Who is Disabled? Who is Not? Teachers Perceptions of Disability in Lesotho
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Keywords
disability, Africa, special education
Abstract
This paper reports on educational research conducted in Lesotho, Southern Africa. Mixed methods of research were used to elicit and describe teachers’ attitudes toward children they perceived as disabled. The study took place in a country where discussions on ‘the continuum’ of services, specialist diagnoses, and Western notions of assistive technology are largely irrelevant. Over-arching themes are compared to themes that have emerged from special education and Disability Studies literature over the past decade.
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Christopher J. Johnstone, University of Minnesota
Christopher J. Johnstone is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Minnesota in Educational Policy and Administration. He has worked on disability-related projects for over ten years in India, Africa, and on Native American reservations in the United States. His scholarly interests focus on inclusive schools and societies. He has published papers on systems perspectives of Community Based Rehabilitation, Universal Design of educational assessment, and accessible reading approaches. Correspondence should be addressed to: Christopher J. Johnstone, University of Minnesota, 350 Elliott Hall, Minneapolis, MN, USA 55455, phone: 612-624-1624; fax: 612-624-0879; email: [email protected].