Teaching policy literacy: a case study from the field of disability and rehabilitation studies

Policies guide how we practice as professionals and service providers. A critical engagement with policy analysis is needed and the field of disability and rehabilitation is no exception. This is because the discourse of rehabilitation is a fluid construct that has been subject to the changing understandings of, and approaches to, disability. Research indicates that professionals and service providers struggle with the divide that regularly exists between policy formation and policy implementation. Reasons for this divide include the fact that the process of policy formation does not take the context of implementation into account, leaving professionals and service providers on their own to interpret and apply the policy to their work. We posit that policy literacy is a core contributor to the capacity to understand policy content, to interpret it in light of existing factors and to implement policy in a contextually relevant manner. In this paper, we describe a practice-based teaching innovation of authentic learning through which a cohort of 11 postgraduate diploma student-participants was supported to address the challenge of understanding, implementing and contributing to policy in their own work contexts

Tracking the policy literacy journey of students in a postgraduate diploma course in disability and rehabilitation studies

Health and/or rehabilitation practitioners have to interact with policy decisions. Ideally, they need to be able to understand policies and to engage with them, however, practitioners are often not aware of policies and of how to engage with them. As a post graduate unit with a mandate to develop programmes that respond to practice needs, this article reports on the development of a policy analysis module as part of the Post Graduate Diploma in Disability and Rehabilitation Studies. In this article we report on the development of the module, the approach taken, and on student responses to the module. The course journey of enrolled students is narrated, highlighting the encouragement of student engagement and peer feedback as key to improved learning and understandings in higher education. Facilitators’ use of didactic approaches that centre students and participatory learning seem equally important for meaningful learning

Exploring the inclusion of teaching and learning on assistive products in undergraduate curricula of health sciences faculties at three South African Universities

CITATION: Visagie, S. et al. 2021. Exploring the inclusion of teaching and learning on assistive products in undergraduate curricula of health sciences faculties at three South African Universities. Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technology, 16(7):722–729. doi:10.1080/17483107.2019.1701104The original publication is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/iidt20Background: Providers must be knowledgeable on policy, systems and products to provide a person centred service and prescribe the most appropriate assistive product for each user. Aim: This study aimed to determine to what extent teaching and learning on assistive products are included in undergraduate curricula of the Health science faculties at three universities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Methods Data were gathered through a cross sectional survey. Fifteen programmes were approached of whom eight participated. Information on teaching on assistive products was sourced from purposively identified key informants, through e-mail questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was done. Results: A total of 104 assistive products were included in the eight programmes. Manual wheelchairs were the only product for which teaching was underscored by policy guidelines. Handheld mobility devices and wheelchairs were covered by five programmes. Teaching on assistive products for self-care, participation in domestic life, indoor and outdoor activities, employment and leisure was limited. Thirty seven products listed on the GATE List of 50 were taught by at least one of the programmes. Teaching and examination were theoretical in nature and occurred in professional silos. Clinical exposure was often incidental. For many products none of the four service delivery steps were covered. Conclusion: Assistive products were included in all the participating undergraduate programmes. The range of included products and the level of training were insufficient to prepare graduates to effectively address user’s needs. Newly appointed graduates will require early in-service training to ensure appropriate assistive product service delivery. Implications for rehabilitation: Undergraduate teaching on assistive products is provided in professional silos. Not all products on the GATE APL of 50 are included in under graduate teaching. Teaching does not always ensure a proficiency level that will support graduates to provide an independent AT service.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17483107.2019.1701104Publishers versio

Education for All Week 3 - Creating an inclusive school

In this video, Chioma Ohajunwa introduces the focus for Week 3 of the Education for All MOOC, looking at how schools become inclusive, exploring support systems within the school to support this transition. The relevance of involving all aspects of the school community and methods of facilitating this shift to inclusion is discussed, supported by samples of good practise

Education for All Week 3 - Our answers 2 - Advice for new teachers

In this video, Chioma Ohajunwa responds to questions submitted by the MOOC participants on how to become more inclusive in their classrooms. She stresses the importance of starting with small, practical steps to improve inclusivity, emphasising that special education training is not required to begin with simple steps like walking alongside children with different needs. She goes through the process of adapting teaching strategies to include all children in the classroom and of being creative in working with and around curriculum. She speaks of the value of making connections with other educators working with children with different needs and accessing what materials and resources are already available within your community. In the second question, she addresses the issue of resistant parents (parents of children with disabilities) who do not see the value of their child receiving mainstream education. She discusses how to include parents in the education of their children, communicating with them about the ways in which they can contribute to include their child in mainstream education