Campus Climate

Culture is understood as a way of thinking and behaving that is common among all that a part of that culture, and holds it together (Kuh & Whitt, 2006, p. 9-10) According the Kuh and Whitt (2006), culture has four main purposes: it “conveys a sense of identity,” “facilitates commitment to an entity,” “enhances the stability of the groups social system,” and is a “sense making device that guides and shapes behavior” (p. 10).  When considering students with disabilities the culture, like the human aggregate plays a large role in how safe and accepted a person feels on campus.  Strange (2000) explains that "socially constructed components reflect the subjective views of social constructions of environmental participants" (p. 22).  This basically means that environments are understood best by the perceptions of the people within them which is understood as the campus culture or climate.  The perceptions of what the environment is like are what guide the behaviors of those within it (Strange, 2000).

There are three levels of culture: artifacts, values, and basic assumptions and beliefs (Kuh & Whitt, 2006, p. 16).

The first level, artifacts, is understood as the symbols of the culture and are represented by rules, customs, rituals, and ways of interacting (Kuh & Whitt, 2006, p. 16). For students with disabilities this may be what they looks at and try to understand to fit in within the culture of the institution.  If there are shared rules, customs, rituals, and ways of interacting, students with disabilities must become aware of these and make sure to interact using these tools.   Something as simple as going to class or using the rec center or going to a football game are not going to be easy for someone with a physical disability or a person with a mental illness that may not feel comfortable being in large crowds.  From this sense, students with disabilities may not be able to be a part of the first level of culture.

The second level of culture, values, is “widely health beliefs of sentiments about the importance of certain goals, activities, relationships, and feelings” (Kuh & Whitt, 2006, p. 23). On a campus where student activities are viewed as important, students with disabilities may feel out of place.  Depending on the emphasis of the importance of different activities, if there isn't a way for students with disabilities to participate, they will feel left out.  If the campus doesn't value inclusion (like I have spoken about during emphasis on the important of mission) then students with disabilities will not feel a part of the overarching campus culture.

The third level of culture, basic assumptions and beliefs is often referred to as “the core of culture” (Kuh & Whitt, 2006, p. 23). Kuh and Whit (2006) explain that these assumptions are “learned responses to threats to institutional survival” and influence “what people think about, what they perceive to be important, how they feel about things, and what they do” (pp. 23-24).  According to Strange (2000), "weak social climate relationship dimensions might create an unperceptive milieu for anyone who requests special care and concern" (p. 25).   This level is the level I believe to be the most important.  If the core of the culture works to be inclusive of students with disabilities, the rest of the levels will follow suit.  Once again, I believe this has a lot do do with the campus mission and what the overall goals of the institution are.  If students with disability feel the need to try to blend in, the campus culture is devaluing individual differences.  I believe this happens when people choose to ignore disabilities completely OR they view people with disabilities as totally different.  There's a fine line between the two.

Like I wrote about with the human aggregate (which I believe is the driver of the campus culture), it all comes down to the social construction of disability on each campus.  The physical environment, human aggregate, and organizational structure are all a piece of the campus climate.  What boils down to how a student with a disability feels on a campus is how the social environment feels and treats them.  Disability is a social construction with a negative denotation (the DIS).  Jones  (1996) explains that it is the attitude of those who are non-disabled even MORE so than the biological characteristics of the disabled that turn a handicap into a handicap.

Jones, S. R. (1996). “Toward inclusive theory: Disability as social construction.” NASPA Journal, 33, 347–354.
Kuh, G. D., & Witt, E. J. (1988). The invisible tapestry: Culture in American colleges and universities. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D. C.: Association for the Study of Higher Education. pp. 9-27, 41-52, 75-94.
Strange, C. (2000). Creating environments of ability. In H. Belch, Serving Students with Disabilities. New Directions in Student Services, Number 91. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 19-30.