scholarly journals Preparation of students with disabilities to graduate into professions in the South African context of higher learning: Obstacles and opportunities

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibonokuhle Ndlovu ◽  
Elizabeth Walton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The South ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Education Support ◽  
Professional Degrees

Background: Persons with disabilities continue to be excluded from professions in South Africa despite legislation on non-discrimination and equity. Objectives: We sought to identify both the opportunities and obstacles that students with disabilities face in professional degrees. Method: Selected texts from the South African and international literature were analysed and synthesised. Results: Students with disabilities are afforded opportunities to graduate into professions through the current climate of transformation, inclusion and disability policies, various support structures and funding. These opportunities are mitigated by obstacles at both the higher education site and at the workplace. At university, they may experience difficulties in accessing the curriculum, disability units may be limited in the support they can offer, policies may not be implemented, funding is found to be inadequate and the built environment may be inaccessible. Fieldwork poses additional obstacles in terms of public transport which is not accessible to students with disabilities; a lack of higher education support extended to the field sites, and buildings not designed for access by people with disabilities. At both sites, students are impacted by negative attitudes and continued assumptions that disability results from individual deficit, rather than exclusionary practices and pressures. Conclusion: It is in the uniqueness of professional preparation, with its high demands of both theory and practice that poses particular obstacles for students with disabilities. We argue for the development of self-advocacy for students with disabilities, ongoing institutional and societal transformation and further research into the experiences of students with disabilities studying for professional degrees.

scholarly journals Wheelchair users, access and exclusion in South African higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desire Chiwandire ◽  
Louise Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Wheelchair Users ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The Right

Background: South Africa’s Constitution guarantees everyone, including persons with disabilities, the right to education. A variety of laws are in place obliging higher education institutions to provide appropriate physical access to education sites for all. In practice, however, many buildings remain inaccessible to people with physical disabilities.Objectives: To describe what measures South African universities are taking to make their built environments more accessible to students with diverse types of disabilities, and to assess the adequacy of such measures.Method: We conducted semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews with disability unit staff members (DUSMs) based at 10 different public universities in South Africa.Results: Challenges with promoting higher education accessibility for wheelchair users include the preservation and heritage justification for failing to modify older buildings, ad hoc approaches to creating accessible environments and failure to address access to toilets, libraries and transport facilities for wheelchair users.Conclusion: South African universities are still not places where all students are equally able to integrate socially. DUSMs know what ought to be done to make campuses more accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities and should be empowered to play a leading role in sensitising non-disabled members of universities, to create greater awareness of, and appreciation for, the multiple ways in which wheelchair user students continue to be excluded from full participation in university life. South African universities need to adopt a systemic approach to inclusion, which fosters an understanding of inclusion as a fundamental right rather than as a luxury.

The Inclusion and Support of Students With Disabilities in the South African Higher Education System

2022 ◽  
pp. 1295-1310
Author(s):  
Sithabile Ntombela ◽  
Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Social Model ◽  
The South ◽  
Social Model Of Disability ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Higher Education

The intention of this chapter is to contribute to the scholarship of diversity, equity, and inclusivity in contemporary higher education. Its purpose is to develop an understanding of pedagogical issues concerning the inclusion and support of students with disabilities in the South African higher education system through literature review. The chapter will contribute to debate on policy imperatives and how these have informed practice, the social model of disability and its role in shaping educational provision, access and support constraints as products of intersectionality of disability and disablement, and possible ways to re-culture higher education for support.

The Inclusion and Support of Students With Disabilities in the South African Higher Education System

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-210
Author(s):  
Sithabile Ntombela ◽  
Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Social Model ◽  
The South ◽  
Social Model Of Disability ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Higher Education

The intention of this chapter is to contribute to the scholarship of diversity, equity, and inclusivity in contemporary higher education. Its purpose is to develop an understanding of pedagogical issues concerning the inclusion and support of students with disabilities in the South African higher education system through literature review. The chapter will contribute to debate on policy imperatives and how these have informed practice, the social model of disability and its role in shaping educational provision, access and support constraints as products of intersectionality of disability and disablement, and possible ways to re-culture higher education for support.

Students With Disabilities' Learning in South African Higher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 148-162
Author(s):  
Sibonokuhle Ndlovu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Normative Practices ◽  
South African Higher Education ◽  
Professional Degrees ◽  
Systems Of Domination ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter discusses how the normative practices and structures ‘disables' students with disabilities in their learning in the context of the South African higher education. Empirically, examples from the students' lived experienced have been drawn from the previous study that has been conducted in one institution of higher education, which is a privileged space, by virtue of being formerly advantaged. Data combines available literature on normativity and disablement of students with disabilities and empirical data, which were collected through interviews with students with disabilities studying specific professional degrees. Decolonial theory informed deeper understanding of the cause of normative assumptions and consequently disablement of students with disabilities. Literature and lived experiences of students with disabilities reveal that despite efforts of disruption normativity and disablement have continued to be reproduced at different levels because systems of domination are so durable and inventive.

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

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Mutanga ◽  
Melanie Walker
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Literature Report ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Academic Lives

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.

scholarly journals Designing a Model for Facilitating the Inclusion of Higher Education International Students with Disabilities in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-181
Author(s):  
Nina (HG) Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
International Students ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
African Students ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
Role Players

Higher education in South Africa is regulated by several policies, and the obligation of increased access and participation of persons with disabilities into higher education is recognized in legislation (Department of Education, 1997; Department of Higher Education and Training, 2013). However, research indicates that the proportion of students with disabilities in higher education and in study programmes abroad is still very low worldwide (Fazekas, 2017; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011). Study opportunities for these students in higher education institutions abroad, including South Africa, should therefore be increased to provide equal access and experience in an inclusive higher education environment. This study explores possible reasons for the low engagement of South African students with disabilities in international mobility programmes and the function of key role-players in supporting international students with disabilities studying in South Africa (incoming students) and South African students with disabilities studying abroad (outgoing students). This study also explores the ways by which the exchange process could be facilitated more effectively within the context of an inclusive higher education environment. Data on the support services offered to these students was obtained by means of questionnaires sent to the International Relations Offices and Disability Rights Units at higher education institutions in South Africa. The study culminated in the design of a model which specifies the roles of the various role-players in supporting international students with disabilities during their pre-departure, study and return phases.

scholarly journals The South African Redistribution Imperative: Incongruities in Theory and Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Sue-Mari Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The South ◽  
Slow Pace

Abstract It has partly been assumed that the constitutional obligation to pay compensation for expropriations is to blame for the slow pace at which land has been redistributed in South Africa. However, this assumption requires careful analysis and reflection, with reference to the imperfections of the policies and laws that set out to address landlessness, as well as the underlying theoretical approach to economic justice. This article questions the purpose for which land reform beneficiaries acquire land, with reference to the role that property should ideally fulfil for the landless. The article makes a number of observations to cast light on why the redistribution of land has been alarmingly slow, where inconsistencies and loopholes exist in the programme, and whether expropriations for nil compensation will make any difference in remedying existing failures in the redistribution programme.

scholarly journals ‘The fact that she just looked at me…’ – Narrations on shame in South African workplaces

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude-Hélène Mayer ◽  
Rian Viviers ◽  
Louise Tonelli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Work Context ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Health And Well Being

Orientation: Shame has been internationally researched in various cultural and societal contexts as well as across cultures in the workplace, schools and institutions of higher education. It is an emotional signal that refers to experienced incongruence of identity goals and the judgement of others.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to focus on experiences of shame in the South African (SA) workplace, to provide emic, in-depth insights into the experiences of shame of employees.Motivation for the study: Shame in the workplace often occurs and might impact negatively on mental health and well-being, capability, freedom and human rights. This article aims at gaining some in-depth understanding of shame experiences in SA workplaces. Building on this understanding the aim is to develop awareness in Industrial and Organisational Psychologists (IOPs), employees and organisations to cope with shame constructively in addition to add to the apparent void in the body of knowledge on shame in SA workplaces.Research design, approach and method: An interpretative hermeneutical research paradigm, based on Dilthey’s modern hermeneutics was applied. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 11 employees narrating their experiences from various workplaces, including the military, consulting organisations and higher education institutions. Content analysis was used for data analysis and interpretation.Main findings: The major themes around which shameful experiences evolved included loss of face, mistreatment by others, low work quality, exclusion, lifestyle and internalised shame on failure in the workplace. Shame is experienced as a disturbing emotion that impacts negatively on the self within the work context. It is also experienced as reducing mental health and well-being at work.Practical/managerial implications: SA organisations need to be more aware of shame in the workplace, to address the potential negative effects of shame on employees, particularly if they are not prepared to reframe shame into a constructively and positively used emotion. Safe spaces should be made available to talk about shame. Strategies should be applied to deal with shame constructively.Contribution/value-add: This article expands an in-depth understanding of shame from emic and culture-specific perspectives within SA workplaces. The findings are beneficial to IOPs and organisations to understand what shame is from the perspective of SA employees across cultural groups. The article thereby adds value to theory and practice, offering IOPs a deeper understanding of shame in the work context.

Regulatory mechanisms for ensuring accessibility, individualization and inclusion of vocational education for the disabled and people with disabilities in rural areas of Russia

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
V. G. Novikov ◽  
E. A. Gridasova ◽  
Yu. A. Kulikova ◽  
S. A. Gorokhov
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Disabled

The article deals with the issues of legal regulation of ensuring accessibility of higher education for the disabled and people with disabilities. The relevance of obtaining agricultural education in the Russian Federation, which should be as close as possible to the main consumer — the rural population, is emphasized. The openness of agricultural education to the needs of rural residents will help reduce migration fl ows and preserve young people in rural areas. Attention is drawn to the fact that obtaining agricultural education is possible and accessible not only for people without disabilities, but also for people with disabilities. The advantage of providing higher agricultural education to this category of rural residents is that they are not aimed at migration, they live permanently and for a long time in a certain territory. The review of the current legal acts regulating the issues of accessibility and training in higher education organizations for persons with disabilities and persons with disabilities is presented. The article analyzes current trends in the legal fi eld of inclusive education. The article considers the concept and legal status of disabled people and students with disabilities, the concept of inclusive education and the requirement for its implementation at all levels, including higher education.

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