‘I might be lucky and go back to school’: Factors affecting inclusion in education for children with disabilities in rural Malawi

Banks, Lena Morgon; Hunt, Xanthe; Kalua, Khumbo; Nindi, Providence; Zuurmond, Maria; Shakespeare, Tom

doi:10.4102/ajod.v11i0.981

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The data presented here shows that these patterns are reflected in Malawi. Banks and Zuurmond (2015) describe the affirmative action policies designed to support Malawian children with disabilities to stay in formal education. However, we see again a recurring theme in the data: the gap between policy and practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education

Wånggren

Remnant

Huque

et al. 2022

Sociology Health & Illness

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa with a population of 17.5 million. It has taken great strides in addressing disability inequality in recent years. Despite this, Malawian trade unions, educators and disability activists report wide-reaching disability discrimination at an infrastructural and individual level. Situated at the intersections between disability studies and medical sociology, alongside work of postcolonial and Global South scholars, this article highlights how neo-colonial and Anglocentric dominant framings of disability do not necessarily fit the Malawian workforce, as they ignore cultural and structural differences in the causes and maintenance of ill health and disability. Building on interviews with workers with disabilities, trade unionists, educators, government representatives and disability activists in Malawi's two biggest cities, the article emphasises the need to address specific local contexts; while policy asserts a model of social oppression, in practice, disability inclusion requires recognition of the social determinants of disability and inequality, and the economic, political and cultural context within which disability resides. Sharing co-designed approaches to engaging with disability definitions, stigma, language,

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education

Wånggren

Remnant

Huque

et al. 2022

Sociology Health & Illness

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Routine newborn screening and developmental monitoring are generally not offered in many LMICs. Where services exist, poverty, discrimination, stigma, and abuse may constitute additional barriers (19). As a result, these children falter in all the essential domains of child development for school readiness (13).…”

Section: Child's Readiness For Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies conducted in LMICs have shown that teachers do not have adequate knowledge about disabilities and inclusive education and only few teachers receive requisite hands-on training beyond lectures. As a result, many teachers lack confidence in teaching children with disabilities resulting in the belief that children with disabilities should be taught out of mainstream education system (19). Many schools also lack infrastructural facilities to meet the needs of children with different forms of disability.…”

Section: School's Readiness For the Childmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, parents in LMICs must overcome several personal and societal challenges in getting their children with disabilities ready for school. Studies have shown that the main obstacles to transition to primary school for children with disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa are related to stigma, financial limitations including costs to the family, resources in school and travel (19,24,27). Problems associated with accessing health care and education facilities also affects children's health, development, and education as these programs and services may often be costly, not inclusive and situated in urban areas.…”

Section: Family/community's Readiness For Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Promoting school readiness in children with developmental disabilities in LMICs

Nair¹,

Radhakrishnan²,

Olusanya³

2023

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly acknowledge inclusive and equitable quality education as the primary goal of any global initiatives for early childhood development for children under 5 years with developmental delays and disabilities. Primary education provides the foundation for lifelong learning, vocational attainment, and economically independent living. Globally, the majority (over 90%) of children with developmental disabilities reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These children are significantly less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills, more likely to have never attended school and more likely to be out of primary school, compared to children without disabilities. Concerted and well-coordinated efforts to prepare these children in early childhood for inclusive education constitute a moral and ethical priority for all countries. This paper sets out to examine the concept and dimensions of school readiness for children under 5 years from an extensive narrative review of the literature. It identifies the barriers and challenges for school readiness for children with disabilities and the limitations of the available tools for evaluating school readiness. It concludes by emphasizing the critical role of inter-disciplinary engagement among pediatric caregivers in promoting school readiness in partnership with the families and community where the children reside. Overall, the paper highlights the need for appropriate policy initiatives at the global and national levels to promote school readiness specifically for children under 5 years with developmental disabilities in LMICs, if the aspirational goal of inclusive education by 2030 under the SDGs is to be realized.

show abstract

“…The number of children with disabilities globally is estimated at almost 240 million (UNICEF, 2021). These children have unique needs, often face additional barriers, and experience limited access to quality education (Banks et al, 2022; Wodon & Alasuutari, 2018). A study analysis of 8,900 children from across 30 countries concluded that children with disabilities are 10 times less likely to attend school than their peers without disabilities (Kuper et al, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Interventions Promoting Parental Involvement in the Education of School-Aged Children With Disabilities

Musendo,

Scherer,

Jepkosgei

et al. 2023

Australas. j. spec. incl. educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of this study was to systematically map and synthesise literature on interventions that promote the involvement of parents of school-aged children with disabilities in education. The study focused on peer-reviewed, primary intervention studies published in English between 2000 and 2021. Nine databases were searched, and 21 articles were identified and included in the review. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies, and narrative analysis was used to synthesise the data. The duration of the interventions varied from 7 to 36 months. Most studies were conducted within the context of high-income countries and focused on parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Most studies reported positive effects on one or more groups: parents, children, schools, and communities. However, there was heterogeneity in the outcome measures used, which limits comparability across interventions. The quality assessment revealed high-/medium-bias risks in most articles. Future research should include higher quality studies driven by theoretical models. The results support the need for more research on parental involvement in the education of children with disabilities, especially intervention studies within the context of low- and medium-income countries.

show abstract

‘I might be lucky and go back to school’: Factors affecting inclusion in education for children with disabilities in rural Malawi

Cited by 10 publications

References 27 publications

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education

Disability policy and practice in Malawian employment and education

Promoting school readiness in children with developmental disabilities in LMICs

A Systematic Review of Interventions Promoting Parental Involvement in the Education of School-Aged Children With Disabilities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About