Infographic.
This infographic film visually summarizes the findings of my and my partners thesis, which explored the state of web accessibility education in Swedish web development and interface design programs. The study aimed to assess whether students are sufficiently educated on accessibility guidelines and laws, and how this affects their ability to create accessible websites. The results revealed a significant gap in accessibility education, with only a small percentage of programs offering standalone courses or learning objectives on this important topic. This infographic film highlights the key findings and illustrates the importance of improving accessibility education to ensure equal web access for all.
Research Publication.
After completing the thesis, we submitted it for publication, shortening the text according to the conference guidelines. The work was accepted, presented at the conference in Jönköping, and subsequently published in the Proceedings of Socio-Technical Perspectives in Information Systems 2024 (STPIS 2024).
Abstract
In an era of growing digitization, technology is essential for communication and daily life. However, inaccessible websites, including in Sweden, create barriers for individuals with disabilities, often due to insufficient education and awareness among web developers. Our quantitative study aimed to assess the status of web accessibility education within Swedish web development and interface design programs. We analyzed curricula and surveyed 63 final-year students across 23 programs. Findings show that while most programs (18 out of 23) include web accessibility, integration levels vary. Only 2% of courses offered standalone accessibility objectives, and 7% incorporated it within other courses, leaving 91% without any. Student knowledge varied; 69.8% were aware of accessibility guidelines and laws, but 30.2% were not. Additionally, only 26.2% of students reported acquiring knowledge about accessibility guidelines and laws from their current education. This underscores the need for better web accessibility education.
The paper can be found under the section "Perspective, Evaluation, and Judgment"
Title: Assessing Students’ Awareness and Education of Web Accessibility in Web Development and Interface Design Programs
Authors: Elin Henriksson, Anna Uddström, Lotte van Bree
Pages: 269-315