1. CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY AND RATIONALE
2.8 Application of each model
A student with disabilities using a wheel chair would be viewed differently by each model. The charity model would pity her for being wheel chair-bound and perhaps provide assistance such as food parcels. The model may even suggest that she may never be able to lead a normal married life. However, the medical model may suggest that she sees a specialist doctor to see if there is any therapy that can assist her to walk again like able-bodied people.
The social model, on the other hand, may suggest that the community needs to build ramps for her to participate in social life. The rights-based model may also suggest that her employer should build rooms which have wheelchair access, for her use as that is part of her rights.
Johnstone (2001, p. 33) suggests that “it is society that perpetuates the oppression and exclusion of disabled people… the onus of responsibility is shifted from the individual with an impairment
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or disability to the restrictions imposed by the construction of the social and physical environment and the attitudes of institutions and organizations.”
Models of disability shape the way we treat people. There are some who believe that disability occurs to unfortunate people and that their situations are tragic. Tragic disabilities are those with no possibility of cure, where attempts at cure fail. This has been coined the personal tragedy theory by some disability scholars (Oliver & Barnes, 2010). As mentioned above, others see disability as a sickness, something to be fixed, an abnormality to be corrected or cured (Oliver
& Barnes, 2010). This normally leads to negative stereotyping about disabled people, thus worsening the situation.
The diagram below by Harris and Enfield (2003, p.172) depicts the four models discussed above
30 Charity model
Charity model Rights-based model
Medical model social Social model Figure 1: The Four models adapted from Harris and Enfield (2003, p.172)
31 2.8.1 The social model of disability
My research is based on a social model of disability. It is grounded on the premise that “society must change to accommodate the diverse needs of its entire people” (Fuller, Healey, Bradley &
Hall, 2004, p. 303). Barriers should be removed since they have a negative effect on students’
learning. The social model argues that disability (as opposed to impairment or illness) cannot be characterized only as a medical condition requiring medical attention, but a problem of a discriminatory society. It argues that disability is not inability. Disabled people are not given opportunities to exploit their abilities fully because of barriers that are placed by society. If given a chance, they can live healthy productive lives.
Ideas of the social model of disability originated from disabled people through sharing their experiences (Fuller, Healey, Bradley & Hall, 2004, p. 303). They formed the disabled people's movement. These ideas were further developed by civil rights movements through campaigns.
Disabled people believed that their problems are created by society and not by the impairments of people’s bodies (Kaplan, 2000).
In this model, disability is defined as “the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others” (Burchard, 2004, p.735). Society therefore, and not personal tragedy, becomes the cause of disability. According to this model, social barriers may include negative attitudes and discriminatory policies that exclude and isolate people with impairments from full participation in education.
According to Barnes (2003) for physically challenged persons impairment means “a medically defined condition but disability is something imposed on top of our impairments; by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from participating in society” (Barnes, 2003, p, 4).
The phrase social model of disability means “a shift away from an emphasis on individual impairments towards the ways in which, physical cultural and social environments exclude or disadvantage people labeled disabled” (Barnes, 2003, p. 5).
The ideas of the social model of disability fit in well with my study, as my main focus is on investigating barriers that hinder students with disabilities from being accommodated in the learning process. The aim is to create a barrier-free society. Therefore, disabling societies should be more inclusive. However, I am not suggesting that impairments do not exist. Personal
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struggle related to impairment will remain, even when disabling barriers no longer exist (Kaplan, 2000).
2.8.2 Advantages of the social model of disability
Oliver (2013) views the social model as a tool to improve people’s lives. This model of disability gives people with impairments the words with which to describe their experiences of inequality.
Currently, no other model has been put forward that accounts for the variety of ways disability may be experienced. Barnes and Mercer (2003) assert that the social model of disability has demonstrated political success for disabled people in society and has been used successfully for political activism.
The model also helps persons with disabilities to understand what needs to happen so that they can access their human and civil rights. It provides insight on how society should be created as to accommodate people with disabilities (Carson, 2009). The model frees people with disabilities from social imprisonment. They can campaign for their rights. The social prison that they live in will be made more humane. “For what happens to disabled people exactly mirrors where humanity is going wrong” (Hughes & Paterson, 1997, p. 330).
By using the social model of disability, the belief is that all disabled people have a right to be a part of society (Carson, 2009). The denial of opportunities, the restriction of choice and self- determination and the lack of control over the support systems in their lives have led persons with disabilities to question the assumptions underlying the traditional dominance of the medical model. Through the social model, disability is understood as an unequal relationship within a society in which the needs of people with impairments are often given little or no consideration (Carson, 2009). The social model of disability, for its part, has been a source of revelation and inspiration for action. It can dismiss uncritical assumptions that disadvantage is natural and necessary, which is no small act.
According to the social model of disability, a person should be respected irrespective of their disability status. Barriers should be identified and removed (Tugli, 2013). Also, diversity should be welcomed and all students included in learning. Relationships should be nurtured. The social model is also meant to empower and develop persons with disabilities. “It has become part of
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the cornerstone of the human rights approach to disability, leading to progressive and inclusive policies and legislations” (Tugli, 2013, p. 16).