RECOUP Working Paper 10
Conceptualising Disability and Education
in the South:
Challenges for Research
Nidhi Singal
University of Cambridge
December 2007
© Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty
WP07/10
RECOUP Working Paper No. 10
Conceptualising disability and education in the South: Challenges for research1
Nidhi Singal
University of Cambridge
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the methodological challenges underpinning the
“Disability, Education and Poverty Project” (DEPP) to be carried out by the Research Consortium on
Educational Outcomes and Poverty (RECOUP). The DEPP aims to explore the role that education
plays, if any, in the lives of individuals with disabilities living in poverty. It aims to understand the
effect of education (of various kinds) on social, human and learning outcomes. In working with
young persons with disabilities (in the age group of 14- 25 years) and their significant others, this
research will explore the local meanings that persons with disabilities and others around them attach
to disability, poverty and education. It will focus on the role that education and other enabling factors
play in helping young people with disabilities make transitions into adulthood and in some instances
move out of poverty. Although the Disability, Education and Poverty Project is based in four
countries, (Kenya, Ghana, India and Pakistan) the arguments developed in this paper draw primarily
upon literature from India and Kenya. This paper begins by exploring the relationships between
disability and poverty and then discuses three central challenges facing the conceptualisation of this
research project.
Correspondence: Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2
8PQ, United Kingdom, Tel: +44- 1223-767608. Email: sn241@cam.ac.uk
JEL Classification:
Keywords: disability, education, South
Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Dr. Lesley Dee (University of Cambridge) and Professor
Roger Jeffery (University of Edinburgh) for the various discussions and invaluable feedback in
helping me conceptualise and write this paper. All errors are mine.
1
A version of this paper was presented at the the RECOUP symposium, UKFIET conference on International
Education and Development. Going for Growth? School, Community Economy, Nation, University of Oxford.
September 2007.
1
Relationships between disability and poverty: cyclical and multi-dimensional
“Disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty” (DFID, 2000:1). There is increasing
evidence to suggest that being poor dramatically increases the likelihood of being born with
impairment. Being poor also increases one’s probability of becoming impaired and then disabled.
This is not surprising as people living in poverty have limited access to basic health care, have
insufficient and/or unhealthy food, poor sanitation facilities, and an increased risk and likelihood of
living and working in hazardous conditions.
The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1999)
estimated that more than 500 million people, or 7- 10 percent of the world’s population, are likely to
be disabled by impairments that are preventable or treatable. This assertion about the causes of
disability is supported by a recent report “The Indian Child” published by Child Relief and You
(CRY), which lists factors such as communicable diseases, infections in early childhood, nutritional
deficiencies, and inadequate sanitation as being the most significant factors causing disability in
India. All of these factors are preventable or treatable, but are most likely a reality for people living in
poverty. Similarly, since people with disabilities are systematically excluded from basic health care
services, political and legal processes, formal/informal education and employment, they are likely to
have significantly reduced income-generating opportunities, thus leading to poverty (Yeo & Moore,
2003). This cyclic relationship between disability and poverty results in a scenario where people with
disabilities are usually disproportionately found amongst the poorest of the poor. Elwan (1999)
suggests that people with disabilities may account for as many as one in five of the world’s poorest.
Yeo (2005:1) provides an even more disturbing picture, stating that, “50,000 people, including 10,000
disabled people, die every day as a result of extreme poverty”. Even though much is written about
the cyclical relationship between poverty and disability, however, due to the lack of data these
linkages have not been systemically examined (Elwan, 1999).2
Harriss-White (2003: 5) notes that “chronic sickness and disability seems to affect both short
term and long term poverty”. Evidence suggests that disability interacts with poverty in a variety of
ways. Poverty itself is not a singular concept, and disability tends to be associated with particular
forms of chronic poverty3, depending on factors such as the age at which an individual becomes
impaired, the type of impairment, and her/his position in the household. For example, Braunholtz
2
For instance, it would be too naïve to assume that as people and countries get richer disability reduces. Rather
there is evidence to suggest that, with development, there is an increase rather than a decrease in the proportion
of a population with disabilities, due to factors such as increased survival rates from disabling accidents and
disease, and increasing life expectancy (Elwan, 1999). Therefore, even as national income grows, total
incidence of disability may rise, and may even be greater than in poorer countries. However, in all societies at
any stage of development- the poorest sections of the population are at greatest risk of becoming disabled rather
than richer ones.
3
Braunholtz (2007: 2) notes that poverty is a dynamic condition. Those who fall under the category of the
chronically poor are not just those who are always below the poverty line, rather it comprises of those who are
“usually poor”, those who are on average poor although they may temporarily escape from poverty for short
periods, and the fluctuating poor, those who live around the poverty line and are vulnerable to chronic poverty.
2
(2007) states that not all chronically poor people are born into long term deprivation. Many slide into
chronic poverty after a shock or series of shocks that they cannot recover from: these shocks include
ill health and injury. He goes on to suggest that the long-term poor who are not economically active
because of health, age, physical or mental disability, are more likely to face enduring poverty, as the
exit routes available to them are limited. Braunholtz notes two important exit routes, namely high
dependency by the chronically poor person on their own labour (in the absence of financial and
material assets) and formal education, which improves the quality of their labour. In the case of
individuals with disabilities, neither of these routes seems viable. For example, people with
disabilities are more likely to be prevented from becoming economically active, not because of the
inherent quality of their condition, but more because of the discrimination and societal perceptions
that they encounter related to their impairment. Similarly, limited opportunities (due to lack of trained
teachers, restrictive curriculum, physically inaccessible buildings etc) and negative perceptions
(stigma, low expectations etc) about their inability to participate in the formal education system,
makes it hard for them to access these institutions. Thus, societal beliefs and norms may limit the
possibilities of escape for this group of people. It therefore seems that not only are people living in
poverty likely to be at a greater risk of impairments, but once disabled they are more likely to stay
poor and are also at a greater risk of passing on this deprivation to the next generation. I discuss some
of these interrelationships briefly below.
While poverty results in various forms of social exclusion, these intersect further with
disability to form multiple layers of disadvantages. The scenario is further complicated when
differing combinations of structural factors (such as caste, gender, religion etc), life cycle factors
(being young or elderly, household composition) and other idiosyncratic factors (ill health,
impairments) create and maintain the poverty of some while giving others the chance to avoid or
escape it (Braunholtz, 2007). While structural factors and the various intersectionalities are indeed
very important, there is evidence to suggest that there are broad commonalities in the lives of people
with disabilities which transcend divisions based on gender and class, and this commonality is
illustrated in the significant deprivation that these people face as a result of their status of being a
person with disabilities (Riddell et. al, 2001).
Disability does not affect only the individual, but it also has a profound impact on the family
unit within which this individual operates. It is not only the individual who incurs various economic
and social costs, but the family is also disadvantaged in various ways. The economic costs can be
characterised as: the direct costs of treatment and access to medical services; the indirect costs
incurred by those who are not directly affected (carers); and the opportunity costs of income foregone
from incapacity (Erb & Harriss-White, 1999).
It has been reported that the average income is significantly lower for households affected by
disability; they are thus more likely to have lower savings, higher debts, and lower levels of land and
assets ownership. In a study involving consultations with the poor across 10 different sites in the two
3
Indian states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, researchers found that expenditure on health emerged as a
major causal factor of impoverishment and continued deprivation. In large families, particularly, and
in families with old and disabled people, this problem was more poignant (PRAXIS, 1999).
In addition, the indirect costs of disability are also very significant: the burden of care in
developing countries primarily falls on family members, who have to take valuable time away from
earning daily wages and/or schooling. In Nicaragua (World Bank, 2005a) family members spent on
average 10 hours a day caring for a disabled family member4, thus having a considerable impact on
their employment prospects and home production.
Research also indicates that the available opportunities to work are significantly reduced after
the onset of disability. A national government survey conducted in India in 2002 found that 46 percent
of people with disabilities were without work. Over half of these lost their job after the onset of
disability (55.8 percent and 53.1 percent in rural and urban areas), and another 13.2 percent had to
change their job due to onset (Zutshi, 2004). Furthermore, a Ugandan study (Hoogeveen, 2004) noted
that disabled people are less likely to be included in the labour market and are more likely to be self
employed: they tend to undertake subsistence farming (27 percent) and petty trade (25 percent).
Similar trends were noted in Kenya. Ndinda (2005) argues that while there are no reliable statistics, it
is clear that disabled people are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed in Kenya. Thus
across the developing economies persons with disabilities are more likely to work in manual and
lower skilled occupations and less likely to work in managerial, professional and high skilled
occupations. This marginalisation in the labour force impacts on their earning potential.
The economic costs of disability are not only felt in the private sphere (at the level of the
individual and the family), but disabilities also result in significant public costs. A World Bank study
estimated the annual loss of GDP globally, due to having so many people with disabilities out of
work, at between US$1.37 trillion and US$ 1.94 trillion (Metts, 2000 quoted in Zadek & Scott-Parker,
2001). The WHO in 1989 noted that the aggregate costs of blindness to the Indian national economy,
including a minimal subsidence allowance for blind people, amounted to approximately US$4.6
billion per year (Gooding, 2006).
While all kinds of disability have significant costs, the economic and social impacts of
different types of impairment are likely to be different. For example, the economic opportunities
available to a hearing-impaired person are likely to be different from those available to a physically
impaired individual in an agrarian society. However, there is a lack of research to illuminate these
issues.
As suggested earlier, the costs of disability are not merely economic, but a range of associated
costs in terms of unmet capabilities and forgone opportunities both at the level of the individual with
4
Indeed the type of impairments does play an important role, with some requiring more care and support than
others. There is evidence to suggest that some people with disabilities take on caring roles in the family.
4
disabilities and her/his family are also evident. Moreover the impact of disability varies significantly
according to the age of onset of impairment. Not surprisingly, the onset of impairments at an early age
means lost opportunities for education, employment and leisure, in comparison to an onset in old age.
Young people with disabilities
The associated impact of disability is especially noticeable in the case of young people with
disabilities making transitions to adulthood.5 A UNICEF (1999: 1) report stated that, “Adolescents
and youth with disabilities are among the neediest and most overlooked of all the world’s children”.
Consistently across the globe, especially in developing countries, mainstream policies and
programmes working with young people seem to overlook the needs of those with disabilities, while
efforts aimed at people with disabilities tend to focus either on children or adults. Thus the unique
social, psychological and physiological concerns of young people with disabilities tend to go
unaddressed and this situation is reflected in the more recent World Development Report 2007:
Development and the Next Generation (World Bank, 2006).6
This is a significant oversight considering that WHO estimates suggest that there are between
120-150 million children, adolescents and youth with disabilities. UNICEF (1999: 4) reported that
…with half of the world’s population under 15 years old, the number of
adolescents and youth with disabilities can be expected to rise markedly
over the next decade. This rise will not simply reflect an increasing birth
rate. Adolescents and youth are at increased risk for acquiring a disability
due to work related injuries and risk taking behaviour (including motor
vehicle accidents, experimentations with drugs and unprotected sex)…
It goes on to elucidate the bleak prospect facing young people with disabilities. Using small
vignettes of experiences from youth with disabilities across the globe, it describes the lack of
5
‘Transitions’ are multifaceted, active processes of social orientation that imply status and role changes, as
individuals move from child-focused to adult-focused roles and responsibilities. Dee (2006) usefully
summarises three complementary perspectives for understanding transitions: (1) A phase-related model, that
regards transition to adulthood as a number of stages through which an individual must pass during a lifetime,
such as getting paid employment, adopting new family roles and responsibilities etc.; (2) An agency-related
model, that reflects the degree of agency or control that individuals have in determining the course of their lives;
and finally (3) A time-related model, one that brings a more multidisciplinary perspective (drawing together
biology, social psychology and sociology) and states that three dimensions of time—historical time (impact of
long term social, economic and legislative changes in the lives of individuals), life time (the predictable, age
related changes) and social time (rights, duties, responsibilities and expectations that are conferred on
individuals at different stages of their life)—influence the development of adults. These ‘transitions’ approaches
thus reflect changes in how we see ourselves as well as in how others see us.
6
This report mentions the word “disability” (and its many variants) only six times. Although word count is not a
sufficient measure of the extent to which the authors consider the issue of disability, it is also true that the
frameworks being used in the Report show at best very limited awareness of the complexities and struggles
faced by young people with disabilities.
5
participation of this group in education, employment, their increased risk for substance abuse, sexual
exploitation, social isolation, prejudice and inappropriate care. Groce (2004) states that the exclusion
of young people with disabilities is often formally sanctioned, and they are barred from participation
in formal cultural and religious ceremonies that mark their changing status from childhood. They are
“also often left out of the less formal rites of passage such as joining a sports team, courting, learning
to drive the family vehicle” (p. 22).
Focusing on this group of young people is particularly important for the South because the
number of people with disabilities in these countries tends to be higher in the earlier, productive years
(Coleridge, 1993). While little is known about the lived experiences of these young people, in terms
of how they make sense of the transitions in areas of learning, work, health, family and citizenship
(World Bank, 2006), evidence from the field suggests that these transitions are significantly
ambiguous and ambivalent when examined using a disability lens. Indeed when young people with
disabilities are not included in debates around transitions, the resultant frameworks and markers are
too restrictive and simply do away with the possibility of individuals with disabilities being capable of
making transitions to adulthood (an example of this is evident in the discussions in Lloyd, 2005). For
instance, what are the markers of being an adult for an individual with disabilities, who is regarded as
dependent, in need of care and “overprotected” (Coleridge, 1993) in a context where “parents
frequently expect the child to contribute his labour to the domestic productive unit and when mature,
to support his aging parents” (LeVine, 1977, this scenario remains the same decades later)? In the
same vein, legal markers for transition from student to work life, as suggested in the Indian context,
are different for people with disabilities and those without disabilities. The Persons with Disabilities
Act (Ministry of Law and Justice, 1996) states that a person with disabilities has the right to access
free education till s/he attains the age of 18 years, unlike the 14 years of age mandated for the nondisabled population. Another important marker of adulthood is the ability to form relationships,
especially sexual ones. However, in Kenya, on the one hand, sexual relationships for the disabled are
regarded as taboo, yet on the other, sexual exploitation of women with disabilities is not unheard of
(Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped, 2006). Largely, people with disabilities tend to be
sheltered and not allowed to take on responsibilities. Thus, in a socio-cultural context where rights
and responsibilities are strongly intertwined, the individual rights of people with disabilities are also
most likely to be compromised.7
7
In many southern (using the term rather loosely, and reflective of collective cultures that are not always or only
found in the global South) the focus is not solely on individual rights, rather rights and responsibilities are seen
as intertwined. For example, the Indian constitution clearly outlines a set of fundamental duties alongside a set
of fundamental rights. Thus, to have certain rights one should also fulfil certain duties, and the rights of those
who are unable to fulfil those duties are ambiguous.
6
Disability: a cascading impact
While a range of challenges operate for the individual with disabilities, her/his disability has a
cascading impact on the family unit. For example, while access to school for children with disabilities
is an important concern, less emphasis is placed on how having a sibling or a parent with disabilities
might compromise another child’s schooling and push him/her into ‘adult carer’ roles. Dennis (1997)
notes that many of the children who work on the streets of Tamale, Ghana support disabled adults at
home. Similarly, Hoogeveen (2004) noted a significant “education deficit” in Ugandan households
headed by a disabled person, as children in these households received less education. While this
deficit could be attributed to children being pushed into adult carer roles, it could also be due to the
reduced ability of the household to afford school fees because of the direct costs of disability. Thus, to
the extent that education drives the ability to earn an income in the future, there is a greater likelihood
that the “currently disabled are more likely to pass their poverty on to their children” (Lwanga-Ntale,
2003:7). Not only is there an increased likelihood of inter-generational transfer of economic
deprivation but it is also likely to be the case that in managing their day-to-day survival poor families
with a disabled member do not have as much time to build social networks (or have different, possibly
truncated ones) and hence have fewer mechanisms of support and limited social capital (Moore, 2001
discusses the intergenerational transfer of financial/material capital, socio-cultural capital and sociopolitical capital amongst poor families). Furthermore, social perceptions of stigma and fear associated
with disability, which is commonly regarded as the result of a curse, past sins etc., may further
exclude families and reduce the number of relationships and networks that they can actually establish.
Thus the impact of disability needs to be studied at the level of the individual, at the level of the
family and even at the level of the communities (a context that is often overlooked in the literature).
Attempting to understand these multi-dimensional relationships between disability and
poverty is the first step in acknowledging the complexities inherent in designing and undertaking the
DEPP. Figure: 1 attempts to illustrate the perceived relationship between the important variables of
disability, poverty, education and outcomes, in this research project. While each of these variables in
itself can be the focus of considerable debate, this paper focuses on three paramount challenges that
we are engaging with in undertaking this study. The first two challenges engage with the multidimensional and complex concepts of ‘disability’ and ‘outcomes’, and the third challenge discusses
issues around the outcomes of the research process itself.
7
Impairment
Disability
Increased vulnerability
and Exclusion (s)
Cascading impact
Exclusion(s)
Costs
Poverty
Adapted from DFID (2000)
Figure 1: Disability and Poverty: cyclical and multidimensional relationships
Challenge 1: The “invisible” minority. Researching disability: issues of identification
Disability is a multi-dimensional and complex construct and there is no single universally
accepted, unproblematic definition of disability. Disability is defined in different ways in different
countries and these definitions differ and change within a country with evolving legal, political and
social discourses. Harriss-White (2003) notes that “disability is a relative term because cultures define
differently their norms of being and doing” (p. 3). Not surprisingly, there are no reliable estimates of
the number of people with disabilities in any of the four partner countries, a situation that is shared
across the Southern context. Even within established economies, prevalence rates vary from 8 percent
to over 20 percent, depending largely on the definitions used. For instance, in one context an
individual who controls diabetes with diet alone is considered disabled, while in others someone is
disabled only if s/he has impairments that permanently and completely prevent the individual from
working. Harriss-White (2003) observes that “conditions such as asthma and TB, which are classified
as “sickness” are experienced as disabling in agrarian economies still based substantially on manual
labour” (p. 3). However, it is important to note here that not only do overall prevalence rates vary
across countries (and there are contrasting views about the relationship between development and
8
disability) but the prevalence rates of different types of impairments also vary, and the “profile of
impairments types changes with medical advances and demographic factors” (Coleridge, 1993). An
illustrative example is the rise in the prevalence rates of impairments such as cataracts and arthritis in
the developed countries, as the number of people living into old age increases.
A report by the International Labour Organization (2002: 9) states that “in Kenya, there are
no recent data on the situation of persons with disabilities. Some statistics are available, although it is
generally agreed that these do not give an accurate picture of the actual prevalence of disability.
According to the Kenya Population Census of 1989, an estimated 0.7 per cent of the total population
(estimated at 21.4 million in 1989) was disabled”, thus putting the numbers of people with disabilities
at approximately 149,800. Quoting estimates provided by the UNICEF, Oloo (2005) states that “the
proportion of people with disabilities in Kenya is about 10 percent of the total population or just over
three million people”; these figures were supported by the Karugu, et al (1995), report. Such
discrepancies in recorded prevalence rates are also evident in the Indian context. According to the
most recent Census data there are 21.9 million people with disabilities, about 2.13 percent of the total
population. The numbers suggested by the census seem to be an underestimate if one accepts the
WHO argument that 10-12 percent of the population in any country is likely to be disabled.
As disability is the social outcome of a physical, sensory and/or mental impairment, it is
shaped within existing macro discourses (medical, legal, and socio-cultural) and micro realities
(influenced by an individual’s knowledge and personal experiences). These factors do not exist
independently, rather they influence each other, and it is essential to explore these in some depth as
they have an impact on how we understand disability in the research being undertaken.
Macro discourses shaping an understanding of “disability”
Understandings of disability in any country are influenced by the existing official rhetoric- the
manner in which disability is defined and addressed in government documents and in legislation. In
both India and Kenya, an analysis of the policy documents suggests that the focus is primarily on the
identification and rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities. Disability is seen as located within the
individual, it is regarded as a problem of the individual arising from her/his functional limitations and
inherent in her/his mind and/or body. This “medicalisation” (Oliver, 1996) of disability results in a
scenario where it is regarded as a problem that must be diagnosed, cured or catered for, so that the
person can function like ‘others’. Therefore being regarded as a medical infliction it is not surprising
that the primary focus in these countries is on providing people with disabilities with various aids and
appliances, immunization, etc, that can help them function like others, rather than addressing social
barriers that result in their exclusion or non-participation from the mainstream (Singal, 2006). This
results in instances where governments give grants for wheelchairs without addressing the need for
building ramps or even roads in more rural parts of India and Kenya. Nevertheless, an understanding
9
of disability as a medical, preventable condition holds some merit, because in developing countries
most disability is the result of preventable or treatable factors. However, this dominance of the
medical perspective has led to a scenario where the naturalness of these labels remains unquestioned
and there is a continued neglect of social factors. The naturalness of this medical condition is further
reinforced by the faith placed in the knowledge of an “expert(s)”. The expert is regarded as being
paramount, and her/his standing is evident in assertions where disability is defined as, “…not less than
40 percent, as certified by a medical practitioner”, as noted in India’s Persons with Disabilities Act.
In addition to political and legislative discourses, there also exists a cultural repertoire of
beliefs about disability, existing discourses of charity and rights, which influence society’s response to
people with disabilities. Disability, in addition to being seen as an individual condition, is commonly
regarded as a personal affliction. It is seen as resulting from the wrath of fate—retribution for past
karmas and punishment for sins committed in a previous life (Ghai, 2002; Miles & Miles, 1993;
Kisanji, 1993). Such perceptions of “primitive retributivism” (Bickenbach, 1993: 189), which are
commonly noted in case studies and anecdotal accounts from the Asian and African context, suggest
that people who are manifestly defective are living out a just punishment for sins, vices, or other
moral faults, known or unknown, that have been inflicted by some powerful and moral force. Such
perceptions serve many purposes. Firstly, regarding someone as the victim of their (or their family’s)
sins leads to the manifestation of pity towards these sinners. This pity gives rise to benevolent acts of
charity, which are further reinforced by the strong religious orientations existing in many societies.
For example, it is observed that during “sharads” a particular event in the Hindu calendar, alms are
given to individuals with disabilities. This is regarded as a good charitable act which secures the
person making the donations and his ancestors a place in heaven. Secondly, it also enables society to
continue to overlook its own role in the construction and/or elimination of barriers that people with
disabilities face.
Notions of charity, welfare and care of persons with disabilities continue to be the dominant
features in official Indian rhetoric. While the language in some official documents has moved away
from “social welfare” (in the 1st Five-Year Plan, 1947-1952), to the current use of “empowerment”
(9th Five-Year Plan, 1997-2002), this has happened only for ‘other’ historically marginalised groups,
such as women and those belonging to scheduled castes/tribes. In the 10th Five-Year Plan (20022007: 475) persons with disabilities continue to be grouped under “other special groups” combined
with “deviants”, and other disadvantaged groups, such as the aged, street children, orphans, and
abandoned children. The plan stresses the “care and protection of the state” for these groups
(including people with disabilities), because of “the breakdown of the traditional social structures and
increased urbanisation, industrialisation and modernisation”.
Thus, the dominant social and cultural representation of people with disabilities in both
Kenya and India is underpinned by a conceptualisation of disablement in terms of tragedy, the
10
impaired body and the “otherness”, with a focus on care, charity and containment. This raises
important implications for how disability is defined and researched in this project.
Identifying people with disabilities: a challenge
A review of the research studies conducted at both the national and community levels,
especially those undertaken in developing countries, suggests that identifying persons with disabilities
is a common concern. Most notable are issues related to the use of language and the influence of
various socio-cultural factors.
Lwanga-Ntale (2003:4) describing his research on chronic poverty and disability in Uganda
states that defining disability was “rather problematic”, as the term was commonly used for those with
physical impairment, mostly of upper and lower limbs. Hence there was an increased likelihood of
ignoring those with learning difficulties, blind, deaf, epileptic, etc. He noted that in most dialects,
there is no single word that translated into the English word ‘disability’. Similarly, in Hindi the word
“viklang” used commonly for ‘disability’, does not encompass all types of disabilities but is only
indicative of physical disabilities. Moreover, some of the language that is used to identify people with
disabilities is stigmatising in itself. Ndurumo (2003) notes that the original Kiswahili word
“wasiojiweza” used to refer generally to persons in all categories of disabilities, embodies an
assumption that the individual is incapable of gainful employment.
Other studies aimed at establishing prevalence rates of disability suggest that not only local
perceptions and definitions of disability but also “social dynamics, particularly those of gender and
age; …type of disability and the associated social implications and stigma of that disability”
influenced the identification of disability (Kuruvilla & Joseph 1999: 189 undertook a study in rural
South India). Similarly, Erb and Harriss-White (2001) state that in rural Tamil Nadu the reported rates
of disability were significantly biased towards upper caste Hindus. It is suggested that “scheduled
caste people have to be more severely disabled than inhabitants of the caste settlement before they
will publicly acknowledge their infirmity” (p. 16). It is not clear why this discrepancy exists.
However, it is likely that a greater willingness to define oneself as disabled exists when there are
certain benefits in doing so. For instance, in richer industrialised countries where social security
benefits are available, the issue of stigma is balanced against the advantages in identifying oneself as
disabled (Yeo & Moore, 2003).
Another factor which influences people’s decision to disclose information regarding disability
in family-oriented cultures is related to the presumption that there will be an inevitable transfer of the
damaged life of the individual with disability to that of the other individuals in the family network.
Here Das’s (2001) notion of “connected body-selves” is very useful as it first links the physicality of
the body to an individual’s identity and experience, and second, the meaning of personhood is fused
to a network of other body selves. Thus, by acknowledging the existence of an individual with
disabilities in the household there is an increased risk of the exclusion of other members from the
11
community. Elwan (1999: 29) notes that “having a disabled person in the family is sometimes thought
to damage marriage prospects”, and such an observation is supported by anecdotal evidence from
India and Kenya.
Approaching disability in our research project
The Disability, Education and Poverty Project (DEPP) is adopting a two pronged approach in
identifying people with disabilities. It is using a household survey and household census approach
with pre-identified markers for noting an individual’s abilities to function, and is also using a more
open ended approach to explore the local meanings and understandings of disability at the community
level.
As discussed earlier, disability in these countries is primarily regarded as a medical issue and
the focus is on impairments. While it is rather difficult and not necessarily useful to move away from
a medical approach to disability in a developing country context, there is a need for greater
appreciation of the individual and the environmental elements that need to be understood in a wider
totality. While it is important to address social factors, there is a danger of adopting an over-socialised
view of disability. This is likely to create a reductionist perspective which does not acknowledge the
pain and anguish experienced by the individual (this is especially evident in discussions around the
social model of disability in more developed economies). The approach adopted in this project is to
focus not only on bodily issues but also on the impact that these have on activity and participation.
Thus the questions are anchored not in an impairment based approach but rather suggest an activity
limitation approach. It is argued that since an individual's functioning and disability occurs in a
context, it is useful to regard this in terms of impairments of body structures and functions, limitations
of activities and restrictions of participation (WHO, 2001). The International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (or the ICF model), on which our questions draw, has been a
significant step for WHO in attempting to develop a common cross-national language around
disability and also moving forward in its thinking to acknowledge the complexities in understanding
disability.
Figure: 2 shows the questions that have been adopted for the RECOUP survey work. The six
functions are supported by questions related to severity, duration and the impact it has on participation
in the areas of home, school/work and leisure.
These questions are based on a review of the recent efforts being undertaken by the UN
Statistics Division to implement this new thinking in the collection of disability data. While the ICF
holds exciting opportunities for shaping research and practice, being a new classification, as yet there
is little evidence of its application in policy and practice.
Initial findings emerging from Pakistan which completed the RECOUP survey work in June
2007 supports the enthusiasm noted in the World Bank (2005a) report. This report notes that by using
this new approach where questions address specific functional capacities such as walking, hearing
12
etc., rather than merely asking “Are you disabled?” more reliable prevalence rates have been
recorded. For example, the 1991 Brazilian census reported only a 1 percent to 2 percent disability rate,
but the 2001 census, using the improved approach, recorded a 14.5 percent disability rate. Similar
jumps in the measured rate of disability have occurred in Turkey (12.3 percent) and Nicaragua (10.1
percent). Initial analysis of the data emerging from the Pakistan survey suggests that approximately
21 percent of the population identified themselves as having a disability. While this figure seems like
an over-estimation more in-depth analysis will most likely reveal some interesting trends. An
important issue that these figures highlight is that the ability distribution in a population is a
continuum. While many people who identify themselves as disabled lie towards one end of the
distribution, others, such as those with stammers or slight deafness, report themselves (or are reported
by others) as disabled but would be well placed on all other measures of capabilities. The larger
‘disabled’ population also includes those at the other end of the continuum whose impairments,
functioning and participation are much more restricted. To use these larger disability statistics for
policy-making requires more complex unpacking of their meaning(s) and indeed has significant
implications for policies and provisions.
By using questions that capture these complex interactions (between impairment, functioning
and participation) across the four partner countries we expect to engage in more depth with a less
culture-bound concept of disability than would otherwise have been possible.
Another important dimension of the DEPP is the community-level research being undertaken
in the partner countries. Here the focus is on approaching the members with an open set of questions.
Using techniques such as a household census (here the questions are similar to those asked in the
survey) and more contextually sensitive approaches such as transect walk, interviews with
stakeholders such as community and religious leaders, the primary health officer, teachers etc we will
begin to explore the locally held meanings that people attach to disability. Indeed here the focus on
the individual with disability and her/his family members will be a significant dimension. Considering
that other RECOUP sub-projects are also working in these communities it is hoped that this extended
engagement in the field will allow us to develop rapport with the community and will allow us to
engage with potentially sensitive issues, such as disability.
13
Seeing
Hearing
Speaking
Walking
Learning
Personal Care (such as
washing oneself, caring
for body parts, toileting,
dressing, eating,
drinking)
The following sub-sections are used within each of the above types of disabilities.
Yes = 1
Degree
No = 2
1 = mild
Since what age?
Does this reduce the amount or kind of activity --- can do
2 = moderate
3 = severe
At home?
At work or at school?
In other areas, for
example, transport or
leisure?
Yes sometimes
Yes sometimes
Yes sometimes
Yes often
Yes often
Yes often
No
No
No
Figure 2: Questions addressing disability in the household survey (RECOUP)
14
Challenge (2): Conceptualising educational outcomes for young people with disabilities in
developing countries
In the Northern context there is a steadily growing body of literature which addresses issues
related to the education of young people with disabilities. This work has primarily focused on issues,
such as increasing the access and participation of youth with disabilities in the formal education
system and supporting their transitions to adulthood. For example, the National Centre for
Educational Outcomes in Minnesota (USA) aims to increase the retention and participation of those
with disabilities in post-secondary and higher education, by focusing on issues of assessment and
curriculum delivery (NCEO, 2007). Other aspects of the research have focused on the role that
education can play in helping these young people make transitions to adulthood through work
programmes leading to some kind of employment. In this area the focus on developing person-centred
approaches has been especially noteworthy. More recently, the notion of life-long learning has come
to the forefront and debates have begun to challenge the rather singular focus on linking education to
employment, rather than focusing on enhancing the quality of life.
However, literature addressing educational outcomes for young people with disabilities is
relatively non-existent in Southern contexts. Moreover, exploring the outcomes of education for this
group in these contexts is particularly challenging. Here we undertake a discussion of the challenges
inherent in such an exercise and outline the framework being proposed by the DEPP.
(1) Education: Looking beyond the formal system
Global estimates suggest that fewer than 5 percent of children with disabilities achieve the
goal of primary school completion (Peters, 2003). Official figures within India about the educational
participation of children with disabilities in primary education are rather disparate- ranging from less
than 1 percent (Mukhopadhyay & Mani, 2002), not more than 4 percent (National Council for
Educational Research and Training, 2005) to some reports even suggesting estimates as high as 67.5
percent8 (Ministry of Human Resource Development, 2004). In a planning document published by the
Department of Higher Education (2005) it is noted that “despite efforts over the past three decades by
the government and the non-government sector, educational facilities need to be made available to a
substantial proportion of persons with disability.” It states that according to NSSO 2002 figures, “of
the literate disabled population only 9 percent completed secondary and above education”. Compared
to a national literacy figure of around 65 percent, the percentage of literacy levels of the disabled
population is only 49 percent. The literacy rates for women with disabilities are lower than those for
8
This MHRD report was published to map India’s progress towards EFA. It notes that of the 1.6 million
children with special needs (a term which is not defined, but tends to be synonymously used to refer to children
with disabilities in the Indian context) in the 6 to 14 years age group, 1.08 million children with disabilities are
attending schools.
15
men with disabilities – 37 and 58 percent respectively (in comparison to over 54 percent and 76
percent for the non-disabled population). Estimates from Kenya with regard to the participation of
young people with disabilities in secondary and higher education are not very encouraging either.
Thus, the participation of young people with disabilities, living in poor communities, in the
formal education system is unlikely to be very high. However, evidence suggests that various
alternative forms of education might be available to this group. Both India and Kenya have seen a
significant rise in the number of special schools and in the number of Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) working with people with disabilities. For example, in India in the early 1990s
there were only 1035 special schools (Ministry of Human Resource Development, 1992), a decade
later it was estimated that there are about 2,500 special schools in the country (Rehabilitation Council
of India, 2000). Over the past few decades there has also been a growing focus on Community based
Rehabilitation (CBR) programmes, which have undertaken significant work in the areas of education,
training and employment of people with disabilities. It would therefore be useful to understand the
nature and purpose of education delivered in these settings. The challenge in the DEPP is thus to
develop an understanding that moves beyond equating education with formal schooling, rather to
begin to acknowledge that education occurs in a range of different contexts, which may be both
formal and non-formal. Thus, it will be essential to understand and focus on the various “educational
arrangements” that are available to young people with disabilities – how these are characterised and
their role and purpose in the lives of youth with disabilities.
(2) Outcomes: capturing the complex lives of young people with disabilities
The majority of the literature on outcomes of education uses the markers of knowledge,
employability, earnings, and more recently, citizenship. However, these markers do not seem
adequate enough for capturing the complex and often marginalised lives of people with disabilities. In
a study exploring the aims of education, as perceived by head teachers of special schools and units in
Nairobi and Central Provinces of Kenya, Muuya (2002) noted the central purpose of education
remained focused on control, containment and care. Head teachers regarded instilling knowledge of
personal care and obedience to fit in with the rest of the population as being of fundamental concern
in educating young people with disabilities. Issues around employability and citizenship did not
feature high on their list of priorities. This study raises some important issues around exploring in
more depth the aims and outcomes of education that is provided for people with disabilities. It also
highlights a need to explore:
•
the kind of lives that people with disabilities currently live and/or aspire to live and
•
the role that education plays, does not play or is perceived as being capable of playing, in
helping them achieve the capabilities that they think will allow them to live the lives that
they would like to live.
16
While earnings and employability are powerful markers for assessing the outcomes of
education and have frequently been used in mainstream debates, they are rather restrictive in
understanding the lives of persons with disabilities (and indeed one could argue these markers are
insufficient for understanding the lives of non-disabled people too). Moving away from an economic
concern is even more difficult in a context where the focus is on pro-poor development and an
assumption holds that well-being can be achieved only through economic progress. However, there is
some merit in undertaking an exploration of “other” outcomes. Deepa et al (2000) noted that when
defining their perceptions of well being, people living in poverty did not focus purely on economic
well-being but highlighted the need to be regarded as valued members of society as an important
variable. Thus, it would be noteworthy to explore the role of education in this broader framework.
The 2007 World Development Report (World Bank, 2006) with its focus on “The Next
Generation” identifies five areas of youth transitions as “continuing to learn, starting to work,
developing a healthy lifestyle, beginning a family, and exercising citizenship” and notes that these
have “the biggest long term impact on how human capital is kept safe, developed, and deployed” (p.
2). The Report’s focus on ‘opportunities’, ‘capabilities’ and ‘second chances’ available to the young,
provides a useful framework for analysis. However, it seems to reflect a somewhat mistaken belief
that all young people go through all these five transitions (p. 10). While it acknowledges that these
transitions have different trajectories across gender, it does not indicate how these might look for
youth with disabilities. Indeed, some of its assumptions are misplaced. For example, the report argues
that “…in the transitions towards sustaining a healthy lifestyle and forming families, for example,
outcomes are influenced most by young people’s behaviour, so the emphasis would be on
capabilities” (p.11). In contrast one could argue that for a young person with disabilities living in a
rural area of a developing country, sustaining a healthy lifestyle is less likely to relate to her/his
capabilities, but is more likely related to the lack of opportunities to access adequate and efficient
health care services. Nonetheless, the areas of transition that are identified in this report are useful as a
starting point and are somewhat in line with the goals of education for young people identified in a
major OECD/CERI (1986, quoted in Bradley et. al., 1994) study. While these goals in principle might
apply to all young people but there are some groups that are more vulnerable and face greater barriers
in moving towards them, while for some young people these transitions might not even be
appropriate. For example, for some individuals’ employment might not be plausible, yet engagement
in meaningful activities might be more valued. Within the Northern context where these debates are
more advanced there is a growing appreciation of the need to develop more culturally nuanced
understanding of the processes underpinning transitions. For example, in the UK context, Maudslay
et. al., (2003) researching the lives of young people with learning difficulties from South Asian
backgrounds noted that while ‘independence’ is a valued dimension in transitions and is often
interpreted as living away from the family, it may not always be a desirable goal in the familyoriented South Asian culture, especially for young people with disabilities.
17
Thus, notions of transition are not constant across cultures, and this is reflected in some of the
debates in the ‘quality of life’ (QOL) literature. Most of the QOL literature is Northern based;
however some of the discussions undertaken here are useful for consideration in the Southern context.
The quality of life movement arose in part with the community care movement and since then has
taken on various meanings, but its central thrust has been on understanding the way in which people
with disabilities experience the quality of their daily lives. Holst (2000) provides a useful overview of
the quality of life literature and examines the different ways in which it has developed over the years.
The quality of life debates in North America have focused on making objective tools for evaluation
and monitoring of services and support arrangements offered by society to people with disabilities
(this is reflective of the significant role that the state plays in providing services for people with
disabilities).
However, the assumption here holds that indicators and measures of quality of life are
constant and common, which is not necessarily correct. Rather there is a need to acknowledge that
“quality of life can be understood as something quite subjective and culture-related” (ibid, p.: 36).
Therefore it may be more useful to focus on understanding the “the way in which people with
disabilities experience the quality of their daily lives”, their visions and ideas about quality of life they
might wish to lead and hence use these formulations for development of appropriate policies and
practices. However, the danger in adhering too closely to this understanding is that “our experience,
understanding and visions about quality of life are coloured by the culture and social environment of
which we are a part. Thus, we are all limited by the natural inevitability of the world created by the
social and cultural environments we form part of throughout our lives”. In such a scenario, daily life
in a special institution might seem so natural that a person might have difficulty in imagining that life
could be radically different, especially when one has most likely always been seen in a position of
dependency. However, casting ourselves in the role of knowing what others (those dependent on us)
might perceive as a good quality of life might result in a scenario “where we aspire for the objective
of quality which might lead to a kind of tyranny of the normal.” Thus while the basic idea of quality
of life is useful, it would be useful to draw on its objective side (which can be studied by registering
the actual conditions of life on a framework which is illustrative of certain dimensions), and also
develop its subjective side, which is focused on exploring the extent to which people themselves feel
satisfied about their lives.
The role of education in preparing young people with disabilities to lead a good quality of
life, however defined, should not be underestimated. UNESCO (1996) noted that education should
serve a bigger purpose for children and young people, “…while education is an ongoing process of
improving knowledge and skills, it is also - perhaps primarily - an exceptional means of bringing
about personal development and building relationships among individuals, groups and nations” (p: 5).
This report elucidated the “four pillars of education”: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live
18
together, and learning to be, as a powerful framework for examining the continued role of education
throughout an individual’s life.
Thus the aim here is to develop a framework that has the potential to contribute to the quality
of life for young people with disabilities. There is a need to develop a framework which is personcentred and above all culturally sensitive. For example, it will not be useful to situate debates
concerning young people with disabilities in an individualistic approach to transitions (as has been the
case in the Northern literature), rather it is essential to explore more collective understandings of
perceptions towards disabilities, and of the opportunities, aspirations and expectations for people with
disabilities as perceived by their families and significant others. However, while such an
understanding is in line with cultural underpinnings in Kenya and India, it cannot be overlooked that
the voices of young people with disabilities have historically been silenced and overshadowed. Thus
the central concern is to listen to these predominantly marginalised voices, but also to locate them
within their larger milieu.
In accordance with this thinking, figure 3 sets out the proposed framework for understanding
the social and human development outcomes for young people with disabilities. This thinking is taken
further in figure 4, where the focus is on locating the individual within the context of their family and
the broader community. The four broad dimensions of: the self, the learning self, participation and
purposeful activities, are central to the framework. The following discussion presents a rationale and
description of each of these areas. At the outset it is important to highlight that these dimensions are
highly interrelated.
19
Personal, physical, experienced and
spiritual self
Personal: self confidence, self efficacy,
aspirations and expectations
Physical self: knowledge about body,
physical care, physical needs
Learning self
Purposeful activities
Individual skills:
Modes of Communication
Income generating tasks
Literacy and mumeracy skills
Participation
Vocational skills
Non‐income generating tasks
Family: roles, responsibilities
and status
Community:
Friendships
Social networks
Figure 3: Outcomes at the individual level
20
INDIVIDUAL
FAMILY
COMMUNITY
SELF
LEARNING SELF
PARTICIPATION
PURPOSEFUL
ACTIVITIES
Attitudes
towards;
expectations
from; and
aspirations for
PWD
Perceived value and
purpose of education
for PWD;
Impact on areas of
education, work,
leisure of nondisabled family
members
Responsibilities given
to PWD; perceived role
in management of
household and in
income generation
Understandings
of disability;
perceptions
towards,
expectations of;
aspirations from
PWD
Responsibility for
education within the
household;
Knowledge and
understanding
regarding the
individual with
disabilities and
her/his rights
Care responsibilities
Perceived value and
purpose of education
for PWD;
Perceptions towards
and opportunities
available to form
friendships, met
PWD
Knowledge and
understanding
regarding the
individual with
disabilities and
her/his rights
Opportunities available
school and/or get
vocational training
(what types);
Attitudes of employees,
Role of the church,
NGO and political
bodies
Social spaces
occupied by PWD
Note: PWD – Persons with disability
Figure 4: Conceptualising Outcomes using a systemic approach
Self
The notion of self is a rather powerful and important aspect to explore especially with regard
to people with disabilities as they are likely to be hidden behind labels and associated stereotyping.
Therefore the focus here is on understanding the individual: the personal, the physical and the
experienced self. It entails an exploration of how the individual feels about her/himself and her/his
disability. What does it mean to be disabled? The aim is to move beyond the use of medical
terminologies and classifications to a reflection on the lived reality of the individual. Here the
21
individual’s perception of how others understand her/him is also important (the experienced self).
Additionally, the focus on aspirations is significant as they are central to a sense of being. While
aspirations of young people with disabilities are not likely to be very different from those of their nondisabled peers the opportunities (and capabilities) available to them are likely to be rather different
(Dee, 2006).9
The systemic approach places the individual within the family and the community; hence the
focus here is on their understandings and perceptions of disability. How they perceive disability and
the kind of expectations and aspirations they hold. Expectations that our significant others place on
us have a noteworthy impact on the opportunities that are made available to us and also influence the
capabilities that we are likely to foster. As Dee et al., (2007), note “research into the lives of people
with learning difficulties shows that more often than not their identities are bound by the assumptions
and expectations of others about who ‘people with learning difficulties’ are and what is best for
them”. A pertinent example here are the findings of a survey of young people with disabilities in
Mexico where it was noted that they had a greater desire for “education, psychosocial support and
rehabilitation than for job training” (UNICEF, 1999). In contrast, the focus of most community based
efforts tends to be primarily directed towards providing some kind of job training on the assumption
that it leads to economic independence, however outdated and monotonous that training might be.
Learning self
This aspect explores the capabilities that the individual has acquired--her/his skills,
knowledge and understandings. Here the focus is on identifying the modes of communication that the
individual uses and their effectiveness. It focuses on the young person’s skills which might be related
though not limited to, numeracy, literacy, vocational and other social skills. It also attempts to identify
the individual’s awareness of her/his rights and knowledge of the available resources. Amongst other
things it is reflective of the quality of education that the person has received.
At the levels of the family and the community it enables an exploration of the purposes (why
should they be educated?) and processes (how should they be educated?) of the education available
for young people with disabilities.
Participation
This dimension focuses on exploring levels of participation for the young person in their
family and the community. The role, responsibilities and status that the individual has in her/his
family and the voice s/he has in the decisions that shape her/his present and future (such as decisions
9
Dee (20 0 6) used a case study approach with youn g people with a range of people with special
educational needs and noted aspirations such as becom ing a film star, having a girlfriend, being a fulltim e house wife, carpenter etc.
22
about getting married, having a family, working) and that of the larger household. What role does the
young person with disabilities play in the community—what are the nature and types of interactions
that s/he has with people outside her/his household?
As previously discussed in the paper, having a person with disability in the household can
have a significant impact on other family members- their education, employment, leisure and quality
of life. Park et al, (2002), in a study undertaken in the US, noted that having a disabled family
member significantly strained family interactions, their emotional well being, health and productivity.
In Southern countries where services provided by the state are rather limited, the responsibilities and
demands placed on the family are higher and hence need to be examined. At the level of the
community, the focus is on identifying social networks and friendship patterns, and any involvement
with NGOs, religious and/or political bodies. Here attention will also be focused on identifying the
social spaces that are open to young people with disabilities and those which are restricted.
Purposeful activities
This dimension acknowledges that focusing only on employment is restrictive in terms of
exploring the types of activities that might be undertaken by young people with disabilities. Hence the
focus here is on identifying not only the income generating tasks, but also the activities that might be
undertaken at home (e.g., doing chores, caring for siblings) or others outside the house, which might
be voluntary. In a study undertaken in Scotland, Riddell et al, (2001) noted that in the absence of
employment, adults with learning difficulties find themselves without any valued social role.
However, more interesting was the finding that women with disabilities, because of the traditionally
associated gender roles, were required to undertake domestic work and caring work, which in the
absence of paid work provided them with purposeful activity and enabled them to resist the label of
dependency and child-like status. An important aspect which tends to get neglected is that of leisure:
although poverty itself restricts the kind of activities that can be undertaken, nonetheless it would be
useful to explore if this notion exists and if so, what it entails.
At the level of the family, the focus will be on understanding the kind of contributions that the
young person with disabilities is regarded as capable of making (within and outside the household)
and the kind of support systems available to her/him to develop the skills needed. These contributions
could be monetary and/or in sharing the responsibilities in the household. Finally, the community
offers an important site for examining the opportunities that are available to young people with
disabilities to get a job- the types of activities available and those which are as seen as ‘fit’ for the
person with disabilities.
23
Opportunities
As noted earlier, these four dimensions are highly interrelated, but they are also nested within
the kind of opportunities available to (and accessed by) young people with disabilities. World Bank
(2006) notes that focusing on “opportunities” is an important variable in making policies for youth
friendly and hence calls for an examination of the extent to which policies and institutions allow for
young people to develop their future skills- not just work, but also social skills. Thus, it is important to
examine the extent to which existing structures of education, health services and leisure allow for
youth with disabilities to develop the outcomes that allow them to participate in the larger society. An
examination of opportunities (as these exist, and in relation to how these are perceived by people with
disabilities- both of these might be different) is also important from an equity perspective. The World
Development Report, 2006—Equity and Development (World Bank, 2005b)—noted that “the
distribution of opportunities matters more than the distribution of outcomes” (p. 4). People with
disabilities face very different opportunities than their able-bodied peers. Sen (2004) further
elaborates on this issue with specific reference to people with disabilities. He proposes the notion of
“conversion handicap”, which argues that not only do people with disabilities have difficulty earning
an income (which he terms as the “earning handicap”) but the disability also “makes it harder to
convert income into the freedom to live well” (p.: 4). Sen goes on to elaborate that “the conversion
handicap applies, thus, not only to converting personal incomes into good living, but also to
converting social facilities into actually usable opportunities” (p. 5, emphasis added). Therefore
identifying factors that enable or hinder young people with disabilities to make use of the facilities
that are available to their non-disabled peers is essential and a cross cutting concern.
The framework proposed here offers the possibility of unpacking and elucidating the multifaceted concept of “outcomes” for young people with disabilities, while capturing the rich lives and
the “multidimensional forces which sculpt the lives of this group” (Beck, 1999) of the next
generation.
Challenge (3): Building research relationships: engaging with emancipatory and
participatory approaches to research
A central issue that all research, but more so, research focusing on disability needs to engage
with is that of “who will benefit from this research?” This is a particularly important issue for
disability research in developing countries because of the existing lacuna of information and the rather
limited funds that are directed towards undertaking research on such issues. In attempting to address
this issue there are no simple answers or pathways to ensure that there is a direct benefit to those who
have been involved in this research.
24
Rioux and Bach (1994) make a rather vivid observation in their book titled, “Disability is not
Measles”. They contend that:
What does most research in the field of disability look like? It looks a
great deal like the research into measles. The goal is prevention. Cures
are sought. However, disability is not a medical condition that needs to
be eliminated from the population. It is a social status and the research
agenda must take into account the political implications attached to that
status. A new research framework seeks to prevent the conditions that
make disability a liability in social and economic participation. It
identifies ways to increase individual control over social well-being
rather than defining social well-being as the absence of disability.
Rioux and Bach not only successfully capture how the very act of research can be disabling
but also suggest a useful alternative research stance. Research addressing issues of disability in
developing countries is rather limited and tends to be dominated with concerns such as establishing
the prevalence of various disabilities and effectiveness of various programmes of rehabilitation. In a
comprehensive review of literature on issues addressing disability and educational outcomes,
RECOUP researchers in Kenya and India noted an absence of research on these issues. Apparent from
these reviews was also a lack of research which provided “thick descriptions” of the lives of people
with disabilities. The Chronic Poverty Research website (2006) notes that
Whilst few research or development organisations would consider
working with all male respondents or beneficiaries, it is still common
practice to work with only non-disabled people. This is despite
recognising that disabled people are disproportionately among those
living in chronic poverty.
It is rather recently that research has begun to capture the lived experiences of persons with
disabilities; most of this work has been located in the Northern context (e.g., Shakespeare et al, 2000).
This has led to a growing appreciation of the need to undertake research which focuses on listening to
the voices of marginalised groups and acknowledges that people have a desire to be heard. Such
perspectives have been captured in research with persons with disabilities undertaken by Leicester
(1992) in UK. He notes that “our interviewees were pleased to share their experiences and opinions
with us. Many of them commented that they had not before had anyone from outside their family to
listen to these experiences and feelings” (p. 143). He goes on to note that “the process of the research,
the actual experience of the interviews, proved to be a positive experience for our interviewees”,
especially in lives where they was a significant lack of “communication flow”, both in terms of lack
of emotional support and that of information about existing services etc. Providing opportunities to
persons with disabilities to make their voices heard in developing country contexts, where they are
most likely to have been excluded and silenced, is thus rather challenging. The absence of voices of
those researched is consistently noted across the few studies and the many commentaries available in
the literature on disability and poverty (Robson & Evans, 2005).
25
In mapping the changing nature of research on disability issues, interesting parallels can be
drawn with the changing trends in poverty research. Kothari and Hulme (2003:1) note that “the study
of poverty dynamics has largely been dominated by the quantitative analysis of panel data sets
collected by questionnaire surveys”. They go on to note the inadequacy of such approaches by stating
that “these analyses tend to be ‘lifeless’ and contrasts with more qualitative approaches that deepen
the understanding of why some people are poor and cannot escape poverty while others can, and are
more ‘life full’. That is, they provide a wealth of data about people and their experiences rather than
aggregated classifications, categories and characteristics of poverty”. In this research terrain
participatory approaches have become significant.
Participatory approaches have been evolving in recent years, while being subject to different
interpretations. Helander (1999), amongst others, favours the use of participatory approaches in
researching issues of disability in developing countries. He argues that researching and evaluating the
needs of people with disabilities should be the starting point in any plan for determining the provision
required in meeting those needs. As such, an analysis needs to take into account a range of cultural
and contextual factors, such as political, religious and economic issues. Participatory approaches are
developed primarily from a qualitative research tradition, with a focus on meaning, interpretation and
giving the participants “a right of voice”. This research stance reflects the concerns and views of
research participants with disabilities and thus tends to reflect a social model of disability. The focus
is on listening to the research participants who are the real experts in knowing their situation.
Therefore, the role of the researcher, as suggested by Turmusani (2004) is to “get involved in a
learning process from and within the locality. Thus, the research acts as means to facilitate greater
involvement of disabled people in the research process” (p. 8).
The DEPP Approach
The focus in the DEPP is therefore on capturing the voices and lived experiences of people
with disabilities. The aim is to use a range of qualitative methods, such as life history, visual images,
and interviews to gather insights on how education has played a role in the lives of persons with
disabilities. Research conducted by Kitchin (2000) provides insights into how people with disabilities
view research and would like it to be conducted. All the research participants expressed strong
support for qualitative methods, especially interviews. Participants noted that these methods provide
the opportunity “to express and contextualise their true feelings, rather than having them pigeon-holed
into boxes with no or little opportunity for contextual explanation” (p. 43). In another study (Duckett
& Pratt, 2001) with the same research focus and undertaken with visually impaired people,
participants noted the experience of research as being akin to a doctor-patient relationship. In such a
setting participants occupy a “compliant and passive role” (p. 827), minimum information is provided,
and there is greater compliance and inability to question the doctor. Thus it is important to endeavour
26
that our research process does not mimic the power dynamic of a doctor-patient relationship. Also
building on the socio-cultural context of the partner countries, in-depth interviews will be undertaken
with significant others (such as, parents, siblings, school teachers, medical professionals in the village
etc) to draw upon their understanding of disability and the impact it has on various aspects of life.
While we endeavour to build mechanisms for listening to voices, we are also conscious that
more recently there is a growing emphasis on greater involvement of participants in the research
process, not just as suppliers of information but also involving them in making sense of the
information produced, by using their ‘insider expertise’. Mike Oliver, who is considered to be the
proponent of this research approach—the emancipatory approach—advocates that ultimate control
should be given to the research subjects and that the research (the process and its product) should be
available and accessible to this group in their struggles to improve the conditions of their existence
(Oliver, 2002). The fundamental principles shaping emancipatory approach resonates rather closely
with the issues that are being discussed at length in research on poverty. This relationship is briefly
acknowledged by Bennett & Roberts (2004) and French & Swain (2004). Participatory research
approaches in poverty are questioning who participates in the research; how the participants are
involved in the research; and what is the best way of allowing the voices of the research participants
to be heard.
While these are very important and critical questions which need to be revisited there is a
danger that all other research is seen as being unworthy. Additionally, while the emancipatory
approach is very powerful and has had much success in more developed economies there are inherent
limitations in this approach with regard to its usefulness in researching disability issues in a
developing country context. Emancipatory research takes the social model of disability as the basis of
research production (Priestley, 1999). It is strongly anchored in the social model and is a part of the
struggle of disabled people to control the decision making processes that shape their lives and to
achieve full citizenship (p: 19). While this is a useful focus in contexts where disability rights
movement and debates around it have greatly evolved, in a developing country context, its relevance
can be challenged and it would be “condemned for irrelevance where disabled people’s struggles
revolve around daily survival rather than political emancipation” (Stone & Pristley, 1996: 711).
Moreover, while the social model is relevant to developing countries it should not be overemphasised
in contexts where disability is most likely the result of accident, disease, malnutrition or other
treatable or preventable factors. Within western discourses, emancipatory approaches have come
under increased scrutiny by feminist writers and others for not taking note of the experience of the
body and pain in their research (Morris, 1992; Lang, 2000). Turmusani (2004) further argues that
emancipatory research with its greater focus on individualism is not well suited for developing
countries where disability has an important familial dimension. Moreover, in methodological terms,
emancipatory research focuses primarily on political issues and adopts a rather doctrinaire approach to
participation. Methodologically, it argues that independent research should be carried out by disabled
27
researchers, which raises significant concerns in the existing socio-political context of developing
countries.
The emancipatory approach is powerful in the ways in which it allows one to critically
challenge and strive for a process where persons with disabilities have greater ownership, and
encourage the researcher(s) to be more conscious of the ways in which the research will impact on
policy and practice. Nevertheless, within existing contextual realities it should not stop us from
becoming facilitators at the disposal of people with disabilities to help make their lives better.
The challenge for DEPP is therefore to explore different ways that will enable research
participants to have greater control over some aspects of the research process and also over the
messages that would be conveyed at the end of the process. Finally it is useful to reflect on the
assertion by Chambers (1983, quoted in Stone & Priestley, 1996), the originator of participatory
approaches, that “it is often best to get on with doing whatever can be done, however small” (p. 714).
In moving our work forward we hold true to the belief that the purpose of this research is
driven by an assumption that the existing social order needs to be critiqued and changed. The focus is
on empowerment of those participating in research in terms of knowledge, skills and action. Here we
would argue that this change is not only for the research participants, but the researchers themselves.
It is important to recognise that disability is not merely a political but also an emotive issue and there
is a need to make increasingly transparent our own assumptions, values and beliefs, as researchers.
Such attempts have been an important aspect of the initial stages of the DEPP, and this has had some
unintended but important consequences. In engaging with the design of this research has been an
opportunity for us (those involved in this project) to explore our own knowledge of disablement and
to examine the kind of beliefs we hold and their implications. When describing “disability” our own
assumptions come to the forefront. This is evident in the responses to a query regarding what are the
words and images that come to mind when we think about “disability”, at workshops in India and
Kenya, comprising of members of the research team:
Responses generated at the India workshop:
Wheelchair; limitations; barriers; deformities; incapacities; insensitivity; less privileged;
dependency; excluded; stigma; they make you feel uncomfortable; neglected; begging;
feelings of sympathy; indifference; their feelings of anger, loneliness, hopelessness,
frustration; seen as a different group –them and us; impatience of other people; labelling;
‘stories of personal triumph over tragedy, for example that of Helen Keller’
Responses generated at the Kenya workshop:
Blind—people who can’t see; hopelessness; pity; dependency; burden; abnormal; can
sing; sympathy; carers; support; needy; costs; useless; rejection; hidden;
conspicuous/visible; curse; embarrassment
28
Even though the words used were different, common themes of limitation, stigma and
marginalisation are paramount. However, most significant is the emotional reaction that undertaking
such an exercise generated. Thus, it is not surprising that there exists no neutral language with which
to discuss disability. However, such feelings of sympathy and dejection have the inherent danger of
reproducing the misery faced by people with disabilities in the research project rather than focusing
on the positives and the enabling factors that play an important role in the lives of some people with
disabilities. Moreover, if the focus is on regarding people with disabilities as dependent and in need of
care there is the inherent danger that leads to their voicelessness. There are many examples where it is
seen to be more important to speak to the family of the person with disabilities rather than to the
individual, who is seen as lacking in the ability to make sound judgments or describe her/his own
situation. Reflecting upon the assumptions that we hold is an uncomfortable but essential process as
herein comes into focus the distinction between researching “with” or “on” people with disabilities.
In contexts where people with disabilities are not only marginalized but have also been
systematically made invisible in macro and micro discourses, the value of research which attempts to
give voice to them is difficult to exaggerate. Thus, it is intended that our research will be participatory
in nature, with a “transformative” and “emancipatory” potential, notwithstanding the
many
challenges facing the implementation of this research approach.
Conclusion
In attempting to address issues of disability and poverty, one cannot overlook the many
similarities inherent in these two concepts and the similar ways in which debates around
conceptualising poverty and disability have evolved. Over the past few decades, understandings about
disability have moved away from an exclusive focus on factors within the individual to a greater
appreciation of the barriers that are inherent in society. Similarly, commentaries on poverty no longer
focus solely on physical deprivation, but highlight the need to examine social barriers and exclusions
that people living in poverty face. Thus, both poverty and disability can be regarded as symptoms of
the way that society is organised and how various existing structures and processes continue to
marginalise and isolate certain groups of people. In attempting to interrogate and challenge these
existing arrangements the role of education is central. Education has an important role not only in
shaping the lives of people with disabilities, but also in shaping the perception of those around them.
A research project bringing together a focus on poverty, disability and education will hopefully make
some worthy contributions to the field.
29
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