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Anokwuru, Joann Ihuoma

University of British Columbia

Despite Nigeria’s policies on inclusive education, a gap exists between the word in policy and deed for people with disabilities. This qualitative study draws upon narratives of young people with disabilities, parents, special educators and a policymaker who recount their experiences within and around the Nigerian educational system. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development serves as a framework to situate and contextualize their particular experiences by considering broader socio-cultural influences, as well as immediate environments, such as family and school. In moving toward inclusive education in Nigeria, areas of focus are recommended, and an ecology of inclusive education with practical pathways is proposed. The fifteen participants in the study were selected to bring together relevant and diverse insights into past and current educational challenges within existing structures and future possibilities for people with disabilities in Nigeria. Each voice was positioned within a socio-cultural context and ecology of interrelated environments related to the individual, the family, the school, and public policy. Across the four groups of participants, voices were treated distinctly, represented in dialogue form, collective narratives and particular excerpts to situate, contextualize and personalize nuances of the journeys they chose to share. Each contributed to a larger narrative of stories, conceptions, practices and recommendations in this study. General themes across the narratives include experiences related to stigma, inclusivity, barriers, and support resources. Other themes focused on particular experiences of young adults with disabilities and their parents such as uncertainty, sacrifice, insufficient funding, changing schools, and the lack of educational resources and special educators. From the data, three priority areas of focus with eight recommendations were generated: stigma (prevalence, intervention), professional development for educators (rights-based frameworks, inclusive education) and the government’s role in inclusive education (reliable data, targeted funding, accessible language). Finally, an ecology of inclusive education, as a framework, submits that courses of action and intervention strategies target multiple structures and environmental influences together rather than a focus on exclusive ones. This study concludes that implementing inclusive education will be a significant step in achieving Nigeria’s policies in tackling discrimination against people living with disabilities and achieving inclusive education for all.

Text

2023-02-18

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/83834

Curriculum Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/