Identification and Labels for Young Tanzanian Children: A Capability Approach Analysis

• In Event: Using Humanistic Economics and the Capabilities Approach to Rethink Early Childhood Educational Research, Practices, and Policies

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical examination of how capability approach can support identification and education of young children in Tanzania with disabilities. The key purposes of this paper are 1) to briefly describe the capability approach as described by Terzi (2005a, 2005b) and Nussbaum (2006) and its relevance to early childhood special education and 2) to examine how the capabilities approach can bridge the gap between disability studies and special education for young children with disability while respecting children, families, and their culture. In this paper, I discuss the use of this approach through its application to an inclusive education project for young children in Tanzania and my previous work in Tanzania with children with disabilities (Stone-MacDonald, in press). The language of the interviews was solely analyzed for the words used.

For several years, the social model of disability has been the paradigm in the disability studies literature and the medical or rehabilitation models have been the dominant paradigms in special education in the US and in East African countries (Peters, 1993; Stone-MacDonald & Butera, 2012). The capabilities approach views disability as just one of many factors that contribute to the holistic person and promotes fair treatment in society, so that each person, with and without a disability is treated as an equal member of society. The capabilities approach extends the social model by arguing for the just treatment of individuals with disabilities consistent with a rights model focus on substantive equality and real equality of opportunity (Terzi, 2005a, 2005b).

This paper examines the use of the capability approach for labeling and identifying young children with disabilities by applying a test of the theory to two data sources. The first study examines the language used in in-depth interviews with 20 parents and 2 teachers in an assessment study in an inclusive school in Tanzania. Teachers were additionally interviewed about disability and perceptions of disability in their community. The interviews were analyzed to understand the perceptions and labels of disability in this community using the capability approach lens. The second study uses interviews with 45 families, teachers, and community members during an ethnographic study of a different special needs school in Tanzania to understand the role of local context and culture in the curriculum and to prepare the students to be members of their community.

In the inclusive school study, participants used language that reflected the paradigms of medical and rehabilitation models and saw disability as something very visible and physical, but did not recognize learning disabilities or other “invisible” disabilities. On the other hand, in the ethnographic study, participants used words that reflected the capabilities approach and social model and recognized the rights of individuals with disabilities to an education and quality life. This work is important because it applies the capabilities approach to two schools in a country where special education is in its infancy and allows us to begin to understand how language influences the comprehension of disability and the implementation of educational services.

Author

• Angela Stone-MacDonald, University of Massachusetts - Boston