Disability, Race, and Origin Intersectionality in the Doctoral Program: Ableism in Higher Education

This paper explores the experiences of a doctoral disabled student at a university to examine how ableist structures in graduate programs affect access to higher education and post-degree outcomes. Guided by the DisCrit framework and autoethnography approach, the article illuminates systems and processes that disadvantage graduate disabled students. Through intersectional analyses of disability, race, and origin, the article makes visible manifestations of disability microaggressions and systemic ableism, racism, and xenophobia. It interrogates the perpetuation and normalization of academic transgressions, including exclusionary practices that degrade and oppress graduate disabled students and hinder them from seeking success. Finally, the argument is made in favour of reforms to authenticate disability culture, validate students’ rights to education, decolonize academics from ableism, and create a disability-friendly university environment

The COVID-19 Pandemic, its Consequences, and the Recovery: Implementation of Disaster Education and Management is Key to the Schooling of Children with Disabilities

COVID-19 pandemic has eroded gains towards Kenya Vision 2030’s poverty eradication goal by denying Kenyan children and youth with disabilities access to (quality) education. Situational analysis on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education of primary and secondary school-age individuals from March 2020 to December 2020 reveal that the education opportunities for learners with disabilities remained unpredictable as the disease ravaged communities to the end of the year.  Learners with disabilities fell behind academically after school closure and COVID-19 related biases predisposed them to academic failure and failed adulthood. Then, the implementation of disaster education and recovery plans are overdue and must intentionally target education of children and youth with disabilities.