European Master/Magister

In

Special Education Needs

MA SEN/Mgr. (Special Education Needs) – Erasmus Mundus

Module Title:

CZ- INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

Module code:

ERM015L005Y.CZ.INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

Module Coordinator: Submitted by:

Dr. Jan Siska Mr. Arfang Dabo

DISMANTLING ‘THE BERLIN WALL’

Non-employment the barrier to inclusion

Introduction

A/ Ifwe understand the importance of employment

B/If employment policiesare with and for the disabled

C/ if the education system leaves “No child … behind’

D/ if our everyday attitudes are ‘as normal as usual’

E/ ifour environment is enabling to all

E/ Then the wall will be dismantled

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION:

The dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989 allowed the reunification of two entities of one community, the Germans. It also represents a landmark in the process ofconstructing a strong European community. The wall was the symbol of division, of misunderstanding, of unverified assumptions, of prejudice. It was the barrier.

The title, Dismantling the Berlin Wall,sets the scene within the chapters of this essay the purpose of which is to cast an unbiased look at some of the barriers to social inclusion of disabled people.

I strongly believe that non-employment represents the ultimate and foremost barrier to lift, the wall to open.Just like the people of Berlin who used to be referred to as West Berliners and East Berliners according to which side of the wall they lived, the disabled and the able-bodied people are one community separated by the wall of non-employment. That is why achieving equal opportunities as far as employment is concerned remains the giant leap society has to take towards the social inclusion of the people with disabilities.

However, this ultimate barrier, the wall of non-employment, cannot be lifted unless society strives for the fulfillmentsof the promises of an education that ‘leaves no child behind’, of a community in which difference is wealth and people behave ‘as normal as usual’, of an environment which is enabling and barrier-free. It is only then, with policies that involve, support and promote the employment of all those able to work, thatthe promises of liberty, fraternity, and equalitywill become a reality for everyone.

The purpose in this essay is neither cataloguing all the disabilities, nor isitabout comparing national policies.The discussion will be constructed around the social model which interprets disability as being caused by the way society is organized to fit the style of able-bodied people, (Finkelstein 1996). The purpose isnotabout discussing terminologies, or picking the politically correctfor I believe like Finkelstein (1996) that ‘replacing one label with another while the day-to-day reality of disability remains unchanged seems to be an exercise in changing fashions’, (p.11).

However, it is necessary to clarify that, in this essay,the term employment is used to refer to ‘being engaged in activities from which one receives remuneration and that could not be considered as leisure or recreation’, It is an activity for which a wage is paid in relation to terms and conditions of employment and for which the person can be dismissed, (Grint, 1992, pp. 10-11).

A/If we understand the importance of employment

We will agree with Mike Oliver (1996) that employment is central to industrial societies, not only because of the goods that are produced, but also because it enables the individual to construct satisfactory social relationships. We live a wage-based society where people are accorded value and status according to whether they have an employment and what kind of employment they have. Thus when an individual is unable to find work their chances to make friends and relations lessen.

Employment represents the basis of all personal and shared property. For Giddens (1998) ‘work has multiple benefits: it generates income for the individual, gives a sense of stability and direction for life and creates wealth for overall society’, (p.110). It also is perceived as a warrantee without whom individuals can hardly subscribe to an insurance policy, or pretend to a mortgage, let alone a bank loan.

The money that is earned from itenable participation to a wider range of activities both social and leisure. Money provides the individual with a status and helps them, in some ways, to influence the courses their lives are likely to take. Not having an employment means lacking of money and, therefore, a lack of control of one’s life. Employment and the money generated from it enhance self-esteem by giving the person a sense of achievement in their lives, a sense of being useful.

Without employment it is difficult to adjust and cope with the continuously demands of society. The people with disabilities are the most hit by unemployment. For them, the high rate of unemployment implies two major effects. On the one hand the job opportunities become drastically reduced. In Senegal some employers are more inclined to hire non-disabled applicants on the grounds that they have more family and their financial commitments are more important. What they overlook is that the daily living costs of a disabled person is often considerably higher than that of an able-bodied person. On the other hand, the competition for places on training programmes has become harsher in so far as the number of unemployed among the latter has dramatically increased and schemes for training have not followed.

Finding an employment is more than a Herculean task. According to Bush (1991), it is more difficult for the people with disabilities to find employment than the average member of the general population. He adds that ‘when employment is found, it tends to be at the lower end of the employment spectrum: poorly paid, poorly valued, less secure and less pleasant’, (. 142). To this ugly description, Barnes (1991) adds that they are also ‘both unrewarding and undemanding’, (p. 65).

In developing countries like Senegal, where unemployment prevails, and where schemes of welfare benefits are quite non-existent, many disabled people survive only with the help of relatives and friends. For those whose families are unable or unwilling to cope, or who are determined not to accept such dependency, begging is usually the only solution. It is not uncommon to hear stories of deliberately maimed children in order to make of them more successful beggars. Extreme poverty will also cause some disabled people, or the parents of disabled children to be reluctant to visit rehabilitation services.

B/ If employment policies are with and for the disabled

Policies are most of the time designed without enough involvement of those they suppose to benefit. I have a strong belief that nothing can be achieved about the disabled that is sustainable if they are kept aloof of the process. In 1994, McGettrickmade it clear with ‘Nothing about us without us’.Disabled people demand involvement throughout any processes of decision making concerning not only their situation but also the community.

‘We learn, when we respect the dignity of the people, that they cannot be denied the elementary right to participate in the solutions of their problems’, arguedAlinsky, cited by Gillespie-Sells and Campbell (1991).It is all about respect; people believe in the saying according to which ‘god helps him who helps himself’. You will only gain respect and dignity when you play an active role in trying to find solutions to the problems you are confronted with. According to Alinsky, ‘To give help while denying them a significant part in the action is giving but taking – taking their dignity’.

All parties which will be affected by a new policy need not only to know how they will be affected, the role they are expected to play, and need to have the confidence that their views and contributions will be fully considered and valued, (R. Rose, 1998, p.109).

More important, involvementshould not be selective either in the people, or in the phases. No assumed levels of employability should be used create a differentiation in the services and provisions. In other words, it is important to avoid generating in some individuals what Finkelstein (1996) describes as ‘a fear of being associated with those perceived as less employable and more dependent’, (p. 14). Likewise, Giddens (1998) argues that ‘Involvement in the labour force, and not just in the dead end jobs, is plainly vital to attacking involuntary exclusion’, (p. 110).

What is common in policies designed for the disabled people is the contradictionthey incorporate; while they enable a small number of disabled people to get employment, they also contribute in the effective exclusion of the vast majority who are able to work. Barnes and Oliver (1998), consider that the good intentions do not always represent a guarantee of incomes. On the contrary, disabled people have never managed to secure their fair share of the available employment. They argue that this results from a combination of inflexible working practices, unregulated labour markets, and prejudice and discrimination from employers and unions alike, (p. 6).

Christie (1999) argued that ‘Many disabled people want to work but are not immediately ready for jobs, (p25).It is then essential that they receive relevant and adequate training for the jobs for which they have a potential and a desire. One key factor to employment is the provision of satisfactory training opportunities. Many disabled people are handicapped in their quest for employment by lack of suitable training,or retraining in the field for which they are mentally and physically equipped.

‘Meaningful employment’ is another concept in the attempt to define employment. A meaningful employment has to be one providing a wage on which one can live; it has to have worth for the community in which it takes place; and it has also to be a source of social interaction with non- disabled people. In most of the developing countries, the first characteristic, due to the shortage of employment, remain difficult to meet. The employment may be meaningful and worthy and not generate sufficient incomes for the employed to run a decent living.

Society has been trying to find a solution to the non-employment of people with disabilities. Many strategies, concepts and policies have been tried and a lot has been argued about their effects on people with disabilities. Let us consider some of them.

The sheltered workshopsallow people with disabilities to experience a work situation without being exposed to the conditions of a normal contract of employment. ‘A bird in hand is worth two in the bush’ the saying goes. It’s true, but we perceive this view as limiting ambitions and fatalistic somehow.The sheltered employment are usually designed as a bridge to full employment and a means to providing employment to people with severe disabilities (Beresford 1984) . They should not be managed with paternalistic attitudes or profit making behaviours tending to keep those who can have a chance in full employment.

In Job shadowing programmes, the disabled person works alongside a fully skilled worker who is supposed to help them learn a job and gain experience. In Senegal, traditionally you become a mechanic, or a carpenter when you dropout from school. I remember being threatened to be sent to a relative, or the neighbour to learn a ‘menial job’ if I happened to be ‘excluded’ from school. This means that the idea of job shadowing has always been there; it has to be re-conceptualized and adapted to suit the objective of helping people with disabilities to cope.

A logic follow up to job shadowing could be a policy of supported employment where the individual is employed according to their interests and needs. In TheNetherlands and the CzechRepublic, it is common to meet this form of employment in a Macdonald, a store or a public service. They would perform simple tasks usually executed by able-bodied people like cleaning, serving coffee or any other simple tasks that suit their interests and needs. However, in this approach, it is essential to go through a process of needs analysis (the needs and interests of the person and the requirements of the job) and assign a job coach who will not only help the employed to adjust but alsoteach the employer the good behaviours.

In job sharing ‘a full time post is divided amongst a number of people each of whom is unable to contract for the full number of hours, but who can do so when their time availability is put together’, (Bush 2003, p.146). This alternative is advantageous because it also enables the employment of several disabled people. And in the present state of scarcity of employment, job sharing represents a strategy in the struggle against social exclusion. However, to avoid any form of tokenism or exploitation, it is necessary to ensure that the bodies in charge of the control play properly their role.

Tokenistic behaviour and exploitation can be avoided in self-employment; the disabled people are organized to run their own individual or collective business. In a cooperative, for instance, they can associate with other people of the same craft and set a business; this could be a product or a service. In Senegal, the National Association of the Employers (ANP) has recently decided to help the people with disabilities start teleservices. This includes phone shops and internet cafes and job developing. In job developing, the companies will request their service to hire not only disabled people but also able-bodied people.Likewise, Handicap international is helping the disabled people to set up micro-enterprises and settle in the lucrative trade of the cashew nuts.

The cooperatives, at least in their organization, can be very similar to the concept of employee mutual. The main difference is in the way they are constituted; in the employee mutual, membership can be open to the employed, the employer, and the unemployed. In addition, it integrates people with or without disabilities. The employee mutual helps find work, develop skills and manage the working lives of its members. This kind of organization is funded by membership, employers, NGOs, the state and through the provisions of services in the market. The state will guarantee that the charter regulating the mutual is enforced and respected in its everyday management.

Quota schemes already exist in many countries. In the CzechRepublic, for example, it is 4% for 25 employees. With the quota schemes the employers pay penalties if they fail to abide by the regulations. Unfortunately, a lot of them tend to choose the penalties. That is why I believe that positive sanctions with a system of incentives and subsidiaries is more efficient because it is in the nature of humans to resist when they feel that something is imposed on them.

C/ ifeducation system leaves “No child … behind’

Education is the basis for any development. Every child has the right to education and this right is recognized by all the nations of the world and stipulated in the many conventions voted for the child. Therefore, the enforcement this right must include all disabled children. The needs of the children with special education needs must be taken into account at the initial stage of development programmes. Unfortunately, we have to agree with Christie (1999) that‘for many disabled people exclusion is embedded in their lives at an early stage through poor education’, (p. 44).To ensure that disabled people enjoy social inclusion and equality, it is essential that the communities to which they belong move away from the low expectation standards and make progress towards a high standard of educational experience.

I believe that the school must be the primary source or energy source for any genuine change. That is why we share with Christie (1999) that ‘Inclusion in work and employability begins with education’, (p. 53). It is through routine contacts that are regular that attitudes will start changing. Gaining access to mainstream education and qualifications represents the key opportunity for disabled people to realize their potential, develop self- esteem and social skills, counter low expectations and prove their abilities to the others.I see mainstream education as a way of developing not just mentally but developing as a person as well; it gives the person with a disability immense confidence and helps them in life in general. Contrary to special schools where the child hears ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that’, in mainstreaming the child is told ‘you can do this, you can do that’.

In addition, the best thing by far mainstream education can achieve for disabled people is the opportunities to meet and make friends with people who are of their age and who are not disabled, and who come from diverse backgrounds. Schools should not just be about doing exams. There are more important things that should be emphasized; education is also about making friends, learning how to build and maintain relationship with people. My best and oldest friends are those I went to school with. Christie (1999) argues ‘The key change in any move towards an inclusive future may be more determination in ensuring that primary and secondary schools are places where disabled and non-disabled pupils mix and learn to understand and accept each other’s differences and potential and to respect each other’s rights’, (p. 50). If the school is the laboratory where society prepares and forms the citizens of tomorrow, it has to be where inclusive ideas has to be sowed, cultivated so that the tree blossoms with coloured flowers of diversity.