Pub Date : 2023-05-15DOI: 10.1177/13582291231173609
Alexander Ian Simmonds
The UK Space Industry Act 2018 has now been supplemented with the new Space Industry Regulations. While examples of Space Tourism grace our screens and newsfeeds on an increasingly regular basis such as William Shatner’s recent voyage (Luscombe, 2021) the UK Regulations also pave the way for ‘human occupants’ (UK Space Industry Regulations, Regulation 2) to experience such a flight (UK Space Agency, 2020). A key part of the regulations pertaining to human occupants is that they must provide ‘informed consent’ before embarking on such a flight. If, as is likely to be the case, future courts are to draw analogies with the current state of medical law in this area, spaceflight operators will have to tread carefully if they are to avoid vitiating any informed consent by ‘bombarding’ any willing human occupant with technical detail prior to their flight (Simmonds, 2020). Whilst this could prove legally problematic for ‘capacitous’ individuals within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, it is likely to be even more so for those who could be deemed, in some aspects of their cognitive ability, to lack capacity. UK Space Legislation as it presently stands faces three problems: 1) There is presently no legal mechanism under UK Space Law to determine capacity. 2) As examples from the Court of Protection indicate, ‘capacity’ is a very nuanced legal concept and individuals who, on the fact of things, may appear to lack capacity as regards potentially risky activities, have been regarded by the Courts as, at least, partially capacitous in respect of certain decisions. Operators may find themselves having to tread a fine line to avoid claims of discrimination. 3) because of point 1) and the state of the Law of Contract as regards contractual relationships entered into by potentially incapacitous individuals, further significant legal problems may present themselves. This paper will focus primarily on the Law in England and Wales but some of the overarching conclusions will be of relevance to all UK jurisdictions.
{"title":"For all (Hu)mankind? The intersection of mental capacity, informed consent and contract law with U.K. space law","authors":"Alexander Ian Simmonds","doi":"10.1177/13582291231173609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231173609","url":null,"abstract":"The UK Space Industry Act 2018 has now been supplemented with the new Space Industry Regulations. While examples of Space Tourism grace our screens and newsfeeds on an increasingly regular basis such as William Shatner’s recent voyage (Luscombe, 2021) the UK Regulations also pave the way for ‘human occupants’ (UK Space Industry Regulations, Regulation 2) to experience such a flight (UK Space Agency, 2020). A key part of the regulations pertaining to human occupants is that they must provide ‘informed consent’ before embarking on such a flight. If, as is likely to be the case, future courts are to draw analogies with the current state of medical law in this area, spaceflight operators will have to tread carefully if they are to avoid vitiating any informed consent by ‘bombarding’ any willing human occupant with technical detail prior to their flight (Simmonds, 2020). Whilst this could prove legally problematic for ‘capacitous’ individuals within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, it is likely to be even more so for those who could be deemed, in some aspects of their cognitive ability, to lack capacity. UK Space Legislation as it presently stands faces three problems: 1) There is presently no legal mechanism under UK Space Law to determine capacity. 2) As examples from the Court of Protection indicate, ‘capacity’ is a very nuanced legal concept and individuals who, on the fact of things, may appear to lack capacity as regards potentially risky activities, have been regarded by the Courts as, at least, partially capacitous in respect of certain decisions. Operators may find themselves having to tread a fine line to avoid claims of discrimination. 3) because of point 1) and the state of the Law of Contract as regards contractual relationships entered into by potentially incapacitous individuals, further significant legal problems may present themselves. This paper will focus primarily on the Law in England and Wales but some of the overarching conclusions will be of relevance to all UK jurisdictions.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42960134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-15DOI: 10.1177/13582291231174156
Laverne Jacobs
In Canada, access to post-secondary education is guaranteed by a number of domestic instruments. These instruments are: statutory human rights legislation, constitutional law, and accessibility legislation. These guarantees are further bolstered by Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Statutory human rights legislation (or anti-discrimination law) plays the most extensive role in controlling the discretionary power that colleges and universities exercise with respect to the admission of prospective students and the reasonable accommodation of matriculated students with disabilities. This article presents the findings of a review of decisions by human rights tribunals in Canada over the 7-year period of 2014–2021. With respect to both admissions cases and in-program reasonable accommodations cases, it identifies the main types of barriers experienced by persons with disabilities. It also examines the ways in which accessibility legislation, a proactive standard-setting form of legislation in Canada, has sought to improve access to post-secondary students with disabilities, focusing on Ontario’s post-secondary education accessibility standards as an example. Finally, it argues that changes to policies and practices on the ground that draw more inspiration from Article 24 of the CRPD will help to ensure that the equality right to post-secondary education for students with disabilities is fulfilled in letter and spirit.
{"title":"Access to post-secondary Education in Canada for students with disabilities","authors":"Laverne Jacobs","doi":"10.1177/13582291231174156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231174156","url":null,"abstract":"In Canada, access to post-secondary education is guaranteed by a number of domestic instruments. These instruments are: statutory human rights legislation, constitutional law, and accessibility legislation. These guarantees are further bolstered by Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Statutory human rights legislation (or anti-discrimination law) plays the most extensive role in controlling the discretionary power that colleges and universities exercise with respect to the admission of prospective students and the reasonable accommodation of matriculated students with disabilities. This article presents the findings of a review of decisions by human rights tribunals in Canada over the 7-year period of 2014–2021. With respect to both admissions cases and in-program reasonable accommodations cases, it identifies the main types of barriers experienced by persons with disabilities. It also examines the ways in which accessibility legislation, a proactive standard-setting form of legislation in Canada, has sought to improve access to post-secondary students with disabilities, focusing on Ontario’s post-secondary education accessibility standards as an example. Finally, it argues that changes to policies and practices on the ground that draw more inspiration from Article 24 of the CRPD will help to ensure that the equality right to post-secondary education for students with disabilities is fulfilled in letter and spirit.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49398008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-11DOI: 10.1177/13582291231165451
L. Waddington
Dutch legislation has prohibited disability discrimination with regard to post-secondary education since 2003, when the Equal Treatment of Disabled and Chronically Ill People Act came into force. The Act prohibits disability discrimination with regard to, inter alia, further and higher education. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) plays an important role in interpreting and applying all Dutch equality legislation. It has a quasi-judicial task and, in this capacity, hears individual complaints and issues Opinions. The NIHR, and its predecessor, the Equal Treatment Commission, have issued numerous Opinions in the context of post-secondary education and (alleged) disability discrimination. For this reason, the Netherlands has been selected for a case study on disability discrimination in post-secondary education. This article examines 70 Opinions in this area and explores: whether individuals with particular forms of disabilities or chronic illnesses are over-represented in the cases brought; the main areas in which cases (alleging) disability discrimination in the context of post- secondary education have arisen; and the types of (alleged) discrimination which are at issue.
{"title":"Dutch disability discrimination law and further and higher education: A case study based on the Opinions of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights","authors":"L. Waddington","doi":"10.1177/13582291231165451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231165451","url":null,"abstract":"Dutch legislation has prohibited disability discrimination with regard to post-secondary education since 2003, when the Equal Treatment of Disabled and Chronically Ill People Act came into force. The Act prohibits disability discrimination with regard to, inter alia, further and higher education. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (NIHR) plays an important role in interpreting and applying all Dutch equality legislation. It has a quasi-judicial task and, in this capacity, hears individual complaints and issues Opinions. The NIHR, and its predecessor, the Equal Treatment Commission, have issued numerous Opinions in the context of post-secondary education and (alleged) disability discrimination. For this reason, the Netherlands has been selected for a case study on disability discrimination in post-secondary education. This article examines 70 Opinions in this area and explores: whether individuals with particular forms of disabilities or chronic illnesses are over-represented in the cases brought; the main areas in which cases (alleging) disability discrimination in the context of post- secondary education have arisen; and the types of (alleged) discrimination which are at issue.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49110439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-04DOI: 10.1177/13582291231162217
Alicia Steele, R. Banks, W. Louis
A small internal investigation by the University of Queensland (UQ) Union Disability Collective resulted in a student-led project supported by academics across three Australian universities. The project seeks to gain new insights into the experience of students with disabilities studying at Australian universities. Universities conduct disability surveys from time to time, but these tend to be forgotten as time passes and priorities change. This project involved the co-design and development of a survey, using qualitative and quantitative questions, to investigate students’ experiences, including of barriers to education and participation in the Australian tertiary (or post-secondary) sector. This is planned to be the first of several research projects to transparently and accountably track issues faced by disabled tertiary students, and what is working to improve education outcomes and reduce discrimination. The survey has been piloted with UQ students with a view to roll it out to other universities. This paper focuses on the survey instrument and describes the project’s formation and development. It also identifies challenges that have arisen in the process and future directions.
{"title":"A co-designed tool to gather data from students with disability about their experiences in tertiary education: Insights from Australia","authors":"Alicia Steele, R. Banks, W. Louis","doi":"10.1177/13582291231162217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231162217","url":null,"abstract":"A small internal investigation by the University of Queensland (UQ) Union Disability Collective resulted in a student-led project supported by academics across three Australian universities. The project seeks to gain new insights into the experience of students with disabilities studying at Australian universities. Universities conduct disability surveys from time to time, but these tend to be forgotten as time passes and priorities change. This project involved the co-design and development of a survey, using qualitative and quantitative questions, to investigate students’ experiences, including of barriers to education and participation in the Australian tertiary (or post-secondary) sector. This is planned to be the first of several research projects to transparently and accountably track issues faced by disabled tertiary students, and what is working to improve education outcomes and reduce discrimination. The survey has been piloted with UQ students with a view to roll it out to other universities. This paper focuses on the survey instrument and describes the project’s formation and development. It also identifies challenges that have arisen in the process and future directions.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45494699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nomadism is perceived as an essential trait of the Romani ethnic identity, both inside and outside the Romani communities. This paper explores the meaning of nomadism in the Romani culture by considering how this practice has been represented in the sociocultural imaginary. In particular, the paper analyzes the depiction of nomadism in the ethnopolitical discourse and the literary field, both in oral tradition and in written texts. The analysis examines works authored by representative Romani writers, such as Bronislawa Wajs “Papusza”, Mateo Maximoff, Menyhért Lakatos or José Heredia Maya, among others. Finally, the paper considers how in the literary text, the image of nomadism is produced and consumed as a mark of ethnic authenticity.
{"title":"Nomadism as Ancestral Homeland in the Romani Culture","authors":"Ana Belén Martín Sevillano","doi":"10.33182/disc.v5i1.3000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33182/disc.v5i1.3000","url":null,"abstract":"Nomadism is perceived as an essential trait of the Romani ethnic identity, both inside and outside the Romani communities. This paper explores the meaning of nomadism in the Romani culture by considering how this practice has been represented in the sociocultural imaginary. In particular, the paper analyzes the depiction of nomadism in the ethnopolitical discourse and the literary field, both in oral tradition and in written texts. The analysis examines works authored by representative Romani writers, such as Bronislawa Wajs “Papusza”, Mateo Maximoff, Menyhért Lakatos or José Heredia Maya, among others. Finally, the paper considers how in the literary text, the image of nomadism is produced and consumed as a mark of ethnic authenticity.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135517050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-27DOI: 10.1177/13582291231173764
M. Bell, Laverne Jacobs
The articles in this special issue are derived from a 2 day, online conference held on May 5–6, 2022 organized by the Disability Rights Working Group of the Berkeley Center for Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law in conjunction with the Law, Disability & Social Change Project, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. As the CoDirectors of the Disability Rights Working Group, we are indebted to all the speakers and participants at the conference for their invaluable contributions. Article 24(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to education and states that this should be realized without discrimination, on the basis of equal opportunity, and inclusive at all levels (emphasis added). Article 24 sets out several fundamental dimensions to realizing the right to education, including at the post-secondary level. For example, Article 24(1) establishes many of the qualitative goals that persons with disabilities will be enabled to achieve through the right to education, such as the full development of human potential, a sense of dignity and selfworth, and a student’s creativity and talent. Article 24(4) addresses, in part, the need to train teachers, professionals and staff to support persons with disabilities in their educational journey at all levels of learning. Article 24(5) is specifically addressed to post-secondary level education:
{"title":"Guest editors' introduction: Inclusive post-secondary education and persons with disabilities","authors":"M. Bell, Laverne Jacobs","doi":"10.1177/13582291231173764","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231173764","url":null,"abstract":"The articles in this special issue are derived from a 2 day, online conference held on May 5–6, 2022 organized by the Disability Rights Working Group of the Berkeley Center for Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law in conjunction with the Law, Disability & Social Change Project, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. As the CoDirectors of the Disability Rights Working Group, we are indebted to all the speakers and participants at the conference for their invaluable contributions. Article 24(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to education and states that this should be realized without discrimination, on the basis of equal opportunity, and inclusive at all levels (emphasis added). Article 24 sets out several fundamental dimensions to realizing the right to education, including at the post-secondary level. For example, Article 24(1) establishes many of the qualitative goals that persons with disabilities will be enabled to achieve through the right to education, such as the full development of human potential, a sense of dignity and selfworth, and a student’s creativity and talent. Article 24(4) addresses, in part, the need to train teachers, professionals and staff to support persons with disabilities in their educational journey at all levels of learning. Article 24(5) is specifically addressed to post-secondary level education:","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43674010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-24DOI: 10.1177/13582291231169397
L. Buckley, Shivaun Quinlivan
Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2018. However, the CRPD’s provisions on inclusive education have not been widely considered in relation to Irish third level education. This article outlines the findings from two research projects that examined the experiences of students with disabilities at one Irish university. It begins by considering the scope of inclusive education in the CRPD, addressing this through the prism of two cross-cutting rights, accessibility and reasonable accommodation. It outlines the Irish legislative context, identifying significant gaps between existing legal provisions and Ireland’s CRPD obligations. It then explores the practical realisation of inclusive education at the case study university. The article argues that accessibility in the CRPD is broader than both Irish legislative requirements and the general institutional understanding. Noting that students face significant difficulties accessing effective reasonable accommodations in practice, the paper contends that this may be partly attributable to the silo-ing of institutional knowledge and the lack of a ‘whole educational environment’ approach, as well as attitudinal barriers. These impediments prevent the full and equal participation of students with disabilities in tertiary education. The paper then draws on the CRPD to offer suggestions for enhancing inclusive practice.
{"title":"Inclusive learning in Ireland: A case study","authors":"L. Buckley, Shivaun Quinlivan","doi":"10.1177/13582291231169397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231169397","url":null,"abstract":"Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2018. However, the CRPD’s provisions on inclusive education have not been widely considered in relation to Irish third level education. This article outlines the findings from two research projects that examined the experiences of students with disabilities at one Irish university. It begins by considering the scope of inclusive education in the CRPD, addressing this through the prism of two cross-cutting rights, accessibility and reasonable accommodation. It outlines the Irish legislative context, identifying significant gaps between existing legal provisions and Ireland’s CRPD obligations. It then explores the practical realisation of inclusive education at the case study university. The article argues that accessibility in the CRPD is broader than both Irish legislative requirements and the general institutional understanding. Noting that students face significant difficulties accessing effective reasonable accommodations in practice, the paper contends that this may be partly attributable to the silo-ing of institutional knowledge and the lack of a ‘whole educational environment’ approach, as well as attitudinal barriers. These impediments prevent the full and equal participation of students with disabilities in tertiary education. The paper then draws on the CRPD to offer suggestions for enhancing inclusive practice.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41748828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-21DOI: 10.1177/13582291231173761
{"title":"Special Issue: Inclusive post-secondary education and persons with disabilities","authors":"","doi":"10.1177/13582291231173761","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231173761","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48403461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1177/13582291231169668
Paul Harpur, B. Szucs
Driven by anti-discrimination laws and a desire to promote human rights, universities have made strategic efforts to support their students with disabilities and provided some support to their staff with disabilities. However, persons with disabilities are not visible in senior leadership positions in universities. It is time for change. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has established new human rights expectations that require representation of persons with disabilities across all of society, and at all levels, at percentages which reflect their proportion within the population. Even though States are slow to introduce regulatory reforms to transform society and realize ability equality, some in the higher education sector are seeking to go above compliance and move their institutions, and the broader sector, to a more inclusive place. This paper maps out the efforts led at one Australian institution to use existing structures in disability discrimination laws to provide leadership opportunities for persons with disabilities as a blueprint for further change.
{"title":"Using the new disability human rights paradigm to create higher education leadership opportunities","authors":"Paul Harpur, B. Szucs","doi":"10.1177/13582291231169668","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231169668","url":null,"abstract":"Driven by anti-discrimination laws and a desire to promote human rights, universities have made strategic efforts to support their students with disabilities and provided some support to their staff with disabilities. However, persons with disabilities are not visible in senior leadership positions in universities. It is time for change. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has established new human rights expectations that require representation of persons with disabilities across all of society, and at all levels, at percentages which reflect their proportion within the population. Even though States are slow to introduce regulatory reforms to transform society and realize ability equality, some in the higher education sector are seeking to go above compliance and move their institutions, and the broader sector, to a more inclusive place. This paper maps out the efforts led at one Australian institution to use existing structures in disability discrimination laws to provide leadership opportunities for persons with disabilities as a blueprint for further change.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44397690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-10DOI: 10.1177/13582291231162315
Michele Botha, Karina Fischer Mogensen, A. Ebrahim, Dominique Brand
South African legislation is viewed as progressive in relation to persons with disabilities. Policies addressing socio-economic inequality include a focus on promoting skills development and employment for persons with disabilities. A predominant instrument for providing post-school training and work opportunities to disadvantaged youth, including persons with disabilities, is learnership programmes funded through the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). Despite enabling policies and investment in learnerships, persons with disabilities comprise only 1.3% of the workforce, while an estimated 15% of the population are disabled. This situation opens up the skills development strategy, and supporting legislation, for some critical review. Using Critical Disability Studies as a lens, this paper offers three critiques concerning the operation of learnerships for disability inclusion in South Africa; (1) neglecting to align skills development and market needs holds persons with disabilities in a cycle of training and poverty; (2) focusing exclusively on providing hard skills fails to account for complex challenges faced by persons with disabilities; and (3) viewing skills development and inclusive employment as a charitable endeavour fails to achieve social justice. This paper argues that the planning and implementation of learnerships should respond to current debates concerning holistic approaches to inclusive development.
{"title":"In search of a landing place for persons with disabilities: A critique of South Africa’s skills development programme","authors":"Michele Botha, Karina Fischer Mogensen, A. Ebrahim, Dominique Brand","doi":"10.1177/13582291231162315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13582291231162315","url":null,"abstract":"South African legislation is viewed as progressive in relation to persons with disabilities. Policies addressing socio-economic inequality include a focus on promoting skills development and employment for persons with disabilities. A predominant instrument for providing post-school training and work opportunities to disadvantaged youth, including persons with disabilities, is learnership programmes funded through the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). Despite enabling policies and investment in learnerships, persons with disabilities comprise only 1.3% of the workforce, while an estimated 15% of the population are disabled. This situation opens up the skills development strategy, and supporting legislation, for some critical review. Using Critical Disability Studies as a lens, this paper offers three critiques concerning the operation of learnerships for disability inclusion in South Africa; (1) neglecting to align skills development and market needs holds persons with disabilities in a cycle of training and poverty; (2) focusing exclusively on providing hard skills fails to account for complex challenges faced by persons with disabilities; and (3) viewing skills development and inclusive employment as a charitable endeavour fails to achieve social justice. This paper argues that the planning and implementation of learnerships should respond to current debates concerning holistic approaches to inclusive development.","PeriodicalId":42250,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Discrimination and the Law","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48610051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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