Influences of availability and utilisation of assistive technology on the academic achievement of students with disabilities in the universities of Ethiopia

The study aimed to examine the influence of availability and utilization of assistive technology on the academic achievement of students with disabilities at selected first-generation public universities in Ethiopia. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed design, 224 students with disabilities were randomly selected for quantitative data, and 12 students with disabilities and 4 disability center coordinators were purposively chosen for qualitative inquiry. Surveys and in-depth interviews were employed to collect quantitative and qualitative data and analyzed using descriptive, inferential statistics and thematic analysis respectively. The findings revealed that assistive technology was limited in availability and underutilized across the sampled universities. The relationship between academic achievement and availability (r = .63, p < .001) and utilization (r = .79, p < .001) is positive and significant; and a significant difference in mean academic achievement between students with disabilities with met assistive technology needs (p < .001, M = 6.75, SD = .66, t(222) = 12.58), and those with unmet ones (M = 5.75, SD = .53). Structural regression results revealed that availability and utilization of assistive technology explained 52.3% of the variation in academic achievement. The findings conclude that universities should provide students with assistive technology and related services tailored to their specific impairments, aligned with current instructional delivery systems.