Die Konzeption von Erfolg aus Sicht von Absolvent:innen mit Beeinträchtigung: Schlüsselaspekte der Inklusion in der deutschen Hochschulbildung

While various researchers have explored inclusion and the educational success of people with impairments in recent years, the question of what the latter mean by academic success remains understudied. The first aim of this article is to analyse the conceptualisations of success in higher education and the key factors that contributed to the academic success of 28 graduates with impairments from 16 German universities. The second aim is to provide recommendations from the participants themselves to other students with impairments and to higher education institutions for improving their success in higher education. The results show that the participants have different conceptualisations of success (achieving a degree, getting good grades, learning and developing skills, gaining practical experience, overcoming challenges and maintaining a balance between studies and health) and identified various personal factors (the disability as a driving force) and contextual factors (social and family environment, time abroad, positive feedback, recognition of achievements and accessible online courses and digitised materials), as relevant to their success. The findings further demonstrate that hearing the voices of graduates with impairments is critical to their success in higher education and the empowerment of students with disabilities.