"It's my life we're talking about": the lived experience in the higher education classroom

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56433/w92rv425

Keywords:

Lived experience, Disability, Autoethnography, Ableism, Pedagogy, Disclosure, Crip epistemology

Abstract

This article explores the transformative potential and complexities of integrating disability-related lived experience into higher education pedagogy. It contextualizes the concept of lived experience within phenomenological and autoethnographic traditions, highlighting its value in challenging conventional academic norms. Drawing from narratives of academics and students, we illustrate how the inclusion of lived experience can enrich learning, promote inclusivity, and foster a deeper sense of belonging. We reveal the emotional labour, strategic disclosure, and institutional resistance often faced by disabled academics and students navigating ableist structures. Through first-person accounts, we uncover how vulnerability, when embraced, can disrupt rigid pedagogies and catalyse collective transformation. Our major contribution to higher education practice is a set of practical strategies for incorporating lived experience into teaching. We propose these strategies for academics and students to engage ethically and critically with lived experience, advocating for structural change that centres accessibility and embodied knowledge. We conclude with a call to action: to move beyond tokenistic inclusion and toward a systemic reimagining of education that values lived experience as a foundational epistemology. By reframing disability as a vital source of insight, we position lived experience not as supplementary, but as central to fostering an equitable, empathetic, and intellectually vibrant academic community.

 

Author Biographies

  • Nicole Brown, UCL Institute of Education

    Nicole Brown is a Professor of Creative and Embodied Research Practice at the University College London, UCL Institute of Education. A leading voice in embodied research, she draws on creative, arts-based methods to challenge conventional approaches to researching ableism, disability, chronic illness, and neurodivergence in higher education.

     

  • Elisabeth Griffiths

    Elisabeth Griffiths is an Associate Professor at Northumbria Law School and a qualified Solicitor (non-practising). She is currently the Associate Head for Education for Northumbria Law School. Elisabeth’s research interests are equality law and disability discrimination in the workplace, in legal education and as a lived experience.

  • Steven Singer, The College of New Jersey

    Steven Singer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education Language and Literacy. He instructs courses in deaf education and American Sign Language. His scholarship focuses on deaf, disabled, and deafdisabled people.

     

  • Sorcha Ní Chobhthaigh, University College London

    Sorcha Ní Chobhthaigh is a Doctoral Researcher and Postgraduate Teaching Assistant at University College London. 

     

  • Mar Font Calzado, University College London

    Mar Font Calzado is a BASc student at University College London.

     

  • Sofia Lucero Garma Barreto, University College London

    Sofia Lucero Garma Barreto is a BASc student at University College London.

     

  • Hugo Iglesias Munoz, University College London

    Hugo Iglesias Muñoz is a BASc student at University College London.

     

  • Aiyi Mian, University College London

    Aiyi Mian is a BASc student at University College London.

     

  • Malvika Murkumbi, University College London

    Malvika Murkumbi is a BASc student at University College London.

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Published

2026-09-04

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 3 (2026): September 2026

Section

Reflective Analysis Papers

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Copyright (c) 2026 Nicole Brown, Elisabeth Griffiths, Steven Singer, Sorcha Ní Chobhthaigh, Mar Font Calzado, Sofia Lucero Garma Barreto, Hugo Iglesias Munoz, Aiyi Mian, Malvika Murkumbi

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