TO ADD: Discussion notes

Discussion

The implementation of the public bodies web regulations in the UK is in its infancy, introduced in 2018 (ref) with monitoring only started in 2020 (ref). Currently progress is slow in ensuring accessible public body websites, and this is also echoed in the international context (ref) with much work still to be done. Highlighted as one of the largest challenges is the lack of appropriate training for those in web development, but also those in other roles related to creating digital content. People are entering the workplace without the skills needed (PEAT, 2018, Teach Access, 2023), and due to lack of education recruiting for digital accessibility is challenging as the skills and expertise are rare (Hassell, 2019).

In education the picture is similar, with learners entering computer programs at university with very little prior awareness (Ref) and there are few educational establishments formally teaching accessibility on the curriculum (Ref) with many learners graduating having never touched on the subject of accessibility (Ref). This research aims to contribute towards that gap and the prior knowledge of learners entering secondary and tertiary education. 

It has been also highlighted that different people need different accessibility knowledge depending on their role. For web developers it’s the WCAG technical guidelines (ref) which hold their own challenges of being open to interpretation (ref) and not ideal for beginners (ref) even though WCAG was updated to be a very specific and testable set of criteria (ref). It has been noted that checklists such as WCAG don’t account for the wider multidisciplinary nature of accessibility that needs to meet the needs of both underlying code and technical requirements as well as the needs and user experiences of disabled people (Ref). Guidance needs to be relevant to the different contexts of those who make digital content where one size does not fit all (ref). It also needs to be broken down to be easy to use and concise to account for novice users (Hassell, 2019). Where it has been the case where guidance has been simplified, those trained or educated in the more basic principles of accessibility seem to grasp them (Wilson, 2020; 2023; other).

The basic principles referred to as ‘low hanging fruit’ (Christopherson, 2022) appear to be more applicable to beginners which is more appropriate to teach at a younger age. This research will therefore explore these basic principles of technical knowledge and how they might work and be adopted by young people in the key stage 2 classroom.

Where digital accessibility has been taught or researched it is clear that it is a multidisciplinary topic (Lewthwaite and Sloan, 2016), with aspects of technical knowledge, conceptual understanding of disability, being able to identify and match solutions and an awareness of legal aspects of society for equality and legislation (Ref). Knowing it us made up of a range of elements it would be pertinent to explore how young people can learn about each aspect. 

Many studies refer to the impact of using contact with disabled people (Ref) yet being able to organise and scale that for education across the board would be challenging, especially as BLAH (year) explains ‘you need to compensate them for their time. To research this element in a realistic and scalable option other methods that promote empathy, such as videos, personas and simulations might be more appropriate at beginner level and to research a solution for a longer-term educational intervention for schools. Identifying personas has been shared by Microsoft in the form of an infographic in their inclusive digital toolkit for being disabled by permanent, temporary or situational challenges (Ref), with Microsoft also providing free training and support online making for accessible content (Ref). Microsoft office tools are most commonly used in education and the workplace and familiar as an ideal model and set of resources for beginners. The infographic and the guidance together help outline the concept of universal design and beginners technical skills to meet a broad spectrum of needs. In a study by BLAH (Ref) students were asked to identify a range of disabilities categorised by personas of permanent, temporary and situational challenges which could be replicated as a study in a school classroom. This could help to understand what extent they know to identify a range of disabilities across a broad spectrum. Using this learners could then match how basic principles of accessibility skills could be identified and applied to help each type of persona in their use of digital information. 

Empathy and simulations have also been highlighted as impactful, especially when it comes to testing and identifying barriers, such as descriptive links (ref) and visual cues as audio alternatives (ref). Activities such as these can be easily replicated at little cost, with free tools available such as browser plug-in simulators, screen readers like NVDA and online tools and examples widely available on the internet (ref).

Understanding the legal context will help learners to understand what is needed in society but also how it might be relevant to the future workplace, helping to introduce the topic of equality in the digital world and adding real-world relevance to the importance of digital accessibility to our diverse society.

To summarise these findings from the literature review the learning objectives and tasks to explore in the key stage 2 classroom could encompass the following to feed into the multidisciplinary conversation around digital accessibility awareness education:

Understand and apply basic digital skills for digital accessibility 

Identify a range of permanent, temporary and situational disabilities

Experience a range of accessibility barriers in digital content

Match digital solutions for a range of disabilities and scenarios 

Be aware of the legal context for digital accessibility in society