The Challenge of Inclusion of Children with Physical Impairment: Absenteeism in Focus—A Case Study

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate those factors that were influencing as factors of absenteeism from school for students with physical impairment in Hedar 11 Secondary School of North Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. Five students with physical impairments were selected through available sampling technique and 8 teachers were selected from 24 teachers of the school through simple random sampling via lottery method. Questionnaire and interview were the main data collection instruments. To collect data letter of recommendation was taken from Department of Special Needs Education of School of Education of the University of Gondar and was given to the Principal of Hedar 11 Secondary School. Then, the director was cleared with the objectives of the study and he expressed his permission the study to be undertaken. And then, the selection of the teacher participants and the student participants followed. The data collected was analysed quantitatively (through, frequency, percentage and mean) and qualitatively through thematic analysis. The results demonstrated that the major absenteeism factors from school for students with physical impairments were: parents (lack of knowledge how to treat their children with physical impairment and financial problems), teachers (negative attitude, lack of professionalism in special needs education i.e. lack of knowledge on how to treat children with physical impairments), guards of the school, peers, and school related factors (such as, inflexible rule and regulation of the school, long distance between the school and the homes of the students with physical impairments, uncomfortable infrastructure of the school, lack of learning material and less support given to the students). Finally, based on the study findings relevant conclusions and recommendations were forwarded.

Disability Types and Children's Schooling in Africa

“…Unlike vision and hearing disabilities, children with walking disabilities are typically constrained by their difficulties in travelling to school or moving around in school. This may limit their school attendance and cause frequent absence and early dropout from school at a later stage (Tedla et al, 2015). Intellectual (cognitive or mental) disability is probably the most complex disability type and can include a wide range of limitations in cognitive ability, behavioural functions, mental retardation or disorder, which may affect the children's communication, attention, social, self-regulation or adaptive skills, as well as logic and reasoning, language processing, or depression and anxiety.…”