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INTRODUCTION.
Attitude to disabled persons
has a very significant influence on the provision of Special Education
in developing countries affecting every aspect. However, as attitude is
learnt from family and society, it is possible to develop strategies to
counter condition people so as to develop more positive attitudes. Oke
and Ajeigbe (in Nwazuoke and Kolo 1996) cite Johnson (1979) who sees attitudes
as:
"a combination of concepts,
verbal information and emotions that result in a predisposition to respond
favourably or unfavourably towards particular people, groups, ideas, events
or objects."
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic
nation and each tribe has its own culture which influences the attitude
of tribal members to disabled people. There is therefore no homogenous
`Nigerian cultural attitude' to anything. However, both Ogbue (1981) and
Obani (1982, citing Jonson 1957, Nduku 1964, and Okediji and Ogionwo 1970
as sources) collated and synthesized the beliefs of many Nigerian cultures
regarding the causes of handicapping conditions. These are seen as any
one of, or a combination of:
(1) A curse on the family
or the wider community for offenses against God or the gods;
(2) Anger of the ancestors
or ancestral gods for neglect or breached promises;
(3) Punishment of the child
for offenses committed in a previous incarnation;
(4) Punishment for a parent's
misdemeanor;
(5) A potential evil person
curtailed by the gods;
(6) Punishment for offenses
against the laws of the land or breaches of custom;
(7) Wicked acts of witches
and wizards.
In the light of such beliefs
about the causes of handicaps, it is hardly surprising that attitudes to
disabled Nigerians are generally negative! Despite this, some Nigerian
cultures treat their handicapped members favourably for a variety of reasons.
For example, where the handicap is believed to be caused by a malevolent
god, some groups will treat the handicapped child well to avoid further
offending the god. One of the pillars of Islam is almsgiving, thus beggars
may be considered to be bringing a blessing to others by providing them
with an opportunity of earning merit (Jaquess 1977 and Laoye 1982). Thus
in Muslim areas, handicapped beggars will normally receive alms, often
being regarded as those whom `Allah the supreme God has created that the
laws may be fulfilled' (Ogbue 1981 and Obani 1981). However this can also
fuel negative attitudes as handicapped beggars are seen as dependent and
helpless.
Against this background there
is an increasing interest among Nigerian Special Educators in studying
attitude and how it can be changed. Ozoji (1991,1993) states that integration
aims at promoting close interaction between disabled and non-disabled
children in early life,
and this hope of integration dispelling negative and prejudiced attitudes
towards the disabled, is shared by most Nigerian Special Educators. This
is based on the principle, that attitudes are learnt and are acquired through
experiences, from which it follows that positive experiences can lead to
positive attitude change.
NIGERIAN LEGISLATION ON SPECIAL
EDUCATION.
As early as 1954, the (then)
Western Region`s Education Law stated that special schools should be available
for children with serious difficulties, while a similar regulation was
enacted in Northern Nigeria in 1962. Other relevant acts are Lagos Education
Act, 1957 (Article 61g), the Northern Nigeria Education Law of 1964 (section
3 para. 3) and the Western Region Law Section 8812. (Jaquess 1979, Hill
and Shown 1995).
The declaration by the (then) Head of State Major General Yakubu Gowon, in a nation-wide broadcast in 1974 that henceforth the Government would provide special education, was a turning point. Consequent upon that, the Third Nation Development Plan (1975-80) made provision for the training of Special Education Teachers and emphasized the need for facilities for the education of the disabled.
However it was the 1977 National
Policy on Education following on from the introduction of Universal Primary
Education in 1976, which made it mandatory that Special Education arrangements
must be made for the handicapped.
The introduction in 1988
of `Elements of Special Education' as compulsory in Teacher Education courses
in Nigeria is another significant step forward as it should, in time, raise
the level of awareness of special education needs and of the potential
of handicapped students (Hill & Shown 1995). This, in turn, should
have a positive effect on the attitude of teachers, and by extension of
the general public.
THE ADEQUACY OF NIGERIAN
SPECIAL EDUCATION.
On paper, special education
provision in Nigeria is second to none in Africa, but sadly the actuality
often falls far short of the theoretical provision. For example, the National
Policy on Education Para.55(b) gives one of the objectives of special education
as being `to provide adequate education for all handicapped children...'.
This leads to the consideration of what is `an adequate education' and
whether handicapped Nigerian children are receiving it. In our modern technological
age, few would deny that an `adequate education' should ensure that those
educated are adequately grounded in science, technology and mathematics
(STM), but it is this aspect that is often woefully inadequate or even
totally absent in the schooling received by handicapped Nigerians, especially
if their handicap is visual. Although mathematics (or at least arithmetic)
is normally taught at special schools for the blind, once a blind student
enters his/her integrated secondary school (all secondary education of
the blind in Nigeria is in integrated schools) he/she is likely to be `excused'
or even actively excluded from mathematics or the practical aspects of
science and technology, thus receiving an education that is far from an
`adequate' preparation for life in an increasingly scientifically and technologically
orientated Nigeria (Hill 1991, 1994, Hill & Jurmang 1993, 1996a, Jurmang
et al 1996).
STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING
THESE PROBLEMS.
A. ATTITUDINAL PROBLEMS:
There has never been a problem
without an attempted solution! It has long been the wish of every Nigerian
Professional in Special education that attitude towards the disabled might
become more favorable. Many of the problems of handicapped people in Nigeria,
and indeed world wide, are caused not so much by their disability per se,
but by society's negative attitudes. Knowing that attitude is dynamic and
therefore subject to change, Gindiri Material Centre for the Handicapped
(GMCH) has developed strategies aimed at exposing people to new experiences
designed to change attitudes for the better.
(1) Conference for Parents:
These are organized biennially
and two have been held so far. That of 1994 (when the Centre was Gindiri
Material Centre for the Visually Handicapped, GMCVH) was for the parents
of blind children, while that of 1996 (when our new wider vision of seeking
to serve all types of handicapped Nigerians had led to the change to our
present name) was for the parent of every handicapped child. All sessions
were conducted in both English (the official language of Nigeria) and Hausa
(the `trade language' of the northern part of the country). In each conference
a wide variety of topics were covered. Information was presented to counteract
myths, generalizations and other false beliefs that lead to negative attitudes;
techniques included talks, role-play, discussions and counter-attitudinal
advocacy. Counselling sessions created avenues for intensive discussions
on parental and community involvement and requirements. A number of sessions
were led by blind or partially sighted staff members. Their competence
and professionalism had an enormous impact on parents. Seeing these positive
`role models' raised their expectations for their own visually handicapped
children. One mother confided that for the first time she began to believe
that her own blind son would be able to `make it' in life. Caring parents
of blind children often over protect them. Our blind resource persons spoke
of the importance of teaching blind children to do all the household tasks
expected of their siblings. They gave illustrations of their involvement
in such tasks as children and how that experience helped them as bachelors
doing all their own house-hold tasks. Because they are blind they made
a much bigger impact than we, their sighted colleagues could possibly have
done. Activities under blindfold were also found to have a big impact.
The positive results of 1994 conference on the parents' attitude to their
children was evidenced by the enthusiastic testimony of the children when
they resumed school in the term after the conference. All report that their
families showed better understanding of them and an increase in provision
of money,clothes and equipment. (Hill & Jurmang 1996b).
(2) Nursery/Primary Integration
Schemes.
In line with Ozoji's (1991,
1993) recommendation of integration at an early age as a strategy to promote
positive attitudes to the disabled (mentioned in the introduction) GMCH
actively promotes integration of blind children into their local primary
schools. The four integration schemes for visually handicapped primary
school children started with the discovery that James had spent a year
at primary school at Marit doing all his work orally. Visits were made
to the school, the home,and the Local Education Authority and medical advice
was also sought as to whether anything could be done to restore James'
sight. On the first visit, James and his teacher were introduced to the
braille code. Text books and braille writing materials were provided and,
at an early stage a `mini-workshop' was held in the school to familiarize
all the staff with James' problems and needs. When he reached primary four,
James was provided with a typewriter and taught to type. Regular visits
are made by the Centre's Schools Liaison Officer and recently James spent
two weeks of his holiday at Gindiri being intensively coached in braille
and typing. At Angwan Goje, after much discussion and on the Centre's advice,
the Local Education Authority posted first one then, as the integration
programme grew, two blind teachers already in their employment to the school.
These cope with the special curriculum, so the Centre's role became less
active, being now mainly that of the supply of braille books and paper.
The other two programmes are equally varied and tailored to the needs,
resources and circumstances of the student(s), school and Local Education
Authority. In the early stages of the establishment of such programme,
lengthy discussions with all involved are often needed to dispel negative
attitudes, but these and the `mini-workshops' have been found to be very
effective in promoting attitude change. In the latter, activities under
blindfold and the use of blind resource persons have again proved to be
very effective strategies. Simple adaptation to teaching techniques to
ensure the pupil is not marginalised are also taught. These include such
simple advice as reading out aloud anything written on the chalk board,
and naming objects rather than using the words `this' and `that'.
B. THE INADEQUACY OF THE
CURRICULUM.
The paucity of STM provision
for visually impaired Nigerian secondary students mentioned above, and
which itself arises from negative attitudes, is tackled by GMCH in two
main ways.
(1) Workshops on STM and
STM Related Topics.
From its founding in 1989
as GMCVH the Centre has run at least one workshop per year on STM and related
topics. These are one week (Monday to Friday) practical workshops aimed
at persuading STM teachers that visually impaired students can successfully
take part in all aspects of STM including much practical work, and equipping
the STM teacher with the knowledge and skills necessary for this. They
are taught simple improvisations and adaptations of standard apparatus.
For example each participant is provided with an ordinary, easily available
wooden ruler and shown how to carve notches at each 1cm mark to convert
it to a tactile ruler. They then attach a T-piece to convert it to a tactile
T-square to facilitate the drawing of horizontal and vertical lines, right-angles,
graph axes, etc. Similarly they are shown how to punch holes or affix staple
pins at each 1cm mark on an ordinary tape measure so that it can be used
by a blind person. Used plastic syringes in various sizes (washed and minus
their needles of course) are converted to a very accurate `tactile pipettes'
by cutting notches in the plunger to align with the marks on the barrel.
Once the participants have adapted the apparatus, they use it to do practical
exercises under blindfold. The emphasis is on improvisations and adaptations
that are easy to do and which use cheap and easily available materials.
Hill and Jurmang (1996a) in their survey of the changing attitudes to blind
students participation in STM classes from l980 to 1995,noted that the
workshops run by the Centre `... have not only enhanced the awareness level
of the participants but have also gone a long way towards changing their
attitudes from negative to positive'. They further declared that; `There
is no doubt that these workshops have contributed to improved opportunities
for Plateau State Blind Students to study STM'.Centre staff have also provided
resource persons for an STM workshop in Cross Rivers State, Nigeria and
for two in Ghana. Where appropriate, the Centre runs `mini-workshops' in
secondary schools integrating blind students, and STM features strongly
in these.
Additionally individuals or small groups of blind STM students are helped with individual or small group tuition. Over several years a number of adults who have been blinded after studying STM have come for individual tuition in braille maths and science codes. They include a university lecturer in biochemistry, a biology/chemistry teacher, a secondary school leaver, an electrical engineer and a university student blinded in the fifth year of a civil engineering course and who, with the help given has been able to transfer to a degree course in mathematics.
Support and help is given to blind students of STM at secondary and tertiary level. Currently there are two blind students studying for a B.Sc in mathematics, one is mentioned above and the other (Emmanuel) went through the whole school system after being blinded at the age of six. He was, in fact, our STM pioneer being the first blind student we know of to study all the sciences, maths and further maths at SSCE (Senior Secondary Certificate of Education) level - all with the Centre's help and support. Not only does Emmanuel benefit from the Centre's help, but is employed there in his university vacations to braille STM materials and to coach small groups of primary and secondary students in maths. Using him as a resource person in this way, not only helps the students in their actual maths, but is a great help in changing the negative attitudes of both blind students and their teachers to STM for the blind to positive attitudes - after all, he is the living proof that success IS possible.
(2) Paper presentations at
Education Workshops and Conferences.
Not only are Nigerian teachers
generally, and STM teachers in particular, largely ignorant of the feasibility
and desirability of including visually impaired students in STM classes,
but Nigerian special educators are often equally ignorant in this regard,
and they often discourage visually impaired students from attempting STM.
To this end, the Centre has a policy of presenting papers at Science Education,
Special Education and Teacher Education Workshops and Conferences. STAN
(Science Teachers Association of Nigeria) runs ten subject panel workshops
and a conference each year, and GMCH aims to make practical presentations
at two of them per year, and to eventually cover all the subject panels
at least once. To date presentations have been made at two annual conferences
and at Integrated Science, Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Teacher Education
Panel Workshops. Such presentations always include hands-on participation
under blindfold. At both Special and Teacher Education Conferences, the
presentations aim to include the necessity of including blind students
in all aspects of STM classes. Like the STM workshops, these paper presentations
are slowly having positive effects on the attitudes of Nigerian teachers
and teacher educators and the Centre sees this as an important aspect of
its work.
CONCLUSION.
When Gindiri Material Centre
for the Visually Handicapped was established in 1989, only one of the approximately
one dozen secondary schools in Plateau State which accepted blind students
included them in Mathematics, Chemistry or Physics classes. To the best
of our knowledge, there was no other school in the country with a blind
student studying all the sciences at Senior Secondary Level. Largely as
result of the strategies outlined above, most of the Plateau State Secondary
Schools which integrate VI students, now teach them mathematics and include
them in the practical aspects of STM. Similarly, it is as a result of Emmanuel
succeeding so well in his University Maths course that the blind Civil
Engineering student was so easily able to transfer to the same course.
Changing the negative attitudes of a society is not done easily or quickly
but the Centre's Parents' Conferences, primary integration programmes and
presentations at professional conferences are gradually converting individuals
from having negative attitudes to the disabled to having positive attitudes.
From here, the ripples gradually spread, and at least in our own locality,
we are seeing the growth of positive attitudes.
REFERENCES.
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the Exceptional Child in Nigeria's 6-3-3-4 System of Education. NCCE, Jos,
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HILL K.E. (1994) `Practical
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