Job-Related Challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities in Kumasi
Main Article Content
Keywords
Job-Related, Challenges, Teachers, Physical Disabilities, Kumasi
Abstract
This study aimed to establish the job-related challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities (TWPD) within the Kumasi Metropolitan Education Unit in Ghana. Twenty-one (21) TWPDs completed the study. A cross-sectional study design was used and an interview guide was utilized to solicit responses. Thematic content analysis was employed in analyzing the data collected. Relative to the nature of impairment, ‘pain’ and ‘weakness’ emerged in relation to impairments associated with TWPDs. ‘Mobility on school compound’ and ‘writing on the board’ were specific task related challenges encountered by TWPDs. However, additional job-related challenges existed in the form of attitudinal barriers. Due to the prevailing job-related challenges, most TWPDs had employed specific coping mechanisms to offset some of the challenges. Prominent among these coping mechanisms were being dependent on others for physical support and taking frequent breaks from tasks that were physically demanding. Overall, most TWPDs asserted they felt disadvantaged compared to their colleagues without physical disabilities due to the numerous job challenges they encountered. In light of these, it is recommended that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should profile the respective work-related challenges of TWPDs to come up with policies and interventions that would gradually eliminate these challenges.
Job-Related Challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities in Kumasi by Moses Danso-Afriyi, Isaac Owusu, Reindolf Anokye & Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://rdsjournal.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.rds.hawaii.edu.
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Moses Danso-Afriyie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Moses Danso-Afriyie, is a young man who was born in a small community known as Kwamang within the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is a teacher by profession, who has been teaching Information and Communication Technology for the past 9 years at the Junior High School Level in Ghana.He currently holds a Master of Science degree in Disability,Rehabilitation and Development.
Isaac Owusu, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Isaac Owusu, is presently a lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. His research interest areas include disability studies and inclusion. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals in Disability and Public Health.
Reindolf Anokye, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Reindolf Anokye, is a Social Worker, Social entrepreneur and a Biostatistician. He read Social Work, Sociology and History at the University of Ghana and has recently completed a Master of Science degree programme in Disability, Rehabilitation and Development at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is presently pursuing a PhD programme at Edith Cowan University in Australia. Reindolf Anokye does research in Social Policy,Social work, Disability and Health.
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, PhD., is a lecturer at the Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Department of Community Health, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He holds a Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Arts (Geography), and M. Phil (Geography) from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and PhD (Disability Studies) from the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Dr. Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah has conducted research, both locally and internationally, in the areas of Education and the Sexual and Reproductive Health experiences of Persons with Disabilities. He is also interested in the participation of persons with disabilities in employment and politics. He has published in more than 15 peer - reviewed journals and is also a reviewer of the African Journal of Disability, Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, British Journal of Visual impairment and International Journal of Inclusive Education. He is an active member of the Ghana National Association of the Deaf and the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations and has tremendously impacted on the operations of these organizations.