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“I Guess that the Greatest Freedom … ”: A Phenomenology of Spaces and Severe Multiple Disabilities

EVENSEN, Kristin Vindhol
STANDAL, Øyvind Førland
2017

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This paper expresses wonder about how bodies in motion can lead towards an understanding of lived meaning in silent lifeworlds. In such lifeworlds, expressions are without words, pre-symbolic, and thus embodied. To address the wonder, phenomenological philosophy and phenomenological methodology were employed to frame an approach that acknowledges lives with disabilities as qualitatively different from, and yet not inferior to, nor less imbued with meaning than, lives without.

The paper focuses on spatiality as decisive in determining possibilities for persons to express their perspectives through a wide range of movements. Movements take place in the continuum between the spatiality of positions as objective bodily sensations and the spatiality of situations as embodied interactions with others and the world. Thus, in order to access the perspectives of students with severe and multiple disabilities, transitions between and movements within different spaces are examined.

Approaching an educational everyday life where students are restricted in the possibilities available to them for moving in and out of spaces, the study reported points to the importance of recognizing the relationship between subjective movements and the spaces enveloping them as what creates a spatiality that is meaningful to the subject. It is accordingly suggested that choosing which spaces to include in educational contexts are formative choices that express a view of humanity. The paper also emphasizes the importance of recognizing temporality as a pedagogical resource when detecting and acting upon students’ changing expressions.

Nigerian Teachers’ Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study of Teachers from Urban and Rural areas of Lagos State

ODUNSI, Remi
PREECE, David
GARNER, Philip
2017

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Purpose: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability characterised by difficulties in social interaction and social communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviour (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Despite its prevalence the world over, there is a paucity of research in some areas such as education, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper attempts to address the gap by exploring teachers’ understanding of ASD in Nigeria.

 

Method: Using an adapted version of the Knowledge About Childhood Autism Among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaire (Bakare et al, 2008), a survey was conducted among 177 mainstream primary teachers from Lagos State (112 from eleven urban schools and 65 from four rural schools).

 

Results: The total mean score on the Adapted KCAHW questionnaire among all the participating teachers was 10.81 ± 4.13 out of a possible total of 16. The mean score for urban teachers was 11.21 ± 4.31, while the mean score for rural teachers was 10.11 ± 3.75. In total, 46% of the urban teachers and 31% of the rural teachers demonstrated a generally accurate knowledge of ASD, with 15% (23 urban teachers and 4 rural teachers) of the sample answering all questions correctly.  Over 50% of urban teachers and almost 70% of rural teachers surveyed had only a low or moderate understanding of ASD.

 

Conclusions: This research supports previous studies that identified low professional knowledge and understanding of ASD, and a need for improved professional education and training. 

 

Limitations: The focus was on only one state within Nigeria, and only on mainstream primary schools. Further research is necessary across the educational age range as well as different geographical areas in the country.

Quality inclusive education for children with disabilities in Ethiopia

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL ETHIOPIA
2017

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Achieving education for all in Ethiopia will remain a distant aspiration if most of the 5 million children with special educational needs in the country cannot go to school. Since 2014, Handicap International have been supporting 49 schools to become places where everyone has a role to play in making schools more inclusive.

Adaptation of the curriculum for the inclusion of learners with special education needs in selected primary schools in the Fort Beaufort District

ADEWUMI, Toyin M.
REMBE, Symphorosa
SHUMBA, Jenny
AKINYEMI, Adeola
2017

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Background: There is need for ‘high-quality’ teachers who are equipped to meet the needs of all learners through provision of education for an inclusive society according to equal opportunities to all.


Objective: This paper investigates pockets of good practice in the adaptation of the curriculum for the inclusion of learners with special education needs (SEN) in selected primary schools in the Fort Beaufort District.


Method: The study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed a case study design. Eight teachers and 10 principals from 10 selected primary schools, 4 education district officials and 1 provincial official were interviewed. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected using document analysis and semi-structured interviews and were analysed thematically.


Result: The study established that teachers use methods relating to different teaching strategies, individual work, group work and extra work.


Conclusion: It was concluded that there are pockets of good practice of inclusion policy such as the use of different teaching strategies, individual work, group work and extra work for inclusion of learners with SEN in some of the selected primary schools in the poor rural context. The paper recommends adequate training for teachers in curriculum adaptation in order for all teachers to accommodate learners with SEN.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Disabilities on the Island of Roatán, Honduras

SCHNEIDER, Cornelia
2017

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Purpose: Roatán, a small island in Honduras, is home to six ethnic groups. Due to financial constraints, many children have limited access to schooling. This article is a study on teachers’ perceptions of disabilities and students with disabilities and inclusive education on the island.

 

Method: Twenty seven teachers working in public and private schools, and schools funded by the World Bank, were interviewed in March-April of 2014 in order to explore cultural and social representations of disabilities on the island.

 

Results: The findings show that many of the teachers’ representations can be analysed under the lens of different models of disability - the medical model, the social model, and a religious-moral model. Inclusive education is perceived less as a means of including children with disabilities in the regular classroom, and more as a method of creating institutions to take care of their needs.

 

Conclusion: There is a strong intersection of poverty, post-colonialism and disability which makes working under an inclusive lens very difficult for teachers. The cultural norms influence ideas of normalcy and disabilities, and the blame is on parents for having children with disabilities.

Parent Empowerment in Early Intervention Programmes of Children with Hearing Loss in Mumbai, India

KULKARNI, Kasturi Arun
GATHOO, Varsha Shrikant
2017

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Purpose: Since families are perceived to be active agents in the early intervention programmes of young children with disabilities, professionals ought to treat parents as equal partners and keep them informed and involved in various aspects of the intervention.  This study aimed to explore the areas in which parent empowerment is currently being facilitated in the early intervention centres for children with hearing loss.

 

Method: A qualitative research with conversational analysis was the approach used. Focus group discussions with the two primary stakeholders, namely parents and special educators, were held separately at five sites in Mumbai, to gather their views on the existing areas of empowerment. It was also decided to explore the felt needs of parents in this regard. Person triangulation was used to ascertain the credibility of the data.

 

Results: Conversational analysis yielded 4 themes with respect to parents: Parental knowledge, involvement, support and needs. 

 

Conclusion and Implications: The study highlighted the gaps in parent empowerment in the programmes undertaken by early intervention centres.  A recommendation is made to develop a common framework for empowering parents. It is envisaged that such a framework will bridge the gap between what currently exists for parents, their felt needs, and current global practices.  This framework could also assist in measuring family empowerment outcomes.

Analysis of Bibliography on Specific Learning Disability in India

VENKATESAN, S
2017

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Aim: This study attempts a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of un-annotated bibliographic listing of books and citations compiled on specific learning disability published by researchers in India.

 

Method: An online and offline survey covering ISSN journals and ISBN marked books available in print or electronic media was compiled, coded, categorized, and classified by title, theme, year, journals, and names of author/s.

 

Results: The bibliographic search yielded 450 research articles drawn from 196 national and international journals of Indian origin and 29 book titles on the topic of learning disability and/or its equivalents covering themes related to their nature-characteristic (N: 184; 40.89%), therapy-intervention (N: 115; 25.56%), causes-correlates (N: 57; 12.67%), screening-assessment-identification (N: 52; 11.56 %), and epidemiology-prevalence (N: 42; 9.33%).  A decade wise timeline analysis shows an increasing trend in the quantum of publications on learning disability by almost four times from the base years of <=1990s to the contemporary period, along with corresponding shift in the increased use of the term ‘learning disability’ in preference for other older terms (p:<0.05).  

 

Conclusion: On the whole, there seems to be much unused information available about learning disabilities in the country, which now lies widely scattered.

 

Limitations & Recommendation: Although no claim is made that the bibliographic listing is all inclusive, it is recommended that the first step is to have an information gathering mechanism, creation of a dynamic repository, or archival system with retrieval systems in place for prospective researchers on a subject matter of great importance  within the country. 

Still left behind: Pathways to inclusive education for girls with disabilities

ABU AL-GHAIB, Ola
ANDRAE, Karen
GONDWE, Rachel
LEONARD CHESHIRE DISABILITY
June 2017

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This progress review aims to: provide a synthesis of the understanding of the additional barriers that girls with disabilities face in education; highlight effective or promising approaches and programmes addressing these barriers, including policies and legislation; point to gaps in evidence; and provide recommendations on a way forward. An internet search of relevant grey and academic literature on gender-responsive inclusive education was carried out. A search of websites of (inter) national non-governmental organisations, donors, and research institutions on the subject of gender-responsive inclusive education was conducted. In addition, requests for information on gender-responsive inclusive education interventions were submitted to platforms such as the Pelican Initiative and the Gender and Development Network UK. Subsequent referral to contact persons was followed up via email and phone with requests for sharing of studies, evaluations, progress reports, and other relevant documents of interventions.

Support and guidance for the report provided by UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI)

Towards a new directional turn? Directors with cognitive disabilities

SCHMIDT, Yvonne
2017

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Drawing from my first-hand observations and embodied experiences of having collaborated with HORA over the course of several years, this paper discusses an under-investigated area within the field of disability and performance: pioneering work by directors and with learning or cognitive disabilities, an area which has not yet been addressed in the expanding field of disability and performance studies.

Th e Search for Successful Inclusion

KARLSUDD, Peter Ingemar
2017

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Purpose: This study primarily aimed to find the factors which can facilitate or, alternatively, hinder inclusion efforts.

 

Method: Results from a number of student theses, which dealt with common issues in the area of inclusion of pupils with special needs, were brought together systematically. The method has been called area-delimited meta-study, where increased validity and generalisability are expected to strengthen development at the schools where the thesis work is carried out. A total of 18 thesis projects with a representation of 24 classrooms were included. The results of these projects have been categorised with the help of two models, positive and negative labelling, as well as inner and outer inclusion capital.

 

Results: The respondents in the various studies were quite positive towards inclusion. The teachers stated that inclusion offers a range of possibilities even if problems often occur during implementation. For efforts to succeed, personnel should internalise the values intrinsic to inclusion. Staff knowledge, perception and empathy are examples of the inner inclusion capital necessary to achieve the goal of inclusion. Courage, self-confidence and self-awareness are additional factors that are essential for success. Outer inclusion capital such as clear leadership and effective teamwork are conditions that promote inclusion.

 

Conclusion: Based on the results, it would be logical to invest in the positive labelling factors that are identified and at the same time work towards minimising the negative factors. The work can be further developed with area-delimited meta-studies, and future thesis projects could be initiated with a structure that is more participatory and action-oriented.

 

Limitations: One problem in evaluating the circumstances around inclusion is that the respondents' interpretation of the definition of the word inclusion may vary. Even the experience of how inclusion works can differ between the teachers involved in the study. Despite these difficulties, the overall results provide a robust picture of the problems and opportunities that fit within the area. Differences in teacher interpretation could also be an important element for the research.

Exploration of the academic lives of students with disabilities at South African universities: Lecturers’ perspectives

MUTANGA, Oliver
WALKER, Melanie
2017

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Background: A decade has passed since South Africa signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a human rights treaty that protects the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. However, not much have changed for students with disabilities.


Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore lecturers’ experiences with, and perspectives on, disability as well as with students with disabilities. It was hoped that this would contribute to the ongoing policy debates about diversity, inclusion and support for students with disabilities at universities.


Methods: In an effort to understand the lives of students with disabilities better, a study which included students with disabilities, lecturers and disability supporting staff was conducted at two South African universities – University of the Free State and University of Venda. The paper takes a snapshot view of four lecturers and their perceptions of the lives of students with disabilities at their respective universities.


Results and Conclusion: Although most disability literature report students with disabilities blaming lecturers for their failure to advance their needs, this paper highlights that the education system needs to be supportive to lecturers for the inclusive agenda to be realised. An argument is made for a more comprehensive approach towards a national disability policy in higher education involving many stakeholders. Without a broader understanding of disability, it will be difficult to engage with the complex ways in which inequalities emerge and are sustained.

Inclusive Education Booklets and Webinars

UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office
February 2017

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With the view to promoting Inclusive Education systems, the UNICEF RO for CEE/CIS in collaboration with the Education and Disability Sections at HQ, has developed a cohesive set of products related to Inclusive Education, products that will support the capacity development of UNICEF staff and provide them with a set of materials that can be used in the field. Below you can find a series of webinars and companion booklets, each dedicated to a specific thematic area, under the overall title of A Rights-Based Approach to Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities.

The series is intended to provide practical guidance to UNICEF staff and their partners on the issues of Inclusive Education with a focus on children with disabilities, by exploring specific concerns, policy and implementation issues specific to thematic areas. The webinars provide the audience with the necessary tools and references to guide further study, and determine the capacity development needs of each country. Each webinar and its companion booklet was developed by an expert on a specific thematic area.

Educational inclusion and critical neuroscience: friends or foes?

BILLINGTON, Tom
2017

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Momentum is continuing to grow in the circulation of neuroscientific discourse, informing aspects of how we live but affecting too how we think about education and learning. Neurologically informed intrusions into education frequently align with psychology which has until now largely adopted a ‘medical model’, supporting policies and practices which ultimately invoke psychopathology and arguably render individual young people more vulnerable to various forms of social and educational exclusion. This paper urges caution in respect of understandings of educational neuroscience that focus on individual deficits and diagnoses. Rather it holds in mind the broader historical context for neuroscience and its implications for our understandings of what it is to be human in the twenty first century and thereafter for education and learning. Theoretical resources from critical and affective neuroscience but also critical educational psychology are brought together specifically to support the principles of inclusionist policies and practices in education.

Inclusive education in Iceland

ONNUDOTTIR, Hildur Kristiana
2017

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The small population of Iceland made the creation of a segregated special needs school system a practical impossibility and the right of children to be educated within their community was ensured in the 1970s. When the policy of inclusive education was introduced in 2008 it encountered little resistance or concern, many believed that implementation would be simple. Yet, in a governmental report in 2014 it was revealed that only 32% of parents and 44% of teachers agreed that the policy of inclusive education had improved the education system. An interview with a Basic Education School teacher in Iceland added context to the statistics and provided a vital insight into what teachers feel that they need for inclusive education to be successful. 

Satellite classes: A promising model for educating children and young people on the autism spectrum

CROYDEN, Abigail
et al
2017

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Results of research into attempts to provide the best of both mainstream and specialist education for autistic children are presented. The ‘satellite class’ model of supported inclusion is where the strengths of a special school education are kept in place for selected autistic pupils as they transfer to dedicated classes within mainstream ‘host schools’. The schools studied were all within the London borough of Tower Hamlets, UK.

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