Finding Earnesto: Temporary Labour Migration and Disbled Children's Health

We seek to expose the implications of Australia’s exclusionary and discriminatory disability migration provisions on the health and wellbeing of disabled children who have arrived in Australia through alternative migratory routes. By undertaking an in- depth analysis of a single case study, Ernesto, we bring to the fore the key issues facing disabled immigrant children. These children, like our case study Ernesto, are only granted visas on the proviso that their parents/primary caregivers agree to cover the full costs associated with their disability, including medical care and additional expenses such as educational inclusion. The story of Ernesto reveals the extreme impact of these discriminatory policies on this population’s health and wellbeing. Further, we discuss how the state’s “right to exclude” people with disabilities from the migratory process negatively affects the health and wellbeing of their siblings and parents

Moral wrongs, disadvantages, and disability: a critique of critical disability studies

Critical disability studies (CDS) has emerged as an approach to the study of disability over the last decade or so and has sought to present a challenge to the predominantly materialist line found in the more conventional disability studies approaches. In much the same way that the original development of the social model resulted in a necessary correction to the overly individualized accounts of disability that prevailed in much of the interpretive accounts which then dominated medical sociology, so too has CDS challenged the materialist line of disability studies. In this paper we review the ideas behind this development and analyse and critique some of its key ideas. The paper starts with a brief overview of the main theorists and approaches contained within CDS and then moves on to normative issues; namely, to the ethical and political applicability of CDS

The challenges of intersectionality: Researching difference in physical education

Researching the intersection of class, race, gender, sexuality and disability raises many issues for educational research. Indeed, Maynard (2002, 33) has recently argued that ‘difference is one of the most significant, yet unresolved, issues for feminist and social thinking at the beginning of the twentieth century’. This paper reviews some of the key imperatives of working with ‘intersectional theory’ and explores the extent to these debates are informing research around difference in education and Physical Education (PE). The first part of the paper highlights some key issues in theorising and researching intersectionality before moving on to consider how difference has been addressed within PE. The paper then considers three ongoing challenges of intersectionality – bodies and embodiment, politics and practice and empirical research. The paper argues for a continued focus on the specific context of PE within education for its contribution to these questions

The impact of gender and disability on the economic well-being of disabled women in the United Kingdom:A longitudinal study between 2009 and 2014

The present study examined the economic well-being of disabled and nondisabled men and women in the United Kingdom. Using the 2009–2014 Life Opportunities Survey (N = 6,159 adults), the study is the first longitudinal study to empirically compare the economic well-being of disabled women in contrast to disabled men and nondisabled men and women. Hierarchical linear modelling and hierarchical linear logistic modelling were used to estimate the longitudinal changes. Findings indicate that, overall, disabled women's economic well-being improved significantly between 2009 and 2014 even after controlling for other demographic characteristics. However, the improvements were not substantial enough to significantly narrow the economic disparities between disabled women and disabled men and nondisabled men and women. Disabled women remained worse off than disabled men and nondisabled men and women in 2014 as they did in 2009. The findings indicate that intersectional discrimination against disabled women exist in the United Kingdom. Findings from this study provide empirical evidence to support policies that enhance the economic security of disabled women.</p

Whose knowledge, whose voices? Power, agency and resistance in disability studies for the global south

Meekosha (2011) maintains that research and theories about disability derive mainly from the global North. Disability Studies rarely include non-metropolitan thinkers. Even when they do, these studies tend to be seen as context specific, and the social theories which emanate from these studies are rarely refered to in research theorizing disability in the North. This chapter sets out to investigate how this one way transfer of knowledge affects the way Disability Studies is conceptualised - whose experiences are incorporated within these studies; and whose are left out. Multilateral debate and dialogue between Disability Studies academics and activists in different locations around the world would help add on to the knowledge already available in the field, while keeping others informed about what is taking place in 'similar' situations elsewhere.peer-reviewe

Listening for policy change: How the voices of disabled people shaped Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme

Voice has become an important yet ambivalent tool for the recognition of disability. The transformative potential of voice is dependent on a political commitment to listening to disabled people. To focus on listening redirects accountability for social change from disabled people to the ableist norms, institutions and practices that structure which voices can be heard in policy debates. In this paper, I use disability theory on voice and political theory on listening to examine policy documents for the National Disability Insurance Scheme in light of claims made by the disability movement. Although my study finds some evidence of openness in the policy development stage, the scheme falls short of valuing the diverse voices of disabled people as partners in shared dialogue

Managing diversity and European policy: Towards a typology for sport pedagogy

This article adds to the growing body of knowledge in sport pedagogy and focuses specifically upon the intersection of gender and disability. Its purpose is twofold, to create a typology for examining good practice in sport pedagogy that is reflective and inclusive and raises awareness of the diverse needs of all participants in physical activity 'regardless' of gender and ability for all children. We acknowledge that access to physical activity, education and sport are complex and multifaceted, however, the main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of 'diversity' by focusing specifically upon the role of gender and ability. Through an examination of gender and disability policies in official European Union (EU) policy documents and commercial examples of policy-in-practice we propose a typology for diversity and diversity management. A close look at EU level is instructive because national policies of the member countries vary a lot with respect to diversity issues but should be in accordance in the main areas. Such a reading enables the building of a typology of recommendations for how such policy can be rendered in sport pedagogy practice. We suggest six significant, but related principles that include (1) mainstreaming; (2) teaching and coaching sensitive to difference; (3) empowerment; (4) inclusion; (5) adaptation; and (6) inner differentiation. This holistic typology seeks to 'mainstream' issues of gender and disability policy by providing a set of principles that can be applied to a range of teaching and coaching settings. © 2013 European College of Sport Science