Resources search

Inclusive education is a concept born in the global North. Research has shown that its relatively recent but widespread adoption by countries in the global South is often done without consideration of the actual needs of these contexts, and by solely focusing on strategies for learners with disabilities. As a result, inclusive education has been criticised as a neo-colonial project in need of renovation. The aim of this article is to show how research can broaden the understanding of inclusive education and make it more relevant to southern contexts. Drawing on an ethnographic research on inclusive education in Colombia, I present some unique examples of vulnerability, but also experiences of belonging in the direst of circumstances. I conclude that in order to decolonise the concept of inclusive education and make its practice sustainable in southern contexts, we need more culturally sensitive research to inform our understanding of these under-researched spaces.

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2020, Vol. 7 No. 1

This report looks at the impact of unpaid care work on disability inclusive programming and shares some practical ideas for how to address this based on experiences of CBM partners and other agencies. 

Programme experience discussed include:

• Building agency and relationships: a community mobilisation approach in Jharkhand, India
• Engaging men as care advocates in the Phillipines
• Recognising and supporting care givers in Ghana
• Good practice

Background: Aphasia is an acquired impairment in language and in the cognitive processes that underlie language. Aphasia affects the quality of life of the person with aphasia (PWA) and his or her families in various ways in diverse contexts and cultures. It is therefore important that speech language therapists understand how different contextual and cultural factors may mediate experiences.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to describe the caregiving experience of female caregivers of PWA residing in Tembisa, a township situated in the east of Johannesburg.

Method: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with primary caregivers of PWA. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 14 primary caregivers of PWA who were daughters, daughters-in-law or wives of the PWA. The interviews were conducted in participants’ first language and analysed by the researcher, who is proficient in isiZulu. Data were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis.

Results: Findings indicated that caregivers are unfamiliar with aphasia and the support available to them. Participants experienced frustration and found communication to be challenging owing to their lack of communication strategies. The participants’ experiences reflected their context-specific experiences, such as feminisation of caregiving, barriers to healthcare, the influence of low health literacy and contextual perspectives on stroke and aphasia.

Conclusions: Contextual factors of caregivers in Tembisa have an influence on the experiences between caregivers and PWA, the feelings of individuals and families and health-seeking behaviours of individuals and families.

An overview is presented of a project in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand to:

• To support communities in raising socially and emotionally healthy kids in refugee/IDPs camps and in host communities.
• To create opportunities for children with disabilities and other vulnerable children (0-12 years old) including children at risk of developmental delays/psychological distress in displacement contexts, to learn and develop safely while having fun.
• Using “play” as key driver to learn and develop safely children’s potential while having fun.

The project was implemented using:

• Existing HI tools (Personalized Social Support, Adapted Physical Activity, etc.)
• Tools piloted in IKEA project (Blue Box, low-cost toy making, inclusive playgrounds, Ideas box)
• Environmental Footprint Assessment across 3 project sites

Monitoring & evaluation was carried out using techniques including

• Scopeo (Sc-ore O-f Pe-rceived O-utcomes) Kids
• Participatory M&E approaches (digital story telling, child-child video interview etc) 

Presented at the People at the centre Seminar, Dec 2017 

The papers in this volume on gender, persons with disabilities and WASH in South Asia help to provide important pointers on ways forward. A common thread throughout the four articles is that a constellation of challenges still exists, from 'exclusion' through prejudice at different levels, to institutional realities that render policy and other instruments ineffective in practice. In some cases, even, there remains a complete absence of key legal and policy instruments.  

Titles of the articles in this issue are: 

• Planning for inclusion: exploring access to WASH for women and men with disabilities in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka
• Breaking down Barriers: Gender and Disability in Access to Agricultural Water Management in Nepal
• The Gender Gap between Water Management and Water Users: Evidence from Southwest Bangladesh​
• Are policies enough to mainstream Gender in water and sanitation programs? Experiences from community managed drinking water supply schemes in India

A review by Plan International of their work in the area of inclusive education is presented. Rights associated with inclusive education, education targets in SDGs and global education intitatives and trends are outlined. Issues associated with inclusive education implementation and what needs to be done are discussed. The experience, standards, priorities and strategies and advocacy of Plan International are reported.

“This is a book about social change practices from many countries. It contains a variety of stories, analyses, and ideas, with many poems and illustrations to illuminate and enhance the text. For activists, civil society leaders, practitioners and students, this is not a book of easy answers, but one of experiences, learnings and questions, all asking “What is the real work of social change?”  The writers have not attempted to provide “best practice models”, but rather something to be learned from, to deepen our questions, and to be more thoughtful in our practice”

"The intention of this guide is to provide practical guidance on how Oxfam undertakes political economy analysis (PEA) in order to inform operations and programming. It is based on the experience of working with Oxfam Myanmar (and heavily features this experience), initially looking at how PEA could be used to address two areas: 1) ‘How can citizens/civil society get engaged with local planning and budgeting processes?’ and 2) ‘How will the economic opening up of Myanmar affect small-scale farmers?’"

Purpose: This study assesses the impact of a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programme on the quality of life (QoL) of children with disability and their families.

Methods: A qualitative approach was applied, using two techniques - a ranking line and semi-structured interviews. Nineteen children (ranging from 4 –18 years of age) were interviewed in their homes located in three villages - Chapakhori, Bokraha and Madesha - in Nepal.

Results: Children with disability and their families ranked physical health, psychological health, empowerment and level of independence as the most important factors for their QoL. Of the 19 children, 13 had experienced positive changes in their life and 1 child reported a negative change. The positive changes related mainly to their physical health and functioning. The impact of these changes was felt in the ‘social’, ‘level of independence’ and ‘empowerment’ outcome categories. The children mentioned that they had more friends, experienced less stigma, could go to school and were more hopeful about the future.

Conclusions: This CBR programme has brought about changes in the QoL of all children with disability and their families. The majority of them reported a positive impact.