2024 Volume 62 Issue 2 Pages 93-103
In Japan, higher education institutions such as universities are increasingly mindful of the need to support students with disabilities, including those with developmental disorders. However, few previous studies have focused on support for such students in Japan’s professional training colleges (specialized training colleges offering post-secondary courses). In the present study, staff at 280 professional training colleges completed a questionnaire about overall support at their college for students with disabilities, and about the enrollment of and support for students with higher levels of traits associated with developmental disorders. The results revealed that many of the participating professional training colleges, in contrast with universities, have neither provided dedicated divisions, bodies, or specialized personnel to support students with disabilities, nor formulated response guidelines, basic policies, or regulations. Furthermore, the results suggested that the activities and initiatives carried out at professional training colleges for students with disabilities were inadequate compared to those at universities. Around 80% of the professional training colleges reported that they had enrolled students who, regardless of whether they had an official medical diagnosis, displayed higher levels of traits associated with some kind of developmental disorder. However, some of those colleges reported that they provided no adequate support to assist such students in their daily life. Thus, support for students with higher levels of traits associated with developmental disorders remains inadequate in professional training colleges in Japan. More needs to be done to improve the level of support.
