Advances in Research and Praxis in Special Education in Africa, Caribbean, and the Middle East

As we near the 2015 target date for reaching Education For All (EFA), a goal that 164 countries pledged to achieve, scholars are examining how countries are interpreting and implementing this goal. The contributors to this edited volume stress that students with disabilities must be included in the “All,” and investigate the measures being taken to support these students. The authors see reasons for optimism, such as increasingly inclusive legislative policies, but argue that many countries have a long road ahead.

OVERVIEW

In Advances in Research and Praxis in Special Education in Africa, Caribbean, and the Middle East, the editors begin by asserting that students with disabilities often lack access to the cultural capital that could place them in socially desirable positions. They explain that such students’ access to cultural capital is limited by their own disabilities, and by attitudinal barriers in society. The book then delves into twelve case studies exploring the barriers students with disabilities face, and the challenges in creating inclusive education systems in which they can be successful. The case studies (Southern Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, the Caribbean, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) reveal many trends across the three geographical regions: Special Education legislation that is not well-implemented or enforced; lack of funding for Special Education; lack of qualified Special Education teachers; and cultural/social attitudes that are discriminatory towards people with disabilities.  

These barriers to quality Special Education services reflect a weak response to a significant issue across the countries considered. The authors explain that 80% of people with disabilities live in developing countries, and that in such countries, only 2-3% of children with disabilities go to school (World Bank, 2009, cited in this volume). Children in poorer countries are more likely to have disabilities, due to the connections between health, poverty, and social services. The authors explain the cyclical relationship between disability and poverty; particularly in countries where children with disabilities are not educated, they are unable to become financially independent. Moreover, in cases of extreme poverty and malnutrition, parents may prioritize feeding non-disabled children, further disadvantaging children with disabilities. The authors of the Nigerian chapter explain that countries with high levels of corruption and political instability may also fail to dedicate resources to citizens with disabilities. While some of the countries in this book are clearly poorer than others, most mentioned how inadequate funding and lack of government will inhibits the development of Special Education programs.

CRITIQUES

One of the book’s threads examines where negative attitudes about people with disabilities come from. This discussion reveals an interesting—and not uncommon—ambivalence about the influence of “outsiders” versus “locals” in determining educational practices. On the one hand, some authors claim that negative attitudes about students with disabilities were fomented by outside sources, such as colonialism and apartheid, and that “traditional education” better served students with disabilities. They argue that current beliefs about the economic purposes of education are influenced by colonial education, which aimed to create a productive labor force. When education systems are developed primarily with the goal of economic advancement, they explain, students with disabilities may not be considered worth the educational investment if they are deemed unlikely to contribute “productively” to society. In contrast, “traditional education” is presented as more holistic and better suited to incorporate individuals with disabilities into the community. On the other hand, however, the authors do not romanticize “traditional” society; in fact, they claim that “traditional values” about people with disabilities often constitute the greatest barriers to Special Education. Authors describe many beliefs, ranging from beliefs that people with disabilities cannot learn, to beliefs that they are cursed or sent as a punishment to their parents. Moreover, several chapters refer to positive influences from “the West” in modeling legislation and practices for educating students with disabilities.

This book would be strengthened by further exploring these tensions between foreign and local influences on Special Education. Scholars could examine how economically-motivated education, rather than education framed by a rights-based discourse, has also been furthered by national governments (Carnoy and Samoff, 1990), and by the international community in the era of globalization (Stromquist, 2002)—and how this framing disadvantages students with disabilities. Also, many of the authors’ explanations of “cultural attitudes” were overly simplistic, as were their recommendations for changing such attitudes (e.g., “there needs to be a change in cultural attitudes”). If indeed cultural attitudes are the major barriers preventing many countries from developing more inclusive Special Education laws and practices, scholars should conduct more thorough empirical research: Where do these attitudes come from? How widespread are they? How are these attitudes reproduced via the media and other social institutions? What types of interventions could help to change these attitudes? Are some of the discriminatory “cultural attitudes” correlated to beliefs that certain disabilities are “Western problems” (a belief mentioned by the authors)? Further research could help countries to combine the best of local and global aspects to create the most effective Special Education awareness initiatives for each national setting.

In general, lack of empirical research is a weakness of this book. Out of the twelve case studies, only three include original empirical research. The rest are mostly general overviews of the state of Special Education in each country, often including literature reviews of previously conducted research. While these chapters provide important contextual information, they do not present current empirical data. As such, many of the chapters feel repetitive; most countries have issues with societal attitudes about Special Education, lack of funding, laws that are poorly enforced, poorly trained teachers, and so on. Of course these are common issues across these regions, but more empirical data would have helped to flesh out each country’s unique circumstances. An exception is the Caribbean chapter, which, in addition to providing overall context, presents specific data from surveys comparing teachers’ attitudes about Special Education across six Caribbean nations. The Botswana and Tanzania chapters rely on interviews and observations, but the remainder of the chapters is not empirical.

Nevertheless, these chapters present essential contextual information for future studies of Special Education in diverse settings. The epilogue accurately explains that problems of inclusion for students with disabilities are related to larger structural inequalities. As Mukuria writes, “A true litmus test for any stable democratic government is reflected in how it cares for and protects its most vulnerable citizens” (p. 71, this volume). The authors do an excellent job of convincing readers that the promises of Education For All—of bringing greater societal equality and economic benefits—will only be realized if societies truly educate all of their citizens, including students with disabilities.

References

Carnoy, M., & Samoff, J. (1990). Education and transition in the Third World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Mukuria, G. (2012). Education for students with intellectual disabilities in Kenya: Challenges and Prospects. In K. Mutua, & C. S. Sunal (Eds.), Advances in Research and Practice in Special Education in Africa, Caribbean, and the Middle East.  Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Stromquist, N. (2002). Education in a globalized world: The connectivity of power, technology and knowledge. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.