I have been following the discussion. As regards the higher education, my
contention is that when CWD's will not get to complete school education
they will not reach the university. In my university except for a handful
of students with disabilities, whom you can count on fingers and who are
either polio cases or visually impaired students no other group finds
representation. I am sure the issue might be complicated in other ways in
other countries. What I wish to say is that although it is going to take a
long time but a recognition of the persons with disability as a
potentially successful employees in all sectors is the first requirement.
The policy makers have to stop looking at the issue as some sort of a
charitable gesture and approach disabled people with full objectivity. I
fully agree with Mairian when she says, " I think its probably true that
there are many parallels between disabled
and non-disabled people in this respect. Nobody can be expected to
understand everybody's experience as if they were in everybody's shoes. It
is sometimes hard to step outside one's own position but there is a lot of
very useful work on reflexivity within anthropology and sociology which is
very helpful here." In other words one's own positioning in terms of life
experiences is definitely needed. The constructions are very powerful .
Consequently one has to fight the battle both vis-a-vis them and aim to
deconstruct them to get to the essence of inequalities.
Anita Ghai
We cross our bridgeswhen we come to them and burn them behind us, with
nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and
a presumption that once our eyes watered
Tom Stoppard
----------
| From: Ozcan KONUR <[log in to unmask]>
| To: [log in to unmask]
| Subject: Re: Another job in Leeds?
| Date: Friday, July 02, 1999 6:30 PM
|
| Having read this thread of discussion with great interest as a person
with
| personal, professional and academic interest in the related issues, but
| currently focusing on the provision of services for students with
| disabilities in higher education, I would like to comment on Nicholas's
last
| message, extending his discsussion to higher education.
|
| It is clear from his message that there is still discrimination in the
| employment of people with disabilities in real world even though there is
| some kind of anti-dicrimination law, in forms of such as underemployment,
| barriers to promotion etc. which are indeed wel ldocumented by research
all
| over the world.
|
| However, i would like to bring to teh attention of teh list members that
| there is no such legislation even on teh paper for higher education (and
| also for further education) to include these areas under the DDA. Recent
| discussion paper by the DRTF, Disability Rights TAsk Force, (
| http://www.disability.gov.uk/drtf/ ) on the higher education recommends
for
| the inclusion of higher education under the DDA, but to my best
knowledge,
| it has many let-out clauses like reasonableness, availability of reources
| etc. unlike its equivalent legislation in the US.
|
| Current statistics shows that in the UK, studnets with disbailities are
| underrepresented in higher education, and the higher education
institutions
| only have duties for preparing disability statements under the Further
and
| Higher Education Act (1992) and they are eligible to bid for special
| disability intiaitives from the funding councils for the service
provison.
|
| The similar negligence is seen also in the research policy agendas of the
| governmental and non-governmental organisations where the higher
educaiotn
| disability related research issues lie at the bottom of their priorities
|
| It would be helpful if the Disability-research discussion list members
help
| in raising the profile of disability and higher education related issues
in
| teh discussion and research agenda considering the institutional chnage
in
| this area such as debate about including the higher education under the
DDA.
|
|
|
|
____________________________________________________________________________
__
| Ozcan KONUR
| City University Rehabilitation Resource Centre
| Northampton Square London EC1V 0HB
| The e-mail address:[log in to unmask]
| The web address: http://www.city.ac.uk/~cx639/index.htm (still
incomplete!)
| The postal communication address:
| 17 Elham House Pembury Estate Hackney London E5 8LT
|
____________________________________________________________________________
__
|
|
|
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