Department of SNIE Inclusiveness: Chapter One Understanding Disability and Vulnerability by Sintayehu Mesfin

Department of SNIE
Inclusiveness
Chapter one
Understanding disability and vulnerability
By Sintayehu Mesfin
1 Inclusiveness
Basic Terms (Impairment,
Disability and Handicap)
1. Impairment
Impairment refers to A physical or mental defect at
the level of a body system or organ (WHO,1996).
Impairment means a lack of an anatomic,
physiological or psychological structure or function or
deviation on a person.
2 Inclusiveness
(Basic terms)Impairment, Disability
and Handicap
What is disability?
1. Medical Approach
Disability is a pathology (physiological, biological and
intellectual).
Disability means functional limitations due to physical, intellectual
or psychic impairment, health or psychic disorders on a person
(WHO,1996).
3
Impairment, Disability and Handicap
The medical definition has given rise to the idea that

people are individual objects to be “treated”,
“changed" or “improved" and made more “normal”.
The medical definition views the disabled person as

needing to “fit in ”rather than thinking about how
society itself should change
This medical definition does not adequately explain the

interaction between societal conditions or
expectations and unique circumstances of an
4 individual.
 Emphasizes the shortcomings in the

environment and in many organized activities
in society, for example on information,
communication and education, which prevent
persons with disabilities from participating on
equal terms.
5
Impairment, Disability and
Handicap
The social definition of disability:

• Disability is a highly varied and complex
condition with a range of implications for
social identity and behavior.
• Disability largely depends on the context

and is a consequence of discrimination,
prejudice and exclusion(attitude and
6
environment
Medical and social models of
disability in education
Medical model: Social model:
Child is faulty Child is valued
Diagnosis and labeling Strengths and needs

identified
Impairment is focus of Barriers identified and

attention solutions developed
7
Medical and social models of
disability in education
Medical model: Social model:

Segregation and Resources made available
alternative services
Re-entry if normal enough Diversity welcomed; child

or permanent exclusion is welcomed
Society remains Society evolves

unchanged
8
3. Handicap
 Refers to social abilities or relation between
the individual and the society.’
 Means a lack of or limited opportunities to
take equal part in the society
 Lack of participation in social, political and
economic activities
9
1. Which understanding is prevalent in

Ethiopian society about disability?
2. How the social aspects of understanding

disability could be expanded?
3. What is the role of special needs education

to expand such understandings?
10
Impairment
Disability
Socio-cultural context
Handicap
11
Causes of disability
Disability can be caused by the following

factors:
Genetic Causes:
 Abnormalities in genes and genetic
inheritance can cause intellectual disability in
children. In some countries, Down syndrome is
the most common genetic condition.
Sometimes, diseases, illnesses, and over-
exposure to x-rays can cause a genetic
12 disorder.
Cause of disability
 Environmental:
Poverty and malnutrition in pregnant mothers can cause a deficiency in vital
minerals and result in deformation issues in the unborn child. After birth,
poverty and malnutrition can also cause poor development of vital organs in the
child, which can eventually lead to disability.
 The use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, the exposure to certain toxic chemicals and
illnesses, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, rubella and syphilis by a pregnant
mother can cause intellectual disability to the child. Childhood diseases such as
a whooping cough, measles, and chicken pox may lead to meningitis and
encephalitis.
 This can cause damage to the brain of the child. Toxic material such as lead and
mercury can damage the brain too. Unfortunate life events such as drowning,
automobile accidents, falls and so on can result in people losing their sight,
hearing, limbs and other vital parts of their body and cause disability and there
is Unknown Causes and also Inaccessible environments.
13
Some type of disabilities:
Visual impairment: blind and partial sight
Hearing impairment: deaf and hard of hearing

Specific learning disability: means a disorder in one or
more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that
may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations
and also it has some types like Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia,
Dyslexia, Language Processing Disorder, Non-Verbal
Learning Disabilities and Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor
Deficit
14
(Cont… )types of disability
 Intellectual disability
 Behavioral and emotional disorder: externalize and
internalize
 Physical impairment etc
15
Inclusive, etc…
Segregation to Inclusion
 Ethical and moral pressure- associations,
laws, awareness, …
 Conceptual pressure- concepts, practices, .
 Economic pressure- effectiveness, costs,…
16
Inclusive, etc…
The right to a more inclusive education is covered in

several significant international declarations,
including:
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights –1948
 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
 World Declaration for Education for All (1990)
17
Inclusive, etc…
 Standard Rules on the Equalization of

Opportunities for Persons with Disability
(1993)
 UNESCO Salamanca Statement and
Framework for Action (1994)
 Dakar Framework for Action (2000).
 Disability convention (2006)
18
Salamanca Statement:
 Every child has a fundamental right to education
 Every child has unique characteristics, interests,

abilities and learning needs
 Education systems should be designed and

educational programmes implemented to meet
these diversities among children
19
Salamanca Statement, cont…
 Students with special needs must have

access to regular schools with adapted
education
 Regular schools with an inclusive orientation

are the most effective means of combating
and preventing discriminative attitudes and
building up an inclusive society
20 Inclusiveness
Inclusive education
Inclusive education means all children, also

children experiencing barriers to learning,
development and participation, including
children with disabilities, have the right to
quality education in a school that is close to
their home and in a class that suits their age
21 Inclusiveness
Inclusive education
 Education of all students in in regular classes
 Appropriate educational programs for every

student
 Everyone is accepted and supported
22 Inclusiveness
Inclusive education
 Inclusion assume that students with

disabilities attend ordinary schools.
 The fundamental principle is that all children

are together as much as possible
23 Inclusiveness
Inclusive education
Inclusive education of high quality should focus

on:
Policy development: Have a clear definition in
policy statements, and have references to
international human rights standards
Curriculum development: Make learning
meaningful, flexible, non-discriminatory and
gender responsive, and link contents to the
learner’s life situation
24
Inclusive education
 Teacher training: Support teaching and

learning friendly environments, and promote
child-centered teaching.
 Local capacity-building: Build effective,
transparent and accountable support
mechanisms, and mobilize local resources.
 Community involvement: Create space for
meaningful participation and means for
empowerment.
25
Inclusive education
 Organizational arrangements,
 Teaching strategies
 Resource use
26
Inclusive education
Involves bringing the support services to the

child (rather than moving the child to the
services) and requires only that the child will
benefit from being in the class (rather than
having to keep up with the other students).
27
Inclusive education
Inclusive education means all children, also

children experiencing barriers to learning,
development and participation, including
children with disabilities, have the right to
quality education in a school that is close to
their home and in a class that suits their age
28
Inclusive education
Inclusion is a process and a goal.
SNE is a profession that process and meet the

inclusive education goal
29
Key principles of Inclusiveness
 Rights
 Participation
 Process
 Values
 Diversity
 Equality
 Change
30
Principles….
Four elements (Mel Ainscow 2005):

– Inclusion is a process
– Inclusion is about recognizing and removing barriers
– Inclusion assumes that:
 - All children are present,
 -All children participate,
 -All children achieve.
– Inclusion requires that special attention is paid to
those groups of children that may have a risk to be
excluded and become marginalized.
31
Principles….
Those obligations derived from the right to

education are categorized as to make
education:
 available,
 accessible,
 acceptable and
 adaptable.
32
Conditions of inclusion
1.Values and awareness
2.Attitudes and behaviors
3.Legal and social factors
4.School’s organization
5.The programs and curriculums
33
Conditions of inclusion
6.Teaching methods
7.Support Services/team work
8.The interactions with the environment
9.The supervision and monitoring
10.The team’s preparation/training
34

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Department of SNIE

The medical definition has given rise to the idea that

The medical definition views the disabled person as

This medical definition does not adequately explain the

 Emphasizes the shortcomings in the

The social definition of disability:

• Disability largely depends on the context

Child is faulty Child is valued

Diagnosis and labeling Strengths and needs

Impairment is focus of Barriers identified and

Medical model: Social model:

Re-entry if normal enough Diversity welcomed; child

Society remains Society evolves

1. Which understanding is prevalent in

2. How the social aspects of understanding

3. What is the role of special needs education

Disability can be caused by the following

Hearing impairment: deaf and hard of hearing

 Conceptual pressure- concepts, practices, .

 Economic pressure- effectiveness, costs,…

The right to a more inclusive education is covered in

 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

 World Declaration for Education for All (1990)

 Standard Rules on the Equalization of

 Every child has a fundamental right to education

 Every child has unique characteristics, interests,

 Education systems should be designed and

 Students with special needs must have

 Regular schools with an inclusive orientation

Inclusive education means all children, also

 Education of all students in in regular classes

 Appropriate educational programs for every

 Everyone is accepted and supported

 Inclusion assume that students with

 The fundamental principle is that all children

Inclusive education of high quality should focus

 Teacher training: Support teaching and

Involves bringing the support services to the

Inclusive education means all children, also

Inclusion is a process and a goal.

SNE is a profession that process and meet the

Four elements (Mel Ainscow 2005):

Those obligations derived from the right to

1.Values and awareness

2.Attitudes and behaviors

3.Legal and social factors

5.The programs and curriculums

7.Support Services/team work

8.The interactions with the environment

9.The supervision and monitoring

10.The team’s preparation/training

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