Barriers Impacting Students with Disabilities at a Hong Kong University

A qualitative study was conducted to examine the barriers to postsecondary education experienced by students with disabilities in Hong Kong and the impact of those barriers. Data were gathered from six students with disabilities, their instructors, and university staff with whom they interacted to procure disability-related services using participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Barriers clustered in the areas of architecture, environment, systems, instructor- and classroom-related, student-generated, and the lack of evaluation. Implications are presented for increasing access to postsecondary programs for students with disabilities in Hong Kong as well as for international students who enroll in programs in the United States.