Abstract
Inclusive education for children with disabilities is yet to be realized despite numerous international, regional, and continental policies and conventions. The authors of the chapter present that African polices are usually developed based on international treaties, which—although they do consider disability issues which are common across the globe when making presentations on disability policies—may not necessarily adequately consider the nuances specific to the African context. As a result, Eurocentric paradigms, which are often excluding and marginalizing to other worldviews, have been unsuccessful, and therefore require to be used in conjuction with Afrocentric, context-specific paradigms. The authors specifically propose “ubuntu” as a potential framework that can facilitate the achievement of inclusion for children with disabilities in education due to its strong link to interconnection and human dignity, and its emphasis on one's true human potential being attributed through collaboration with others.
TopBackground
International, regional and country conventions and policy reforms have emphasized the right to education for children with disabilities, for example the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948); articles 3 and 24 of the The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (United Nations, 2006); Sustainable developmental goal number 4; The Salamnca and Dakar Frameworks (Chataika et al., 2012; Ndhlovu et al., 2016). The common thread across these reforms conventions and frameworks is the emphasis on the need for inclusion of children with disabilities in all educational activities that children without disabilities participate in. It is a known fact that regardless of the numerous calls for inclusion, the inclusion for children with disabilities in education has unfortunately not been fully successful in both international aswell as developing countries (Leijen et al., 2021). This is further compounded in developing countries in Africa (Donohue and Bornman, 2014). The authors of the chapter argue that, inclusive education policies developed and implemented in African countries are based on Western Ideologies which may not have necessary taken into account the African context, therefore potentially excluding and marginalisating other worldviews (Coleman et al., 2013; Wylie, et al., 2017). Similar sentiments are presented in a study by Hussey et al., (2017) where the authors explored the barriers to the implementation of the health and rehabilitation articles of the CRPD Even though the articles is specific to healthcare, it does present arguments that are applicable to education. It is acknowledged that generally disability issues may be common across the globe, however there are some factors that are unique to the African context that require context specific interventions. The authors of the chaptet therefore present that in the fight for inclusion of children with disabilities in education, Afrocentric paradigms should be given the same prestige that is awarded to Eurocentric paradigms. The authors especially argue for the relevance of Afrocentric paradigms, specifically the “ubuntu” principle.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Eurocentric Views: Eurocentric views and practices emphasize cultural beliefs and values rooted and based on European or “Western” cultures.
Afrocentric: Afrocentric views and practices emphasize cultural beliefs and values rooted and based on indigenous African worldviews on disability.
Inclusive Education: Education where children with disabilities enjoy the same educational experiences and resources in the same school contexts as their peers without disabilities. It further includes the provision of accommodations that will ensure that they access the curriculum successfully.
Ubuntu: Ubuntu a term that originated in the Nguni languages (Metz, 2011 AU103: The in-text citation "Metz, 2011" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) and has related terms such as botho in Sotho-Tswana and hunhu in Shona, is a social ethic and a collective worldview contained in the Zulu proverb ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ (‘one is a person through others’) (Masondo, 2011 AU104: The in-text citation "Masondo, 2011" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , 2).