Field and study trips: Barriers

Identifying barriers

You may have to deal with attitudinal barriers – assumptions that students with certain impairments are unable to undertake fieldwork activities. These views may be held by staff responsible for coordinating or organising field visits, or people encountered during field visits such as other students or staff at field study sites.

Within institutions, inflexible practical arrangements that do not consider the needs of disabled students may cause difficulties in the organisation, timetabling or scheduling of visits.

The physical environment encountered on field and study trips may present barriers in a more literal sense. Steps and steep gradients, or physically challenging locations, can be made even more difficult to manage when weather conditions are extreme, or if transport, rest and meal-time arrangements are inadequate. Physical barriers can also include the types of activity required to fulfil learning outcomes, inaccessible written instructions and demonstrations, a lack of suitable enabling technologies and situations where some students feel vulnerable or at risk.

There are very many other potential barriers, depending on the location of the trip, its duration and the requirements of individual students. Here are some general points to consider.

• Is the terrain accessible? If not, is there an alternative site?
• Is suitable food and clothing available?
• Is suitable transport available?
• Are there parking facilities near to the venue?
• Can the transport be used over short distances when walking is not possible?
• Is equipment easy to use?
• Is assistance required to lift and carry items?
• If enabling electronic equipment is to be used, have factors such as limited battery life and the fragility of some types of equipment been taken into account?
• If visiting a public building such an art gallery or theatre, are audio description facilities provided?

Further barriers may well come to light during planning discussions with a student.

• Is the student is willing to disclose difficulties to fieldwork staff? You will need the student’s permission to share confidential information.
• Is there a realistic appreciation on both sides of the difficulties that may arise?
• There may be concerns that expectations will not be met, or that the range of activities required will be too much to cope with.
• There may be concerns about the extra stresses involved with new social settings.

Most of the problem areas for deaf students on field trips centre round potential communication difficulties in unfamiliar or challenging physical environments.

• Environments may be noisy or windswept and this may make hearing very difficult.
• Some environments may make it difficult to see the lecturer or other group members in order to lip-read.

The barriers likely to be encountered by deaf students, those with visual impairments or mobility and dexterity difficulties are fairly straightforward to identify in discussion with the student and from a knowledge of the adjustments made in everyday learning environments. Whether or not reasonable adjustments can be made to overcome them is, however, another matter – see Field trips: Reasonable adjustments.

However it may be far more difficult to recognise and overcome the barriers faced by students with hidden disabilities and you should be particularly thorough in your discussions with them during the planning stages of the trip. You should also take into account that some students in your group may not have disclosed a mental health difficulty, a specific learning difficulty or that they live with pain or extreme tiredness.

Some students may have difficulty in

• taking accurate notes in non-classroom environments
• multi-sensory tasking – listening, observing, recording and reading
• organising their time effectively in a new environment
• orientation and reading maps
• the reading speed required for accurate comprehension, particularly if materials are not provided in legible or appropriate alternative formats
• living away from home and familiar support networks
• communal living arrangements and continued close proximity to others, with a lack of private space
• being able to cope and showing distress in public
• joining in with social activities
• travelling long distances
• walking in rugged terrain or complex city environments
• organisation and time planning. (Adapted from Shepherd, 2001.)

1. Inclusive teaching
2. Universal Design for Learning
3. Preparing to teach inclusively
4. Sustaining self-esteem and motivation
5. Barriers to learning
6. Specialist support staff
7. Assistive technologies
8. Learning environments
   1. Lectures, seminars and tutorials
   2. Discussions, group work and presentations
   3. Practical environments
      1. Health and safety implications
      2. Laboratories, workshops and studios
      3. Laboratories and reasonable adjustments
      4. Field and study trips
      5. Field and study trips: Barriers
      6. Field trips: Reasonable adjustments
      7. Field trips: Alternatives
      8. Work placements
   4. Private study
   5. E-learning
9. Learning materials
10. Academic assessment