The Role of Support Volunteers for Students with Disabilities

The Case of Poole Gakuin University

Abstract

Many universities in Japan recently have institutionalized support for students with disabilities. In these programs, how can student volunteers be involved? In this paper, the roles of student volunteers are discussed by describing the case of a private university. Poole Gakuin University developed a program to support students with disabilities in 2002. In the program, the paid student assistant system was organized to extend academic support for such students. However, it has been found that the students with physical challenges require additional support by student volunteers in non-academic aspects of their school life, while students with developmental disorders need supplementary support to develop their social skills. Members of the latter group often do not recognize their own needs and tend not to use the institutionalized support. The expected support differs according to the type of difficulties faced by the students. Thus, individual needs should always be identified and understood so that appropriate assistance can be provided. Moreover, it should be noted that the paid support students system alone is insufficient to meet the varying needs of students, and student volunteers play significant roles. It must be recognized that the support for students with disabilities itself is a voluntary action.