Access to Education for Children with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability in South Africa: The Potential and Limits of Social Action

2018 ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Wood ◽  
Fatima Essop ◽  
Brian Watermeyer ◽  
Judith McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Access To Education

scholarly journals ‘I Waited for It until Forever’: Community Barriers to Accessing Intellectual Disability Services for Children and Their Families in Cape Town, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 8504
Author(s):  
Siyabulela Mkabile ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Disability Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Children With Intellectual Disability

Background: Intellectual disability is more common in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Stigma and discrimination have contributed to barriers to people with intellectual disability accessing healthcare. As part of a larger study on caregiving of children with intellectual disability in urban Cape Town, South Africa, we interviewed a sub-group of families who had never used the intellectual disability services available to them, or who had stopped using them. Methods: We employed a qualitative research design and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the views and perspectives of parents and caregivers of children with intellectual disability who are not using specialised hospital services. We developed an interview guide to help explore caregivers’ and parents’ views. Results: Results revealed that caregivers and parents of children with intellectual disability did not use the intellectual disability service due to financial difficulties, fragile care networks and opportunity costs, community stigma and lack of safety, lack of faith in services and powerlessness at effecting changes and self-stigmatisation. Conclusion: Current findings highlight a need for increased intervention at community level and collaboration with community-based projects to facilitate access to services, and engagement with broader issues of social exclusion.

scholarly journals Die gestremde as werknemer: Werkgewerperspektief

1988 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 175-181
Author(s):  
Rene Uys ◽  
N. P. Du Preez
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Equal Chance ◽  
Handicapped People ◽  
Education Training

An extensive research project with a response rate of 35% was undertaken under various companies in South Africa. The purpose of the project was to determine the attitude of employers in the open labour market towards disableds as employees. The researchers also wanted to determine the extend whereto disableds are employed within the labour market, as well as what their application and work successes are. In addition the research will focus on the various disabilities, and persons' abilities, training and expectations. The viewpoint of the research project is that today in the era of self-determination handicapped people do not want to be hired because they are handicapped. Nor do they want to be denied a job because of their handicap. Rather, they want to be treated as any other person. They want an equal chance to demonstrate their abilities and to live up to their potential. They want equal access to education, training and employment. They want to prove that they are people who can do the work and they want others to stop thinking about their handicapping condition.'n Omvangryke navorsingsprojek, waarop die responskoers 35% was, is in samewerking met ondernemings in Suid-Afrika gedoen. Die doel was om te bepaal wat die gesindheid van die werkgewer in die ope-arbeidsmark teenoor die gestremde as werknemer is. Die navorsers wou ook bepaal tot watter mate gestremdes in die ope-arbeidsmark in diens geneem word, die mate van hulle aanwending en wat hul werkprestasies is. Daar word gepoog om te bepaal wat die onderskeie gestremdhede en persone se vermoens, vaardighede, opleiding en bepaalde verwagtinge is. Die uitgangspunt van die navorsingsprojek is dat die gestremde in vandag se 'gelykegeleenthede-omgewing' nie in diens geneem wil word omdat hulle gestremd is nie, maar hulle wil ook nie 'n pos geweier word as gevolg van hul gestremdheid nie. Hulle wil eerder op dieselfde wyse as alle ander werknemers hanteer word. Hulle wit gelyke geleenthede he om hulle vermoens en vaardighede uit te leef en om hulle potensiaal ten voile te benut. Hulle wit gelyke geleenthede tot opvoeding, opleiding en indiensname he. Hulle wil bewys dat hulle wel die werk kan doen en hulle wil he dat ander moet ophou konsentreer op hul gestremdheid en dit wat hulle nie kan doen nie.

Citizenship, Social Justice, and Evolving Conceptions of Access to Education in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Diane Hill ◽  
Jean Baxen ◽  
Anne T. Craig ◽  
Halima Namakula
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Access To Education

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Digital Transformation of Education: What We Are Learning in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Access

The study sought to gauge the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in unleashing digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. In order to gauge the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the 4IR tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources, mainly newspaper articles, magazines and peer-reviewed journals. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote learning (online learning). These observations point to the fact that South Africa generally has, some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, there is an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these to technologies improve access.

Putting cultural difference in its place: Barriers to access to health services for parents of children with intellectual disability in an urban African setting

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110431
Author(s):  
Siyabulela Mkabile ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Barriers To Access ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Hostile Environments ◽  
African Setting ◽  
Children With Intellectual Disability

Background: Access to appropriate specialist level services for children with intellectual disability is challenging in Africa, with very few services available. Much literature on the utilisation of services by carers of children with intellectual disability in Africa emphasises the supposed incompatibility between indigenous and western beliefs, failing to identify more obvious, embodied barriers to access to care. Method: As part of a study on children with intellectual disability in Cape Town, South Africa, we interviewed caregivers regarding the difficulties in accessing care, specifically the complex, expensive and time-consuming travelling routes from home to care. Results: Caregivers discussed the embodied difficulties accessing care. Everyday struggles with transport, and crowded, dangerous and hostile environments were identified as barriers to care. Conclusion: These challenges are often overlooked in the literature, in favour of an emphasis on cultural difference. This dualistic view of the world may obscure more obvious reasons why people find it difficult to use services, even when they are available.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Digital Transformation of Education: What Are We Learning on 4IR in South Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mhlanga ◽  
Tankiso Moloi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Access

The study sought to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in motivating digital transformation in the education sector in South Africa. The study was premised on the fact that learning in South Africa and the rest of the world came to a standstill due to the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19. To assess the impact, the study tracked the rate at which the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) tools were used by various institutions during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were obtained from secondary sources. The findings are that, in South Africa, during the lockdown, a variety of 4IR tools were unleashed from primary education to higher and tertiary education where educational activities switched to remote (online) learning. These observations reflect that South Africa generally has some pockets of excellence to drive the education sector into the 4IR, which has the potential to increase access. Access to education, particularly at a higher education level, has always been a challenge due to a limited number of spaces available. Much as this pandemic has brought with it massive human suffering across the globe, it has presented an opportunity to assess successes and failures of deployed technologies, costs associated with them, and scaling these technologies to improve access.

scholarly journals A Reformed perspective on the concept of the ‘common good’ and its relevance for social action in South Africa today

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakobus M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
South African Society ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Positive Assessment ◽  
The Common

This article investigates the idea of the ‘common good’ from a Classic Reformed perspective and the possibilities raised by a fresh approach to the concept for social action by civil society in South Africa today. The central theoretical argument of this article is that the new interest in the concept of natural law, as became evident in modern-day moral reflection in the Classic Reformed moral teaching, can indeed contribute to a new positive assessment of the concept common good and can provide a valuable framework for the foundation of reformed social action in cooperation with civil society in South Africa today. Firstly, the concept is discussed within the framework of the reformed idea of ‘natural law’ and the argument concludes with the finding that the concept can be accommodated in Reformed Theology. Secondly, a case is made for the cooperation between churches, other religious institutions and the broader civil society to cooperate on the basis of the common good and global ethics to address three areas of serious concern in the South African society. These are the promotion of the idea of human dignity within the social sphere with special reference to racism, xenophobia and sexism as well as the development of family life and family values, and the advancement of the idea of neighbourliness as a core ingredient of social healing and reconciliation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document