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Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion of Blind or Partially-Sighted Students in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Ajuwon, Paul M
Chitiyo, George
Onuigbo, Liziana N
Ahon, Adaka T
Olayi, James E
2020

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Purpose: This study investigated the attitudes of secondary school teachers towards students with blindness or partial sight in selected states in Nigeria.

 

Method: The authors utilised the modified version of a previous instrument to collect data from 306 secondary school teachers in Nigeria. Six basic questions were established to address: respondents’ attitudes towards inclusion; training acquired related to teaching; knowledge pertaining to policy and legislation; confidence levels to teach students with disabilities.; impact of geographical location; and differences in attitudes by the variables of subject(s) taught, school level taught, and years of teaching experience.

 

Results: Attitudes of participants were mixed but were generally positive. The level of training was low, with teachers showing limited knowledge of policy and legislation. A little over a quarter (27%) of them lacked confidence in teaching. There were differences in attitudes related to the geographical location of respondents. Those who taught at the senior secondary school level tended to have higher attitude scores on average than their counterparts at the junior secondary school level.

 

Conclusion and Limitations: This study used self-report measures, although observations and interviews could be additional ways to evaluate the attitudes of participants throughout the country. Moreover, in-service programmes may need to be implemented to increase teachers’ knowledge base and expand their experiences in line with established policies and legislation.

Looking under the veil: Challenges faced by people with disabilities in cross-border entrepreneurship

MATSAURE, Keresencia
CHINDIMBA, Agness
ZIMANO, Felistas R
RUFFIN, Fayth
September 2020

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Background: Cross-border entrepreneurship is one source of livelihood that is transforming people’s lives, especially those with limited resources and educational qualifications and those in need of supplementary earnings to complement meagre formal earnings. However, despite strides made to make this avenue worthwhile, this Zimbabwean study shows that hidden hindrances still persist from procedural and structural barriers from road entry point management systems. To people with disabilities (PWDs), the impact of these hidden barriers is severe to the extent of obstructing their optimum progression into cross-border entrepreneurship.

 

Objectives: This article sought to interrogate some veiled challenges in border management systems affecting PWDs’ quest to venture into cross-border entrepreneurship. This angle has, to this end, been timidly addressed as most organisations and legislation have concentrated on making things work for the majority of the populace.

 

Method: Qualitative phenomenological method in which researchers’ lived experiences, review of literature, ideas and opinions is complemented by secondary survey data from a road entry point management system study in the Zimbabwean setting.

 

Results: Cross-border entrepreneurship has potential to transform people’s lives: 1) road and border management systems’ procedural and structural complications present hidden challenges impeding PWDs’ entry and optimum participation in cross border entrepreneurship, 2) people with disabilities are not automatically dependents; in fact, most have dependents looking up to the, 30 social construction of disability persists and must be curbed and 4) there is a need to institute a ‘stakeholders triad approach’.

 

Conclusion: The existing road entry points’ management systems are not informed by considerations from PWDs, hence the existence of hidden challenges. Cross-border entrepreneurship can open significant livelihood avenues to PWDs. A stakeholders ‘triad-approach’, proposed herein, can solve some of the policy discrepancies as it recommends utilising inputs from PWDs, research and policy-makers.

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020 

The impact of an inclusive education intervention on learning outcomes for girls with disabilities within a resource-poor setting

CAREW, Mark
DELUCA, Marcella
GROCE, Nora
FWAGA, Sammy
KETT, Maria
May 2020

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Background: Despite a global commitment to the right to education for persons with disabilities, little is known about how to achieve inclusive education in practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the majority of the world’s people with disabilities reside. Moreover, although exclusion from education is magnified by intersecting gender and socioeconomic inequalities, there is especially little knowledge regarding what approaches to inclusive education are effective amongst girls with disabilities living in resource-poor settings.

 

Objectives: The objective of this article was to assess the impact of an inclusive education intervention led by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) on the educational attainment of girls with disabilities in the resource-poor Lakes region of Kenya.

 

Method: A quasi-experimental design was employed, where the literacy and numeracy educational attainment of the intervention and control groups was compared over two time points a year apart (Time 1 and Time 2; total matched N = 353). During this period, activities pertaining to six core components of a holistic inclusive education model were implemented.

 

Results: Relative to the control group, girls with disabilities in the intervention group reported a greater increase in literacy and numeracy attainment, adjusted for grade and level of functional difficulty.

 

Conclusion: Findings suggest that the intervention was successful in engendering additional improvements in the educational attainment of girls with disabilities from the resource-poor Lakes region of Kenya. Results highlight both the applicability of NGO-led interventions in settings, where national implementation of inclusive education is constrained, and the potential of taking such interventions to scale.

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020

The impact of disability on partnership formation in Sweden during 1990-2009

NAMATOVU, Fredinah
HÄGGSTRÖM LUNDEVALLER, Erling
VIKSTRÖM, Lotta
2019

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Evidence suggests that disability negatively affects people’s propen- sity to find a partner. Persons with disabilities that eventually find a partner do so later in life compared to the average population. There is a lack of studies on the differences in partnership opportu- nities for persons with disabilities compared to those without dis- abilities in Sweden. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of disability on partnership formation and to assess whether partner- ship formation varies as a function of individual demographic and socio-economic factors. We use nationwide data available in the Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in Social and Medical Sciences (Umeå SIMSAM Lab). We follow persons born from 1973 to 1977 when they were from 16 to 37 years of age and analyze their data using logistic regression. Our findings indicate that regardless of whether a person started to receive a disability pension at an early age or later, it was associated with lower odds for partnership forma- tion. For persons who started receiving disability pension from 16 to 20 years of age, chances for partnership formation reduced with increase in age of partnership. Individuals that started to receive disability pension later were more likely to form partnership prior to receiving disability pension. Partnership formation was less likely among persons born outside Sweden, in persons with mothers born outside Sweden, in individuals born by unmarried mothers and in persons, whose mothers had a high level of education. Partnership was high among women and among persons who had many mater- nal siblings. In conclusion, receiving disability pension was associated with reduced chances for partnership formation. Receiving disability pension might imply financial constraints that negatively influence partnership formation supporting Oppenheimer’s theory on the eco- nomic cost of marriage and the uncertainty hypothesis.

Equal reproduction rights? The right to found a family in United Nations’ disability policy since the 1970s

VAN TRIGT, Paul
2019

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With the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2006, disability as an issue of human rights and international law can no longer be ignored. The history of this convention can be traced back to the 1970s, when disability was framed in United Nations (UN) declarations as a human-rights issue at the global level. One of the recurrent topics of debate during this trajectory was the right of people with dis- abilities to found a family. This right was far from self-evident and was evaluated very differently by various stakeholders.

This study follows the right to have a family in UN disability policy since the 1970s. The history of the family in relation to disability at the global level has been a neglected field of enquiry compared to other concepts such as gender and race. This study investigates how and why the right to found a family was framed in the Declarations on the Rights of Mentally Disabled Persons (1971) and Disabled Persons (1975), the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981), the International Decade of Disabled Persons (1983 − 1992), the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993) and the UNCRPD in 2006.

The trajectory of the right of people with disabilities to found a family that emerges from these cases shows a change in the 1990s from a social-policy to a human-rights approach towards disability – which reflects a broader trend in global and local histories of human rights. In the case of reproductive rights of people with disabilities this change meant that the emphasis was laid more on providing a legal protection for the individual against the interference of others (so-called negative freedom) than on enhancing the opportunities for disabled people to practice their (positive) freedom.

Exposing the protected: Ghana’s disability laws and the rights of disabled people

OCRAN, Joseph
March 2019

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This paper discusses the position that disabled people in Ghana continue to experience various forms of discrimination and social exclusion despite the fact that there are several anti-discriminatory laws that are meant to protect the rights of disabled people and facilitate their participation in mainstream social, political and economic activities

 

DISABILITY & SOCIETY 2019, VOL. 34, NO. 4, 663-668

https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2018.1556491

Disability and global health: Special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

KUPER, Hannah
POLAK, Sarah
Eds
2019

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Papers included in this special issue are:

 

Uzbekistan: Case for inclusion

NAM, Galina
2019

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The inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education has become an important agenda for many developing countries. The Uzbekistan government has also attempted to provide equal educational opportunities to this previously excluded group of children. Despite these efforts, however, many children with disabilities remain segregated. The total number of children with disabilities under 16 years old in the country is 97,000 (Uzbek Society of Disabled People, 2014). The majority of them either study at specialised educational institutions, or receive home-based education. Those who are placed at specialised institutions are often deprived of resources and services necessary to receive adequate education (UNICEF, 2013). While limited by the lack of reliable empirical data and research, this article aims to present the current situation in the development of inclusive education in Uzbekistan. It outlines the major legislative documents intended to support inclusive education and identifies some of the current obstacles to inclusive education practices.

 

Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development, Vol 30, No 1 (2019)

Investigating barriers teachers face in the implementation of inclusive education in high schools in Gege branch, Swaziland

ZWANE, Sifiso L.
MALALE, Matome M.
2018

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Background: The kingdom of Swaziland is a signatory to policies on universal education that ensure high quality basic education for all. Education for All is a commitment to provide equal opportunities for all children and the youth as provided for in the country’s constitution of 2005. The tone for the introduction of inclusive education in Swaziland was inevitably set by the new constitution of 2005. Since then several policies have been produced by the government, all aimed at providing equal education opportunities to all children in the country. These policies include the Swaziland National Children’s Policy (2009), Poverty Reduction Strategy and Action Plan (2006) and Draft Inclusive Education Policy (2008). The Education for All Policy (2010) is the policy that upon implementation became a stimulus for the introduction of inclusive education into mainstream schools; as a result, all teachers in the country’s schools were expected to be competent enough to teach learners with a wide range of educational needs. However, in-service teachers received inadequate staff development and training ahead of the implementation of inclusive education and a majority of teachers were not professionally developed for inclusive education, as pre-service students at tertiary training level.

 

Objectives: This study investigated barriers in the implementation of inclusive education at high schools in the Gege branch, Swaziland, with a view to finding lasting solutions to inform research and government policy.

 

Method: This research is a qualitative interpretive case study based on selected schools in the Gege branch of schools. Data was obtained through semi-structured research interviews and document analysis. It was processed and analysed through data coding, unitising, categorising and emergence of themes, which became the findings of the study.

 

Results: Lack of facilities in the governments’ schools and teachers’ incompetence in identifying learners facing learning challenges in their classrooms are some barriers to inclusivity.

 

Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a need for the Ministry of Education and Training to craft an inclusive curriculum in line with the inclusive policy in order to cater for the diverse educational needs of all learners in mainstream schools. It is thought that instituting a vibrant in-service and pre-service teacher training programme by the Ministry of Education and Training will increase teachers’ capacity to a level where teaching in inclusive classrooms does not negatively affect their competence.

Disability inclusive elections in Africa: a systematic review of published and unpublished literature

VIRENDRAKUMAR, Bhavisha
JOLLEY, Emma
BADU, Eric
SCHMIDT, Elena
2018

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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities underscores the equal right of persons with disabilities to participate in political life. However, in Africa they are often unable to exercise their right to vote. This study sought to systematically review available evidence on inclusive elections in Africa. Findings showed that although most African countries ratified disability-focused legislation and proclaimed equal opportunities, the implementation of the legislation varies across the continent. Barriers to political participation can occur at any electoral stage and can be broadly categorised into three groups: lack of education and financial resources; stigma and negative social attitudes; and inaccessible physical infrastructure.

Caregivers' views on stigmatisation and discrimination of people affected by leprosy in Ghana

ASAMPONG, Emmanuel
DAKO-GYEKE, Mavis
ODURO, Razak
January 2018

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In Ghana, the social interpretation of leprosy regardless of the language, culture and tradition engenders stigmatisation and discrimination that leads to social rejection and exclusion of persons who have been cured of the disease. Often, these persons are cared for by relatives who happen to live with them in a confined place. From the views of these caregivers, this paper identifies areas of stigmatising and discriminatory tendencies against people affected by leprosy who reside in a Leprosarium in Accra. A qualitative interview with semi-structured interviews were conducted for twenty caregivers.

African Disability Rights Yearbook volume 5 2017

NGWENA, Charles
et al
2017

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This volume of the African Disability Rights Yearbook is divided into four sections presenting articles, country reports, commentaries on regional developments and a book review. The first section A of the journal presents a number of articles on issues affecting people with disabilities in Africa, ranging from education and rights of children with disabilities to albinism. Section B presents country reports on Djibouti and Madagascar. Section C presents two articles: one on mental health and the other on disability rights developments in the East African Community post-2012. Finally a review of E. Barnes’s 2016 book "The minority body: A theory of disability" is given.

 

Towards an Inclusive Society in Cameroon: Understanding the Perceptions of Students in University of Yaounde II about Persons with Disabilities

Opoku, Maxwell Peprah
Badu, Eric
Moitui, oash Ntenga
2015

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Purpose: Disability cuts across every society and all spheres of life. For an inclusive society, it is important to understand people’s perceptions about persons with disabilities. However, there seems to be limited information, particularly about the perceptions of students who are the generation of future policy-makers. This study examines the perceptions of students in the University of Yaoundé II about persons with disabilities in Cameroon.

 

Methods: A cross sectional study design using quantitative methods was employed with a sample of students at the University of Yaoundé II. A questionnaire was used to gather information from 500 students selected by simple random sampling. The data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics at 95% CI.

 

Results: Among the participants, 51.8% were males, 89.2% were single and the average age was 24.9 years. Findings showed that 69.8% did not know about the actual population of persons with disabilities in Cameroon, though 14.6% had relatives with disabilities. None of the students perceived disability as a contagious condition, and 79.8% agreed that education had influenced their perceptions about persons with disabilities. Gender and education level had significant relationship with changes in perception (OR=1.8; p=0.01 and OR=1.91; p=0.04). However, 13.5% were unwilling to work with a person with disability in the future.

 

Conclusion: The findings suggest that issues of disability have not been taken into consideration in Cameroon. Therefore, there is the need for education and sensitisation of the general population towards disability. Additionally, policy- makers should factor persons with disabilities into national strategic plans, in order to ensure an inclusive society.

Disability Inclusion in Primary Health Care in Nepal: An Explorative Study of Perceived Barriers to Access Governmental Health Services

VAN HEES, S
CORNIELJE, H
WAGLE, P
VELDMAN, E
2015

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Purpose: Persons with disabilities face additional barriers in accessing primary healthcare services, especially in developing countries. Consequently the prevalence of secondary health conditions is higher among this population. This study aims to explore the perceived barriers to access primary healthcare services by persons with disabilities in the Western region of Nepal.

 

Methods: 10 primary healthcare providers and 11 persons with disabilities (physically or visually impaired) were selected by non-governmental organisations from the hilly and lower areas. Based on the International Classification of Functioning and the health accessibility model of Institute of Medicine, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using analytical induction.

 

Results: In general, healthcare providers and persons with disabilities reported similar barriers. Transportation and the attitude of family members and the community were the main environmental barriers. Even with assistive devices, people still depend on their families. Financial barriers were lack of funds for health expenses, problems in generating an income by persons with disabilities themselves, and the low socio-economic status of their families. Personal barriers, which affect help-seeking behaviour in a major way, were most often mentioned in relation to financial and socio-environmental barriers. Low self-esteem of the person with disability determines the family’s attitude and the motivation to seek out healthcare. Lastly, poor public awareness about the needs of persons with disabilities was reported.

 

Conclusions: Besides the known physical environmental barriers, this study found several environmental, financial and personal barriers that also affect access to primary healthcare. In particular, the attitudes of families and poor financial conditions seem to be interrelated and greatly influence help-seeking behaviour.

Where can design have the greatest impact in the next five years?

CASEY, Valerie
Ed
April 2014

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This special 100th journal issue focuses on women, design and social impact. The concept of "Design for all" is that the starting point should be the needs of people with activity limitation, such as physical, sensory and mental or cognitive limitation, and spaces, buildings and products should be designed to be accessible to all without losing the aesthetic or adding to cost.

The Journal contains 10 short essays by designers addressing issues such as: the need to assess the requirements of users first; exploring the political and social aspects of design; the responsibilities of designers; design as a problem solving tool;design to improve the lives of the poorest; sustainability; development; technology; and the environment

Design For All Journal​, Vol 9, No 4 

Disabled beggars; A literature review

GROCE, Nora
LOEB, Marie
MURRAY, Barbara
March 2014

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This literature review originated as part of an exploratory study of beggars with disabilities in Ethiopia, reported on in ILO Working Paper No. 141 published in 2013. It has been updated and is published separately here, as a contribution to debates on the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities, on poverty reduction and social protection. Beggars with disabilities are among the poor and disadvantaged in society. Yet they are virtually invisible in the policy agenda of countries around the world, and indeed are overlooked in advocacy efforts to improve opportunities for people with disabilities in general. This is the case, even in countries that have ratified and are moving to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD requires States to promote the right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others; and emphasises the importance of fostering respect for their rights and dignity, and raising awareness of their capabilities and contributions, as well as the need to combat prejudices and stereotype in all areas of life. Coming to an understanding of why people with disabilities end up as beggars on the streets of towns and cities around the world is important if the vision of the CRPD is to make a difference to persons with disabilities at all levels of society. It is also relevant to the discussions taking place about the adoption of a post-2015 development framework, in which poverty reduction and the promotion of decent work opportunities for all women and men are likely to feature prominently.

Challenges Faced by Malaysians with Disabilities in the World of Employment

TA, T L
LENG, K S
2013

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Purpose: This paper aims to explore and understand the challenges that are encountered by Malaysians with disabilities in the world of employment.

 

Method: A survey was undertaken in four Northern Malaysian states (Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak) to obtain the primary data. Two sets of questionnaires were formulated. The first questionnaire was addressed towards Malaysianpeople with disabilities, while the second one was for the employers. Descriptive statistics were used to explore, summarise and describe the data collected.

 

Results: This paper argues that integrating people with disabilities into the mainstream workforce should be the way forward, given that they are a pool of untapped human resources. Crucially, this study also highlights some of the key challenges faced by Malaysian people with disabilities, such as discrimination and exploitation at work.

 

Conclusions: This paper concludes that equal employment and training opportunities should be extended to Malaysian people with disabilities, in an effort to integrate them into the mainstream workforce. The existing Disability Act 2008 should be revised to address the challenges and issues highlighted in this paper.

The right to vote of persons with disabilities in Chile : Law no 20.183 as a factor of progress for inclusive democracy

REYES, Maria Soledad Cisternas
March 2013

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"This article describes the process of adoption of Law 20.183 of 2007, which recognises the right of persons with disabilities to have support in the act of voting. The process began with a lawsuit which inspired legal research conducted at the national level. A project of civil society advocacy was subsequently developed and implemented to promote the right to vote of persons with disabilities. The process resulted in a legislative initiative and culminated in the adoption of the 2007 Constitutional Act on voting and elections which recognized the right to support in the act of voting for persons with disabilities"
IDA Human Rights Publication Series, Issue 1, The Right to Vote and to Stand for Election

The role of Germany’s National CRPD Monitoring Body in implementing Article 29

PALLEIT, Leander
March 2013

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"This article aims to briefly describe the actions taken by the National CRPD monitoring body in Germany (Monitoring-Stelle zur UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention) in order to promote the implementation of Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)"
IDA Human Rights Publication Series, Issue 1, The Right to Vote and to Stand for Election

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