Barriers to education for persons with disabilities and proposed intervention.

1. Inadequate access to formal education by
persons with disabilities, challenges, effects
and needs, interventions
A PRESENTATION TO THE; DISABILITY AND SOCIAL WORK CLASS
NAME OF STUDENT: AYISHETU MIKEY IDDRISU INDEX NUMBER: 10936132
COURSE LECTURER: DR. AUGUSTINA NAAMI
COURSE CODE: SOWK 714
DATE: 16/08/2022

2. Perspectives on disability
 Disability is an interaction between individuals with health conditions
with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes,
inaccessible transport, public buildings and limited social support
(WHO,2022)
 Limitations that are imposed on person with disability by an ableist
society.
 Persons with disability(PWDs) though may share common social barriers
they are a heterogeneous group of people with unique experiences and
needs(Lee, 2002).
 Estimation by WHO, PWDs account for 10% of every population
2

3. Background:
 The impact of government efforts in addressing educational barriers has been
generally successful for non-disable people and girls but not for children with
disabilities MOE, 2016).
 Various modules of educating children with disability have been implemented in
the past but not successfully addressed the multiplicity of barriers confronting
PWDs.
 Many anti-discriminations laws and policies( inclusive education policy) exist in
Ghana (MOE,2016) but their implementation is a challenge (Sackey, E. (2014).
 Lack of political will is a major barriers
3

4. Inclusive education Policy 4
, IE is about ensuring access and learning for
all children …children with special needs and
those with disabilities.
The IE policy locates inclusion as a part of
the wider reform of the education system, to
the communities in which learners live to
ensure that they.
Increasing accessing to participation and
learning as a rights issue
MOE,2016
Hunt & Mikey (2015 ppt. 10)

5. Barriers to implementation of IE policy
Inadequate accountability and political will towards
the implementation of the policy
5

6. CHALLENGES IN THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES : An overview
• Negative beliefs E.g. Uneducable,
atonement for sins,
• Stigmatisation
• Bullying and violence
Attitudinal
• Environmental: Physical building ,
roads & transport, and school
environment
Environmental
• Communication: Alternative communication
• Exclusion from mainstream education
• Inadequate support services
• No options for non academic inclined
learners in curriculum
• Over burdening parents-inadequate social
protection support
• Inadequate/ non implementation of disability
laws
Institutional:
informal &
formal norms
favour non-
disabled
6
Educational
Access,
retention
and
transition
Challenges

7. Some Facts
 One in five age six to 24-year with disability have never been to
school;
 Almost 25 billion children who are out of school globally, CWD 50%
rising to 90% in low and middle income country context;
 Disable people constitute 10 times those who are less likely to go to
school compared to the non-disabled (UNICEF,2018).
 Girls/women spend less years in school than men disability are (
denied all of formal schooling. (Tijm, Cornielje and Eduse, 2011).
 Children with ‘intellectual disabilities’ are considered uneducable
(Oliver and Barnes,2010)
7

8. IMPACT OF EXCLUDING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITY
FROM EDUCATION
Unemployment /livelihoods- Diversity in the work place (
Naami,2022)
There is a strong link between formal education and political
participation of persons with disability (Sackey, 2015).
Inaccessible physical environment leaves people with
disabilities and especially those with mobility challenges with
limited options for mobility. (Naami, 2019)
8

9. IMPACT OF EXCLUDING CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITY FROM EDUCATION
 Violence and abuses against children with disability especially
those with intellectual; disabilities;
 Exclusion and inadequate education can harm their bodies and
for some persons with disability inadequate education can
affect their cognitive development (Shakespeare, 2015).
 For Lack of knowledge, education and the confidence to
confront perpetrators, disabled women often become
entrenched in a cycle of violence within families, communities
and in workspaces and educational institutions
(Shakespear,2015)
9

10. Enabling legal environment National and International Commitments
United National Convention on Rights of person with Disabilities 2006
Dakar Framework for Action (2000)
Salamanca statement and framework for action (UNESCO, 1994)
United National convention on the rights of the child (1990)
World Declaration on Education for all, Jomtein (1990)
Standard rules on the equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with
disabilities(UN,1993)
1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana Article 25(1) equal access to
education
Children’s Act,198. Act 506
The Disability Act, 2006. Act 715
MoE (2016) Inclusive Education Policy
MoE (2016) Standards and guidelines for practice of Inclusive Education
10
National
Commitmen
t

11. 11
Existing systems and structures for
for Inclusive education
Ministry of
Education
GES…..
Special education,
Guidance and
counselling, school
health ….
Min. of Gender
children and
social
protection
(Social Welfare)
CHRAJ
National
Commission on
children
Ghana Health
Services
Parents /community
/ School
management
structures
Special schools as
assessment centres
….
Hospitals
DIET ( district
inclusive education
teams in some areas)

12. What has been done?
 Curriculum reforms for both teacher training and basic education
 Quality standards for Colleges of education improved to include gender equity and
disability inclusion. (Supported by Tertiary Education Council and National Accreditation
Authority/ Transforming Teacher education and learning programme, UNICEF)
 MoE standards for Inclusive design developed
 Some trainings delivered for universities, for cascading to colleges ( NTC, Dec,2021)
 Some trainings for basic school teachers (GES, Special education division, )
 Awareness raising
12

13. IMPACT OF THE CHALLENGE
13

14. NEEDS FOR INTERVENTION
14

15. Actors to act on their responsibilities and account to
citizens in the following areas of needs;
 Alternative educational options for non-academically;
 Enabling attitudes in schools and related systems including
community ;
 learner friendly (violence free, accessible environment,
welcoming staff and pupils) school environment for enhancing
the quality of education for all learners;
 Well-informed and trained human resource cadre for the
quality delivery of IE throughout Ghana;
 Funding/partnerships: Knowledge of parents about D.A
common fund, Allocation of 2% budget of education to IE, e.g.
Assistive devices, and technologies, mobility aids.
(Ministry of Education, 2016)
15

16. What intervention have potentials to transform IE policy into
action
 The interventions focused on promoting inclusion through community and school
reform in India: yield positive outcomes on attendances of CWDs, improve infrastructure
access effective response to students with disability and social relations.
 Interventions for developing action items for IE can involve different groups of
government workers, community members, teachers and parents with measurable
positive outcomes for inclusion.
 Community engagement to expand student with disabilities yielded results at
multiple level in Viet Nam- including awareness, development of local
infrastructure, quality of teaching and family support (Villa et al., 2003). These
programs provide opportunities for multiple stakeholders to be involved and for
goals to be context-specific.
Mendoza et.al. 2022)
16

17. BEST PRACTICES
 Clearly defined IE policy. Decentralization of service provision.
 Meso level
Programmes that help establish the roles and responsibilities of national and
local bodies (public sector, NGOs) and accountability factors to support the
leap from policy to reality.
17

18. Background to intervention
 Inclusive education policy exist in Ghana and has been implemented since
2016 but this has not translated into inclusion in schools.
 Extent of implementation is unknown as the impact study is still not in the
public domain. Many barriers still exist
 The policy contains actors and their responsibilities
 promote bottom up and top down approach to social accountability for
disability inclusive education and improve access to services
18

19. INTERVENTION:
Accounting for ThisAbilities in
schools
19

20. Good practice in inclusive education
 Increasingly, parents are assisting in schools which their children with
disability attend, adding input to assessment as well as selecting content
and activities for the child, sitting on school boards and parents’ councils
to contribute to school inclusion policy (for example in Kosovo,
Montenegro, Macedonia) and enabling a level of accountability in the
system.
 Engaging Citizens to Improve Service Delivery through Social
Accountability Project for Cambodia:
 Led to improve quality and responsiveness of selected public services through
more informed and engaged citizens. The project comprises of five
components. The first component, transparency and access to information
aims to strengthen transparency and citizen access to, and demand for,
public service performance..
20

21. Strategies
The overall strategy rest on an Action research on
perspectives on inclusive education policy
 Strategic area one – Community mobilisation for
disability Inclusive education
 Strategic area two – Capacity building for accountability
for disability inclusive education
 Strategic area three: Information Dissemination (through
e.g town halls meetings: community and district level and
other forums @ regional and national)
 Strategy area Four: Disability awareness
21

22. Purpose
 To improve social accountability to aid the implementation of
the IE strategies.
 To improve access of children with disabilities to formal
education at the basic school level by enabling relevant
actors(duty bearers and partners) to take proactive step to
help implement the policy
 Central to the process is to help in influencing change in
peoples mindset about CWD so that they can champion their
inclusion in community schools.
22

23. Targets for intervention
 Community level: School management committee and co-opted member of community
example representative of DPOs, student, Care giver, chief/elder/queen mothers,
representation trades association, Teacher, religious leaders
 District level : Representative of district Assembly, NGOs in education or social services
 Regional level: Regional NGO Network on education, rep regional education directorate,
Regional coordinating council , UNICED
 National level : National house of chiefs, NGOs, GES, MOE, NGOs in Education etc
23

24. INTERVENTION STRATEGY
Behaviour change model for implementation of IE policy for children with disability
Strategies
 Community mobilisation
 Conduct action research(AR) in selected communities to building a sense of urgency and
responsibility towards implementation of the policy.
Activities/outputs
A. Develop implementation plans, monitor, reflect and feedback
B. Identify capacity needs & implement capacity building plans
D. Use plans to engage with duty bearers at district regional/national level to build
consensus on expectations
Note:
Use action research process and other fora to build awareness and change mindset and negative attitudes towards
persons with disabilities. This will enable us have shared meaning and channel a common cause for disability inclusive
schools and community .
24

25. Strengthen bottom up and top down social accountability
measures for implementation of IE for persons with
disabilities
 Convene town hall meetings or to feedback and seek
input and re-energise communities and stakeholder
at district
 Promote demand for accountability all level
 Duty bearers are accountable for the
implementation of the policy.
 Number of stakeholders executing their mandates as
spelt out in the policy.
25

26. Outcomes
 Stronger demand and capacity at the grassroots level for
more equitable education.
 Sustained participation in Action research and other
related process by relevant actors at all levels
 Direct changes in the school and related services in
responding to the needs of children with disabilities.
 Parents of children with disabilities take active interest in
the education of their children and participates in
relevant processes in the school.
 Children with disabilities attending school.
26

27.  The job of transforming the entire society and the educational
system requires all hands on deck.
 The main barriers to the education of children with disabilities
exist because you, some one and I are not performing our
responsibilities
 Transforming behaviors around accountability, will result in
actors fulfilling their mandates and consequently leading to
the attainment of the objective of the IE policy for persons
with disabilities.
 As leaders, we hold the key to their abilities, lets account for
them by being fulfilling our responsibilities !
27
Conclusion

28. REFERENCES LIST
 Asante L., A, and Sasu A. (2015) The Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) of the Republic of Ghana:
The Law, Omissions and Recommendations. Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization. 36. www.iiste.org ISSN
2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259
 Hunt & Mikey (2015 ppt. 10) Presentation to the curriculum writters.
 Joy online News (2022). Living with cerebral palsy: single father care for son with cerebral palsy after mother
abandoned them (Video).
https://www.facebook.com/joynewsOnTV/videos/7802666931/?flite=scwspnss&mibextid=M76Sm26N&14
m0QTI
 Lee, P. ( 2002) Shooting for the moon: politics and Disability at the beginning of the 21st Century. 139-161 in
Disability Studies Today (Ed) Barnes C., Oliver M., and Barton L. Blackwell publishers, USA.
 MoE, 2015 National pre-tertiary curriculum framework.
 Naami, A. (2019) Access barriers encountered by persons with mobility disabilities in Accra, Ghana. Journal
of Social Inclusion, 10(2).
 Ocran, J. (2019). Exposing the protected: Ghana’s disability laws and the rights of disabled people. Disability
& Society, 34(4), 663–668. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2018.1556491
 Oliver, M. (2013). The social model of disability: thirty years on. Disability & Society, 28(7), 1024–1026.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.818773
 Oliver, M., & Barnes, C. (2010). Disability studies, disabled people and the struggle for inclusion. British
Journal of Sociology of Education, 31(5), 547–560. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2010.500088
28

29. REFERENCES LIST
 Priyanka, S. & Samia, K (2018) Barriers to Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Schools of Jammu. The
International Journal of Indian Psychology, 6(1)
 Mendoza M., & Heymann J.(2022) Implementation of Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review of Studies of Inclusive Education
Interventions in Low- and Lower Middle-Income Countries. International journal of disability, development and education.
 Shakespeare, T. (2015). Disability Research Today: International Perspectives (1st ed.) [E-book]. Routledge
 Sackey, E. (2014). Disability and political participation in Ghana: an alternative perspective. Scandinavian Journal of Disability
Research, 17(4), 366–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/15017419.2014.941925
 Tijm, M. M., Cornielje, H., & Edusei, A. K. (2011). ‘Welcome to My Life!’ Photovoice: Needs Assessment of, and by, Persons with
Physical Disabilities in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 22(1), 55.
https://doi.org/10.5463/dcid.v22i1.12
 Tudzi, E. P., Bugri, J. T., & Danso, A. K. (2017). Human Rights of Students with Disabilities in Ghana: Accessibility of the University
Built Environment. Nordic Journal of Human Rights, 35(3), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/18918131.2017.1348678
 UNICEF, 2018. Ensuring every child with special needs have access to quality education.
 World Health Organisation (2022) Disability. accessed from https://www.who.int
 World Health Organisation (2020) Disability-Inclusive Health Services Toolkit: A Resource for Health Facilities in the
Western Pacific Region;
29