TO ADD: Whitney (2020) etc and WCAG teaching

The teaching of accessibility:

Concerns in education have been highlighted that many faculty staff lack expertise and experience to teach accessibility, and as a result very few courses include the topic (Shinohara et al, 2018; others; Whitney, 2020; Sonka, 2020?). It has also been pointed out that classroom resources are either minimal or web design textbooks do not include the topic of accessibility (Rosmaita, 2006; others). This has resulted in a generation of graduates who do not know about accessibility, leaving industry in a problematic situation with staff who do not have accessible technology skills (Teach Access, 2019b; 2023; PEAT, 2018).

The teaching of the subject appears to be currently lacking both in the UK and international curriculum, PEAT (2018) claimed there are only 3% of computer studies courses in the states that include the topic of accessibility. Other STATS/Literature REVIEW.

With the intent to address this gap in education there are research studies to draw and learn from, both as pilot or prototype studies or of courses that already exist. Most are reflective accounts of teaching with very few empirical studies of educational practice (Ref).

Putnam (2016) described the different ways accessibility has been incorporated into a curriculum or taught, such as standalone programs, standalone courses, singular modules and integration throughout a whole course. The most common was to create a singular course or module.

Add more about different approach types…

Most courses on accessibility are situated within the web design or software development discipline with many using the WCAG criteria as the structure, scaffold and technical checklist for learning. From as early as the late nineties WCAG has guided web developers as the standards for accessibility (ref).

Describe WCAG ones….

Whitney (2020) argued that instead of standalone courses or units related to WCAG it was important to integrate the basic principles of web accessibility embedding them from the start as an introductory unit, so that these principles can remain integral throughout an entire course, rather than only applied if it was an explicit requirement to do so. This he claimed offered more of an introductory approach rather than delving into the complexities or challenges of teaching to the WCAG criteria.

He explained that after the basic principles were initially covered there was an implicit expectation that they would need to be included in future work across the course, and to not do so would be considered sub-standard work missing out important considerations. This course included the basic principles of accessibility such as headings, colour and contrast, use of image alt text, descriptive links and tables, as well as more code based principles relating to navigation, layout, forms, cascading style sheets, responsive design, animation and audio and video. The students were exposed to guidelines for creating content for each of these areas, assessment and accessibility checking tools and the need for human input when testing.

He claimed after development of this approach over multiple semesters, the integration of accessibility throughout the course influenced how students perceived and practiced accessible design, and that these basic principles were a strong foundation that can be regularly applied for knowledge to be built upon and strengthened (Whitney, 2020). His account in this study was primarily a reflective piece with no empirical data to back up his claims, but it does echo the SCULPT model that teaching the basic principles or the ‘low hanging fruit’ can be accepted and adopted more easily than the WCAG guidance (Wilson, 2020; 2023; Christopherson, 2022; Putnam, 2023).

Another interesting consideration is the perceptions of complexity and whose responsibility digital accessibility is that impacts engagement in the subject COURSE NAME ‘Accessibility’.

Again this echoes previous work that says the perception of accessibility being complex impacts engagement and motivation for learning the topic (Wilson, 2023; others).

The need for human input and user testing is something that has already been identified as often being overlooked in industry and causing retrofitting and challenges later in the design and product launch process (Ref). This suggests that in accessibility education this is a potentially valuable aspect to teach and to assert its need and importance (ref). Most studies in this area relate to disability simulation, empathy and working with disabled users to develop digital assets. These studies offer a mixed lens of either accessibility, universal design or design for all.

Interestingly ‘issue of feeling uncomfortable around disabled people’