of the province. Current members are:
Stephen Gough, MLA Beaver Bank/Sackville
Sylvia Sinclair
Susan Doyle
Axcess Acadia at Acadia University is currently the only post-secondary institution offering this wonderful opportunity. However, there is no financial assistance available to cover tuition and living expenses. This causes IPSE to not be a viable option for most, unless the family can afford out of pocket. In order to get any bursaries or grants, one has to qualify for at least $1.00 worth of student loan. Student loans do not cover IPSE.
I called the leaders in IPSE advocacy, Alberta Association for Community Living (Read their awesome story HERE) to see how IPSE was funded in their province. They use a bursary system to fill the gap, so why can't we? And so, Bursary for IPSE in Nova Scotia Fund has been born. Please help it grow. Share the vision for a better Nova Scotia.
We have three board members so far and will be adding more from other areas of the province. Current members are:
Stephen Gough, MLA Beaver Bank/Sackville
Sylvia Sinclair
Susan Doyle
proved facts and findings -IPSE
College and University? You’ve got to be kidding: Inclusive
post-secondary education for adults with intellectual
disabilities
By TIM WEINKAUF
Department of Education
University of Alberta
Excerpts:
Crossing Boundaries – an interdisciplinary journal
VOL 1, No 2 - Spring 2002
4.4 Key Benefits to Students
Respondents believed that there were many benefits for students involved in
IPSE programs. These ranged from academic and skill related attainments to personal
growth and development. Some of the more salient outcomes for students included:
1. Self Esteem and Confidence: Participating in challenging and interesting experiences
and being accepted by peers enhances self esteem and confidence both at school and
in the community. Students now “know what they want to do and say what they wantto do” and “they achieve things their parents and others never thought possible.”
They have shared experiences with others that provide connections that would
otherwise not be possible.
2. Academic skills: “Reading, writing, comprehension and language skills improve”
through student participation in course work and study time. The amount of
improvement is individual and dependant upon the amount of work one undertakes.
3. Self-determination: Students are encouraged to participate in decisions and to choose
“what they want to be involved in and how much they want to be involved.” They
choose the types of supports they would like to receive, the people they want to be
involved with, and the overall path they see for themselves during and after college
or university. With this autonomy comes responsibility for the outcomes of the
choices they make. Learning from mistakes and participating in problem solving are
seen as part of the IPSE process.
4. Job skills: Students are able to develop and refine specific job skills in a chosen
career path. They receive individualized support while gaining these skills and learn
about “different workplace expectations than might be in a sheltered or segregated
workshop.” Students are also able to make valuable connections while at university
or college. These connections could be “students they come to know and who may
be future employers”, instructors with connections to the workplace, or opportunities
through field placements and summer jobs.
5. Social status enhancement: Attending a college or university is highly valued in our
society. Participation in generic post-secondary education gives IPSE students status
they would otherwise not have. There is a “reduction of social deviancy” among
IPSE students and IPSE “students are often less identifiable to others as one with a
developmental disability and more as a university student.”
...Inclusive Post-secondary Education, a relatively new venture in adult education,
demonstrates that graduates of special education programs can look to continue their education at college or university. Over the past 13 years, an increasing number of these programs are proving that by utilizing a set of guiding principles, a post-secondary experience can prove beneficial to not only these unique learners, but to the community at large. For students, outcomes can include “friendship, enriching experiences, employment, … self esteem, independence, community living skills, and the opportunity to secure employment...
Continue to full pdf HERE
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