Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE DBS2003

 
TITLE Disability Issues in Secondary Education

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 2

 
DEPARTMENT Disability Studies

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit explores issues that concern disabled children and their education. The aim of the study-unit is to make students aware of the key role played by inclusive education in ensuring that disabled children find their rightful place in society as children and eventually as adults. The study-unit also explores the socially-constructed disabling barriers to inclusion that have a negative effect on the daily lives of disabled children and their families. It also considers how, as future teachers, they can work to help dismantle these barriers.

The study-unit begins with a theoretical grounding of the different models of disability with special emphasis on the social model of disability. A history of the national/international development of the disability rights movement and of relevant disability legislation will also be discussed. This theoretical aspect is then applied to the personal experience of disability as it is lived by people with different impairments as well as parents of disabled children.

Study-unit Aims:

The aim of the study-unit is to make students aware of the key role played by inclusive education in ensuring that disabled children find their rightful place in society as children and eventually as adults.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Explore some of the structural, environmental and attidudinal barriers and root causes of the fear and prejudice which individuals and society have for disabled persons;
- Develop a personal understanding of how they can help reduce these factors through their teaching profession.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Apply the knowledge acquired in order to create inclusive practices in their classrooms and school environment/system;
- Employ empowering practices that would instil in their students, disabled or non, the values of equality, appreciation of diversity and independence.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts :

- Barnes, C. and Mercer, G. (2003).Disability. London: Polity.
- Oliver, M. (2009)(2nd Edition) Understanding Disability: from theory to practice London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Bartolo, P. et al (2002). Creating Inclusive Schools. Malta: Salesian Press.
- Barton, L., & Armstrong, F, 2007. Policy, Experience and Change: Cross-Cultural Reflections on Inclusive Education. Dordrecht Springer Books.

Other Readings:

Disability Studies in General:
- Barnes, C. & Oliver, M. (2012) (2nd Edition) The New Politics of Disablement. Palgrave McMillan.
- Shakespeare, T. (2013) Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited Routledge.
- Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C., and Thomas, C. (Eds) (2004) Disabling Barriers Enabling Environments London: Sage.

Inclusive Education:

- Armstrong, F. and Moore, M. (eds) 2004. Action Research for Inclusive Education: Changing Places, Changing Practices, Changing Minds. London: Routledge.
- Rapp, W. and Arndt, K. 2012. Teaching Everyone: an introduction to inclusive education. USA: Paul Brookes.
- Slee, R. 2010. The Irregular School: Exclusion, Schooling and Inclusive Education (Foundations and Futures of Education) London: Routledge.
- Wade, S.E. 2000. Inclusive Education: A Casebook and Readings for Prospective and Practicing Teachers London: Routledge.

Internet Sources:

- KummissjoniNazzjonaliPersunib’Diżabilità website: http://www.knpd.org/
- UK Disability Archive: http://www.disability-archive.leeds.ac.uk/. Hosted by the Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds
- Centre for Studies in Inclusive Education www.csie.org.uk/

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Marika Abela
Claire Lucille Azzopardi Lane
Isabel Bonello
Anne-Marie Callus (Co-ord.)
Amy Joan Camilleri Zahra
Michael Debattista
Maria Victoria Gauci
George Vella

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit