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Constructing the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education: a discourse analysis using Q-methodology
- Authors: McKenzie, Judith Anne
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Learning disabled -- Education -- South Africa , Discourse analysis -- Methodology , Discourse analysis , Children with mental disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Q technique , Special education -- South Africa , Children with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Right to education , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002526
- Description: The education of intellectually disabled (ID) people is constructed within mass education systems as a problem requiring specialised intervention, separation from “normal” school contexts and the application of professional expertise. A social model of disability resists these practices from a human rights perspective and underpins an inclusive education approach. In this study, a post-structuralist disability studies theoretical framework, drawing particularly on the work of Foucault, was used to examine discourses that construct the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education. The study was conducted in Buffalo City, South Africa at a time when an inclusive education policy is being implemented in the country. The research questions were: What discourses are deployed in the representation and educational practices of those identified as ID? What are the effects of these discourses in constructing the ID subject and associated educational practice? The study utilises Q-methodology, a factor analytic method that yields whole patterns of responses for analysis. A process of sorting selected statements along the dimension of agree to disagree was completed by three groups of participants, namely adults with ID, parents of people with ID and professionals working with ID. Discourses of representation and of educational practice were identified through statistical and interpretive analysis, following the discourse analysis school of Q-methodology. The findings of this study reveal the operation of power in a medico-psychological gaze that makes ID visible and supervises disability expertise within education. Representations of ID suffused with religious notions support the exercise of pastoral power by disability experts. Human rights discourses in education can marginalise ID people if applied uncritically. Fixed notions of impairment constrain an intellectually disabled subject who is vulnerable and incompetent. This study argues instead for a theory of (poss)ability, underpinned by an understanding of the situational and shared nature of competence and a fluid conception of impairment. Human rights should be supplemented by an ethics of care and belonging in the community (ubuntu). A research agenda supporting this effort would examine the ways in which ID people work on themselves as subjects (subjectivisation) and explore the potential for resistance in this process.
- Full Text:
- Authors: McKenzie, Judith Anne
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 , Learning disabled -- Education -- South Africa , Discourse analysis -- Methodology , Discourse analysis , Children with mental disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Q technique , Special education -- South Africa , Children with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Right to education , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002526
- Description: The education of intellectually disabled (ID) people is constructed within mass education systems as a problem requiring specialised intervention, separation from “normal” school contexts and the application of professional expertise. A social model of disability resists these practices from a human rights perspective and underpins an inclusive education approach. In this study, a post-structuralist disability studies theoretical framework, drawing particularly on the work of Foucault, was used to examine discourses that construct the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education. The study was conducted in Buffalo City, South Africa at a time when an inclusive education policy is being implemented in the country. The research questions were: What discourses are deployed in the representation and educational practices of those identified as ID? What are the effects of these discourses in constructing the ID subject and associated educational practice? The study utilises Q-methodology, a factor analytic method that yields whole patterns of responses for analysis. A process of sorting selected statements along the dimension of agree to disagree was completed by three groups of participants, namely adults with ID, parents of people with ID and professionals working with ID. Discourses of representation and of educational practice were identified through statistical and interpretive analysis, following the discourse analysis school of Q-methodology. The findings of this study reveal the operation of power in a medico-psychological gaze that makes ID visible and supervises disability expertise within education. Representations of ID suffused with religious notions support the exercise of pastoral power by disability experts. Human rights discourses in education can marginalise ID people if applied uncritically. Fixed notions of impairment constrain an intellectually disabled subject who is vulnerable and incompetent. This study argues instead for a theory of (poss)ability, underpinned by an understanding of the situational and shared nature of competence and a fluid conception of impairment. Human rights should be supplemented by an ethics of care and belonging in the community (ubuntu). A research agenda supporting this effort would examine the ways in which ID people work on themselves as subjects (subjectivisation) and explore the potential for resistance in this process.
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Discursive psychological analysis on the construction and performance of identity through rights talk on social media related to #FeesMustFall
- Authors: Mashaba, Tumelo Thabo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Identity , Right to education , Human rights , Social media -- Political aspects -- South Africa , College students -- Political activity -- South Africa , College students -- Attitudes -- South Africa , College students, Black -- Psychology -- South Africa , College students, Black -- Attitudes -- South Africa , College students -- Psychology -- South Africa , Student protestors -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Student movements -- South Africa , Internet and activisim -- South Africa , Internet in political campaigns -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96668 , vital:31306
- Description: #FeesMustFall emerged at the end of 2015 after an announcement that tuitions would increase. The student protests occurred across higher education institutions within the country in which mass shutdowns were initiated, there was the presence of violence and the use of social media. The protests occurred in 2016 but experienced a shift in tone in terms of the violence present in the protests. The research sought to unpack how identity was constructed and performed through rights talk in regards to #FeesMustFall on social media. The methodology worked from a social constructionist perspective where the research consisted of a discursive psychological analytical approach to the texts presented. The discursive repertoires that were identified were: emotions repertoire; struggle repertoire; apartheid repertoire; racial repertoire; and rights repertoire. The subject positions revealed through the repertoires indicated that protesters and supporters constructed and performed their identity in particular ways. They were positioned as black; working class; victims who are enacting a sense of agency; denied their rights; have moral authority and are a parallel to the protesters under apartheid. The repertoire of struggle, racial and apartheid all link with each other. The rights repertoire is the foundation and the emotions repertoire is the tone of the student protests.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mashaba, Tumelo Thabo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Identity , Right to education , Human rights , Social media -- Political aspects -- South Africa , College students -- Political activity -- South Africa , College students -- Attitudes -- South Africa , College students, Black -- Psychology -- South Africa , College students, Black -- Attitudes -- South Africa , College students -- Psychology -- South Africa , Student protestors -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Student movements -- South Africa , Internet and activisim -- South Africa , Internet in political campaigns -- South Africa , Higher education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96668 , vital:31306
- Description: #FeesMustFall emerged at the end of 2015 after an announcement that tuitions would increase. The student protests occurred across higher education institutions within the country in which mass shutdowns were initiated, there was the presence of violence and the use of social media. The protests occurred in 2016 but experienced a shift in tone in terms of the violence present in the protests. The research sought to unpack how identity was constructed and performed through rights talk in regards to #FeesMustFall on social media. The methodology worked from a social constructionist perspective where the research consisted of a discursive psychological analytical approach to the texts presented. The discursive repertoires that were identified were: emotions repertoire; struggle repertoire; apartheid repertoire; racial repertoire; and rights repertoire. The subject positions revealed through the repertoires indicated that protesters and supporters constructed and performed their identity in particular ways. They were positioned as black; working class; victims who are enacting a sense of agency; denied their rights; have moral authority and are a parallel to the protesters under apartheid. The repertoire of struggle, racial and apartheid all link with each other. The rights repertoire is the foundation and the emotions repertoire is the tone of the student protests.
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Social protection as a mechanism for promoting the right to education for vulnerable children in Mwenezi District, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Shumba, Sibangani
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Social security , Right to education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16676 , vital:40742
- Description: Social protection has been introduced against the backdrop of fears that many children were not able to access their right to education. However, there have been raging debates on whether the mechanism really works to effectively support the right to education of these children. It is on the backdrop of such debates that the study was undertaken, to find out if social protection was effectively being implemented to support the right to education for vulnerable children in Mwenezi District of Zimbabwe. Given the nature of variables and research questions, the study was located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed-method approach and concurrent triangulation approach to closely examine the issues under study was adopted. A combination of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling approaches were used to identify the subject for the study. Data were then collected from various respondents that were considered knowledgeable about the issues under discussion. These included district level officials from Ministry of Primary Education, Ministry of Labour and Social Services, District Administrator, Chief Executive Officer as well as Civil Society Organisations. Also included as sample of the study were school heads, teachers, children and community groups. Face to face interviews, Focus Group Discussions and a survey teacher questionnaire were used to solicit the data. The study confirmed the multi-dimension nature of vulnerabilities that children in Mwenezi district were facing. Meanwhile, various social protection programmes that were seeking to address the issues of child vulnerabilities were found to be in place. Providers ranged from Government, Civil Society and private players (individuals or companies). Of significance were good practices in some communities even though these communities were not aware that they were making positive contributions to the enhancement of educational opportunities. Though, these programmes were on the ground and functional, it was their management that became the focus of much scrutiny. The programmes and their management were indeed making a contribution to enhance children’s right to education. However, there were areas that required improvement in order to raise their contribution to higher levels. The results further revealed that there was need to embrace a broader spectrum of participants, including communities and children. The institutional arrangements were also noted as requiring ii review to inject urgency and efficiency. Also recommended was the enhancement of awareness, training and networking activities by implementers, while the Government system should not involve more players but improve the systems that place children at the centre. An alternative model for social protection delivery was recommended for consideration
- Full Text:
- Authors: Shumba, Sibangani
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Social security , Right to education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16676 , vital:40742
- Description: Social protection has been introduced against the backdrop of fears that many children were not able to access their right to education. However, there have been raging debates on whether the mechanism really works to effectively support the right to education of these children. It is on the backdrop of such debates that the study was undertaken, to find out if social protection was effectively being implemented to support the right to education for vulnerable children in Mwenezi District of Zimbabwe. Given the nature of variables and research questions, the study was located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed-method approach and concurrent triangulation approach to closely examine the issues under study was adopted. A combination of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling approaches were used to identify the subject for the study. Data were then collected from various respondents that were considered knowledgeable about the issues under discussion. These included district level officials from Ministry of Primary Education, Ministry of Labour and Social Services, District Administrator, Chief Executive Officer as well as Civil Society Organisations. Also included as sample of the study were school heads, teachers, children and community groups. Face to face interviews, Focus Group Discussions and a survey teacher questionnaire were used to solicit the data. The study confirmed the multi-dimension nature of vulnerabilities that children in Mwenezi district were facing. Meanwhile, various social protection programmes that were seeking to address the issues of child vulnerabilities were found to be in place. Providers ranged from Government, Civil Society and private players (individuals or companies). Of significance were good practices in some communities even though these communities were not aware that they were making positive contributions to the enhancement of educational opportunities. Though, these programmes were on the ground and functional, it was their management that became the focus of much scrutiny. The programmes and their management were indeed making a contribution to enhance children’s right to education. However, there were areas that required improvement in order to raise their contribution to higher levels. The results further revealed that there was need to embrace a broader spectrum of participants, including communities and children. The institutional arrangements were also noted as requiring ii review to inject urgency and efficiency. Also recommended was the enhancement of awareness, training and networking activities by implementers, while the Government system should not involve more players but improve the systems that place children at the centre. An alternative model for social protection delivery was recommended for consideration
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