A barrier is ‘a problem, rule or situation that prevents somebody from doing something, or that makes something impossible’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).
Disability is often considered to be due to ‘disabling barriers’. These can be addressed by designing enabling, accessible environments.
In education – and during the learning process – there may be many barriers or circumstances that restrict the full participation of learners. Many learners will have different requirements (short and longer term) that may require consideration to enable them to take part in all activities and gain full benefit from the opportunities on offer.
Full and active participation may be affected by negative attitudes and deficit thinking, physical barriers, poor access to communication aids and appropriate information in accessible formats or a lack of confidence and/or training in the skills necessary to take part (European Agency, no date b).