Sub-Theme: Disability and Literacy Topic: Why most children and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A PAPER PRESENTATION AT THE 2ND NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LITERACY HELD AT SILVER SPRING- BUGOLOBI ON 12TH MARCH 2014.

Sub-Theme: Disability and Literacy Topic: Why most children and young people with disabilitjes are not able to acquire literacy skills and the efgect this has on their lives.

By Kazinda Generous 2014

Purpose

• To create awareness as to why most children

and young people with disabilitjes are not able to acquire literacy skills.

• To highlight the efgect this has on the life of

children and young people with disabilitjes.

Disability

• Persons with disabilitjes include those with long term physical,

mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interactjon with various barriers may hinder their full and efgectjve partjcipatjon in society on equal basis with others(UN Conventjon for Rights for Persons with Disabilitjes (2006).

• Natjonal Council for Disability Act (2003) and Natjonal Policy
• n Disability in Uganda(2006), defjne Disability as a

permanent and substantjal functjonal limitatjon in the performance of daily life actjvitjes caused by physical, mental

• r sensory impairments and environmental barriers resultjng

in limited partjcipatjon by the individuals.

Literacy

• Is one’s ability to read and write any piece of writjng.
• Literacy constjtutes the four major skills namely;

listening, speaking, reading and writjng where listening and reading are referred to as receptjve while speaking and writjng as expressive/productjve skills.

• For persons with disabilitjes, however, this ability is

always hampered by various existjng impairments , which call for suitable and appropriate adaptatjons.

Background

• World Bank, estjmated that 10% world’s populatjon live with a physical,

sensory (blindness, deafness), intellectual or mental health disability.

• The 2009/10 Uganda Natjonal Household Survey estjmates 16% of the

populatjon, equivalent to 5.2million, have a disability.

• UNESCO(1990) estjmated that perhaps 97% of people with disabilitjes had

either never seen the inside of a classroom or had lefu school too early to have mastered basic literacy skills

• In developing countries, there is low literacy rate for adults with disabilitjes

possibly as low as 3% overall and 1% women with disabilitjes UNESCO(1990).

• In Uganda, people with disability are living in poverty because they have

encountered so many problems in completjng their basic primary educatjon, which is further compounded by the lack of ability in securing long-term and sustainable employment.(The Disability Scoping Study,2009)

Government Initjatjves

The Uganda Government did not posses any legislatjon as regards to the educatjon of persons with disability untjl 1980s. Since then, some initjatjves have been put in place to advocate for the educatjon

• pportunitjes of learners with disabilitjes. For

example,

For example:

Introductjon of UPE in 1997 and USE in 2007 Educatjon Act of 2008 making educatjon compulsory for all primary school age going children Development of the Thematjc Curriculum for P1 – P3 Development of Pre-service and In- service training for SNE teachers at Kyambogo University(KYU) Creatjon of department of SNE/C and G at MoES SNE desks at Natjonal Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC)

SNE desk at Directorate of Educatjon Standards (DES) SNE desk at Uganda Natjonal Examinatjons Board (UNEB) District Inspector of Schools (DIS) responsible for SNE Recognitjon of special schools and provision of some SNE teachers

Initjatjves contjnued

SNE units within mainstream schools for children with sensory impairments or severe disabilitjes Numbers of disabled children monitored through Educatjon Management Informatjon System (EMIS). Module developed on SNE for Pre-service training in Primary Training Colleges (PTCs) and being delivered in 7 colleges

Guidelines for teachers to adapt curriculum to meet SEN have been developed and disseminated. ( Thematjc Curriculum)  SNE Policy has been developed. Provision of additjonal tjme in the Natjonal exams for children with special needs Provision of interpreters, instructors and guides in the Natjonal Exams. Constructjon of disability friendly structures under School Facilitatjon Grant (SFG).

Challenges

• Despite all the above interventjons, people with disabilitjes have contjnued to

exhibit low performance with regard to literacy skills. There are several reasons why most children and adults with disabilitjes are far less likely than non-disabled peers, to have developed literacy skills; they include: Attjtudes: Negatjve attjtudes are a major obstacle to the educatjon of children with disabilitjes.

• There has been an assumptjon that a child with disability does not need an

educatjon but be supported by family members.

• At school, some teachers and head teachers believe that learners with

disabilitjes may be a distractjon to other children.

• Parents of non-disabled classmates fear that such children with disabilitjes

can slow the pace of educatjon for their children. Poverty: Poor parents who cannot afgord to educate both able/ non- disabled children ofuen choose to educate their non-disabled children.

Challenges cont.…

 Accessibility: Actually gettjng into a classroom and being able to learn can be diffjcult for children and young people with disabilitjes. For example:

• Children with mobility impairments ofuen cannot physically walk to school
• r up stairways into a classroom.
• Children who are deaf fjnd it diffjcult to communicate without sign

language interpretatjon.

• Children who are blind or with low vision may not follow lessons

appropriately without large print or Braille.

• Children with intellectual disabilitjes are ofuen unable to keep up in classes

if no atuentjon is given to their special learning needs or if educatjon is focused on passing standardised natjonal exams that have litule relevance to their educatjonal needs.  Policy implementatjon gap: where government is not implementjng what it states in policy and law. For example:

Policy cont.….

• Policy on disabilitjes (2006) states that PWDs be given equal opportunitjes

to improve their literacy level but nothing has been implemented to-date.

• PWDs Act 2006 also emphasizes literacy of PWDs but no accommodatjve

adjustment done to benefjt PWDS in literacy programmes. At school level:

• The UPE and USE policies do not clearly indicate how the learners will be

supported.

• Exam oriented teaching/tutoring excludes some children from the ideal

teaching/learning process.

• School policy which encourages academic screening of learners basing on

ability and having the less able discarded.

Challenges cont.….

Inadequate skilled personnel to handle learners with disabilitjes. Inadequate facilitjes to match the increased enrolment.  Inadequate or/lack of a variety of specialised reading materials prevent learners from gettjng enough reading practjce (braille, large print, assistjve devices etc.)  The level of disability. Learners with multjple and/or severe disabilitjes have limited opportunitjes to acquire literacy skills. For example; learners with Cerebral Palsy, deaf blind etc. may not be able to acquire literacy skills. Learners may not be fmuent in or understand the language of instructjon. Such learners include those who are deaf and not fmuent in sign language. Having no or litule experience handling and looking at the reading and writjng materials (children’s books). They need materials and motjvatjon for wantjng to read and write. Large number of learners in a class especially when children start learning to read may at tjmes hinder the teachers from seeing their needs.

The consequences/efgects

Such people may:  End up dropping out of school without much achievement.  Not get any employment since they lack the required literacy skills. They remain dependents in everything including reading and understanding of instructjons and sign posts etc.  Become social misfjts because of the limited knowledge and skills to share.  Develop bad behaviours because of inferiority complex.  Arrive at adulthood without having mastered basic literacy or numeracy skills.  Fail to empower, advocate and engage in meaningful civic and politjcal life because of their limited literacy skills.

Suggestjons/Recommendatjons

• People with disabilitjes who have achieved literacy competences should

take the lead community sensitjsatjon

• In additjon to UPE/USE funds a special fund should be given to schools to

put in place adequate provisions for learners with Disabilitjes.

• Policy makers need to increasingly demonstrate how policies and practjce

lead to greater inclusion of children with disabilitjes and improved literacy skills.

• Educatjon systems such as the curriculum content, methodology,

instructjonal materials, environment and assessment should be adapted, modifjed and /or adjusted accordingly.

• Learners with disabilitjes should be exposed to a variety of appropriate

literacy materials.

• Publishers should produce reading and writjng materials that are friendly

to learners with disabilitjes. E.g. large print, brailed materials, sign language dictjonary etc.

Suggestjons cont…

• Refresher courses should be conducted for in-service teachers (both

primary and secondary) in methods of teaching literacy skills to learners with disabilitjes.

• Contjnuous assessment carried out by the teachers needs to be

undertaken on a regular basis, lessons and work plans should be adjusted accordingly.

• Teacher training in methods of teaching reading and writjng must be seen

as a priority and the monitoring of efgectjveness is an important and essentjal component. The training should be based on knowledge, skills, attjtudes and values.

• Adult literacy programmes should include provisions for people with

disabilitjes.

Conclusion

• All in all the issue of literacy among people with disabilitjes is stjll wantjng.

There is therefore an absolute need for all stakeholders to coordinate and harmonise provisions and actjvitjes if children an young people with disabilitjes children are to gain adequate literacy skills.

• Inclusion is the key if there are to be less illiterate adults with disabilitjes

in the future enabling them to play an equal role in their own communitjes and in society generally.

• This will be possible only if governmental support and adequate

permanent funding is planned for and made readily available.

Food for Thought