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Introduction
The training personnel in
the University of the South Pacific (USP) region is a complex issue. The
13 island nations of the university region scattered through the large
Pacific Ocean are Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Niue, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Western Samoa, and Vanuatu. There
are approximately 1.3 million people within the USP region and 265 languages
in use in an area of 32 million square kilometres . Therefore, attempting
to provide appropriate training material for the region is difficult because
of the physical distance, the cultural wealth and the fragile economic
base (mainly based on agriculture or marine resources) of the many countries.
Disability workers, caregivers and/or family members of people with disabilities have little opportunity to further their skills apart from a few adhoc seminars and workshops. This Certificate in Disability studies programme hopes to offer learning opportunities to enable people of the region to use and apply skills in their own context.
Training of personnel in the field of disabilities in the USP region has previously led to a select few being sent abroad, based on the availability of aid for the purpose of staffing special schools, or established disability organizations.. Regional persons are expected to learn in developed countries strategies and practices which reflect the economic, technological and advancement of the environment which they are studying in and are then expected to transfer skills and resources which they have learnt to use. Facing the unavailability of facilities such as electricity, or assessment kits, which reflect standards of another country and culture, leaves workers frustrated while attempting to adapt what they have learnt.
In this context, the development
of a three course programme in the Certificate in Disability Studies programme,
offered by the Continuing Education division of USP. attempts to:
provide training for the
people in the USP region;
network skilled and experienced
practitioners in the region to impart knowledge and skills in the field
of disabilities; and
use infrastructure already
in existence at the USP.
The courses are offered by distance education, which is defined as: "a model of education in which the student and teacher are separated in time and/or space and where two-way communication takes place through non-traditional means for the most part" (ICDE 1988). This model provides opportunities for students to study in this programme in their home environment with materials supplied by University Extension. Students therefore do not have to leave their workplace, nor their countries to be able to complete their study in disabilities.
There are three courses in the programme and the first is Introduction to Disability Issues. This course consists of the discussion of definitions in relation to disabilities, human development, and looks at existing services in the South Pacific.
The second course, Applied Knowledge and Skills for Specific Impairment and Disabilities provides a theoretical base and strategies and skills which can be used in various disabilities. This course is supported by satellite tutorials with specialists offering their expertise in the knowledge area they are trained in. This course is also supported by videotapes which are sent to the regional centres as resource material for students` use. The third course Skills for working within the community involved skill for working within the community, in creating public awareness and creating training plans and programmes.
Consultative Networking
Developing the programme
in disabilities involved regional consultation, obtaining funding from
British Aid and UNICEF, liasing and recruit of regional expertise working
in the field of disabilities.
The partnership of a Course Development team at the Distance Education Unit (DEU) of University Extension with the Continuing Education division provides this programme the experience and the infrastructure to offer the course to the wider community through the distance mode. This division of the university has provided courses through distance mode in the USP region for the last 25 years.
Working with the USP has many advantages :"The university as an institution would have the structure, expertise, procedures and process to support the community manpower resources to address their training needs, specifically for human resource development." This shall be discussed later. The establishment of an advisory adhoc group created a framework for regional consultation. Accessing similar material from OTEN (NSW) with the assistance of the Commonwealth of Learning, provided the adhoc group with the basis for the framework which would guide the course. A resource team of three interviewed and discussed issues with people of the community and this comprised of people with disabilities, workers and families of people with disabilities, and professionals in many fields. This led to a South Pacific Disability Caregivers Consultation which not only endorsed the programme but will enable the course to gain support and ownership in the USP region.
Upon endorsement, the consultation recommended a course prescription of the three courses, and the outline of the content. This led to the second phase of the process: the training of course writers in workshops and the use of available infrastructure, that is university expertise and infrastructure.
Training of course writers
in the region
Workshops for course writers
initiatedpeople into the course development process to offer user-friendly
courses. The selection of writers was based on their work experience in
the region, area of expertise and formal qualifications. Through the workshops,
the course development team of University Extension provided the skills
as to how writers through the distance mode can impart their knowledge,
experience and practical skills to be used in the region. Identification
of the population they were writing for, sequencing material to ensure
that the content was appropriate, and writing self assessment activities
was part of the guidance given at the workshops. Teaching the writers to
write self assessment activities would allow the learners in the course
material to work through blocks of the content, acquire new information,
reflect on practices in their countries and learn practical skills which
could be applied in the remote atolls of the Pacific. A group of people
identified at the regional consultation served as advisors and commentators
on the course content and that the recommendations of the regional consultation
were implemented
The role of USP in this network
As the course development
team ran the workshops, the refining and reworking on the drafts to ensuring
that students would have quality material utilized the existing expertise
and structure at USP to produce the course materials. Production and dispatch
of course materials at USP also enabled students in the 13 countries to
enroll in the three courses.
University Extension has 12 centres in the 13 countries mentioned. These regional centres are staffed by national staff who provide student support for the courses like the three courses in disabilities. This includes tutoring, counseling, administration to encourage and motivate students to continue and to complete their studies. The use of library facilities, satellite tutorials, mail bags and study facilities, provide students avenues to communicate with the coordinator of disability studies and discuss and submit assignments and aspects of the course through the available technology.
Conclusion
The Certificate in Disabilities
Studies is the outcome of using available resources and expertise in the
region. Much planning from continuing education has enabled organisations
and people with expertise to become involved in a collaborative effort
to provide learning opportunities for people who work or are interested
in the field of disabilities. We hope that this offering of the programme
and its evaluation in the future may serve as a model to overcome barriers
to utilise all resources available for training in areas of disability.
Bibliography
Bolabola,C (1997) University and Community Partnership for Continuing Education at a Distance: Paper delivered at the Regional Centres Conference University Extension University of the South Pacific, Fiji, held from 22-23rd April 1997
Bolabola,C & Wah,R (1995)
South Pacific Women in Distance Education: Studies
from countries of the University
of the South Pacific. Suva: The University of the South Pacific and The
Commonwealth of Learning.
International Council for Distance Education (1988) ICDE Pamphlet 88. ICDE, Oslo.
South Pacific Disability Workers Training Programme: Fiji Adhoc Advisory Group, August 1995 (unpublished paper).
University Extension (1995) South Pacific Disability Caregivers Consultation Report Suva: The University of the South Pacific.