New research highlights what disabled learners need to succeed

<h2>Disabled learner voices&comma; heard through new Te P&umacr;kenga research&comma; shows disabled learners need a safe&comma; accessible&comma; and supportive learning environment to flourish&period;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><em>Te Rito&comma; Insights<&sol;em><em> from disabled learners<&sol;em> looks at the barriers faced by learners with disabilities&comma; who are one of the most educationally disadvantaged groups in Aotearoa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Deputy Chief Executive Learner Journey and Experience Tania Winslade says&colon; &&num;8220&semi;With the right support&comma; disabled learners are just as likely to complete their tertiary qualification as non-disabled people&period; We need to enable more academic and employment pathways to support our underserved learners&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;When we consider 24 percent of us will have an impairment lasting six months or more&comma; enabling success for disabled learners impacts significant numbers of learners and staff&period; Access to the right learning supports makes an enormous difference to their academic achievement and life in general&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>Te Rito reports help to better understand the vocational learner&&num;8217&semi;s journey and experience in Aotearoa through their voices and those that support them&period; These reports are informed by 315 participants in 45 focus groups from Whangarei to Invercargill&period; These reports help to ensure future decision-making and solution design meets learner-determined needs&comma; aspirations&comma; and motivations&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Te P&umacr;kenga has recently released two further <em>Te Rito<&sol;em> reports&comma; providing insights into the current experiences of Pacific and disabled learners in vocational education&period; This research builds on the first report focused on all learners&comma; particularly M&amacr;ori learners&period; A series of personas – imagined characters based on real-life learner research – accompany the reports to deepen understanding of the needs of learners and those supporting them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We are excited for the future&comma; removing barriers&comma; improving accessibility&comma; and building connectivity for all&comma; especially our traditionally underserved learners&period; We are now developing an action plan to address Te Rito recommendations for incorporating into network-wide strategy&comma;” says Tania&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;