Promoting Inclusive Education in Nigeria: Diary of a Special Needs Mum Initiative

Abstract

In some parts of Africa, there are certain indigenous social and religious perceptions about children living with disabilities. People believe that disability is contagious and disabled people are jinxed; hence, they should not interact with people in the community who have disabilities. Consequently, caring for children living with disabilities is a herculean task. Disabled people are denied access to a good life, quality education and quality healthcare, amongst others. This chapter discusses quality of life (QoL) and how it pertains to people living with disabilities, particularly in Nigeria. We also highlighted the essence of inclusive education to accommodate those living with disabilities. We, thereafter, tell the story of Bukola Ayinde, a lawyer and mother of an eight-year-old girl living with cerebral palsy, who has been faced with many challenges in the process of caring for her child. In her quest to ensure that her daughter has access to rehabilitation therapies, quality education and is accepted in her community, she became a disability advocate through social marketing activities and founded the Diary of A Special Needs Mum Initiative. This chapter concludes by encouraging sensitisation programs that will change the perception of people about those living with disabilities.

Teaching Notes

Promoting Inclusive Education in Nigeria: Diary of a Special Needs Mum Initiative

This case has been developed for use in Marketing Management, Integrated Marketing and Communications, as well as entrepreneurship courses. It is also appropriate for MBA and Executive Development Programs, as well as advanced undergraduate courses. The subject matter makes it suitable for courses that relate to social marketing strategies, governmental policies and non-profit organisations management. This true-life story provides a description of the design process of a non-profit association that can prove especially useful for start-ups, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organisations, that desire to create environmental and social value.

Answer to question 1: In your own opinion, what should be the role of the Nigerian Government towards people living with disabilities? Discuss the Social Marketing Campaign programmes and other tools the Government could use.

To answer this question, we recommend that students take into consideration the reality of African countries and conduct a PESTEL (Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Environmental & Legal) analysis, to help them understand the operating environment and limitations the Nigerian Government may encounter in ensuring acceptance of people living with disabilities.

Before discussions on Social Marketing commence, students may wish to explore how the Government can develop and use Communication Policy Tools. See Table 20.1 below:

Table 20.1 Examples of Policy Instruments, classified by Principal Governing Resource that can be used

To learn more about this resource, see:

Hood, C. (1986). The Tools of Government. Chatham, Chatham House Publishers.

When discussing the use of Social Marketing campaigns to change the perception of Nigerians and get the conversation started amongst stakeholders—citizens, non-profits and government agencies, students should begin by:

• 1. describing the target audience

• 2. determining the communication objectives

• 3. designing the messages and the content of the message

• 4. choosing the appropriate communication channels and media.

Target Audience

Students should prioritise and focus on

• Families and communities

• Public institutions

• The educational system

Communication Objectives

• Changing the mind-set and pre-conceived beliefs of disability as emanating from evil acts of parents or generational curses.

• Ensuring all children, regardless of physical or mental ability, are provided access to quality education.

Content of Messages

• Doctors explaining the major causes of disabilities.

• Health experts and educators describing the advantages of inclusive education.

• Successful people living with disabilities.

• Public places accessible to people living with disabilities.

Potential Channels

• Radio and TV campaigns in local dialects about how people become disabled, debunking myths about disabilities. Target: low-income areas and rural areas, particularly areas with a high incidence of disabilities.

• Social media: Facebook & Instagram. Target: middle-class, urban areas, the southern part of Nigeria.

Other Governmental Actions & Tools

• To ensure that all public places are accessible to people living with disabilities. In Nigeria, for instance, this resolution is already contained in the Disability Rights Law. However, the Government must encourage all stakeholders to implement it. Government must begin with making available these appropriate public infrastructure, before other organisations can follow.

Answer to question 2: What are the challenges that Bukola faces in an Emerging Market like Nigeria, with high levels of illiteracy, and a large number of citizens living below the poverty line?

The first phase of a marketing plan is analysing the Market, also named Situation Analysis, to understand the micro and macro environment of the company or organisation. To answer this question, students can start looking at the PESTEL analysis, from question 1, to help them identify the challenges any entrepreneur, as well as non-profit organisations, may encounter when trying to develop a project in Africa. According to the World Bank, “in Africa, an estimated 6.4% of children in this age range have moderate or severe disabilities; and less than 10% of all children with disabilities under the age of 14 are attending school.”³

A good source of information on Situation Analysis is:

Steenburgh, T., Avery, J. (2010). Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Situation Analysis. Harvard Business School, 9-510-079.

Students will probably discuss the difficulties of low-income families who live with a special needs child or adult, and how to fight the traditional beliefs that a child’s disability is as a result of witchcraft activities, pushing these families to seek for a solution from native doctors or religious clerics.

Students may suggest:

• Providing counsellors to support families through their journeys

• Providing free medical and rehabilitation services

• Financial support

Answer to question 3: Discuss the target groups identified by Bukola and evaluate her Communication Strategy for each of them.

Bukola selected the following targets:

• Church leaders

• School owners

• Parents-teachers associations

• Government

• Special needs mums

Students will discuss the different strategies and channels used by Bukola to reach those targets and should try to recommend additional options or strategies.

Bukola writes and develops a significant amount of social marketing content through newspaper articles, letters, books, videos and social media. Eventually, she can use Public Relations events and influencers as additional tools, if not already doing so or increase the use of that channel. She can, in addition, target more public and private organisations as a source of sponsorship and communication tools.

Answer to question 4: Some children with disabilities have been bullied in schools. How can schools promote love and acceptance?

Students will suggest the information and resources schools need to solve this type of problems, as well as the best medium to convince the schools’ stakeholders and to educate teachers and students.

Suggestions

• Promotion of love and acceptance through discussions, fun platforms like drama, songs and essay competitions.

• Giving students the right information about disabilities.

Answer to question 5: How can organisations promote disability inclusion in their recruitment process?

Students will mention that many international companies have already included this policy in their recruitment rules and processes. What is needed is to convince local companies and institutions to follow this example. Looking at the target (organisations) and after the analysis of question 1 and 2, students, can discuss key strategies of inclusion, such as the recruitment of disabled employees. Governments can also provide incentives and encourage employers to have inclusive hiring practices and policies that will not discriminate against persons with disability in the recruitment process and also make provisions for facilities where they can effectively carry out their duties.

Other suggestions can be:

• organising career development programmes for people living with disabilities.

• organising disability inclusion awareness and sensitisation programmes for employers, government officials and other stakeholders.

• setting aside a special day, perhaps in line with International events on disability, to celebrate persons with disabilities, and engender inclusion.

Answer to question 6: Describe the concept of inclusive education and its importance to society, comparing the Nigerian situation with other countries’.

• Students to provide definitions in their own words.

• Importance to society will include:

  • People with disability will have the same opportunity to succeed in life, as their peers.

  • Children in classrooms will become more tolerant of people who are different from them.

  • The best place to integrate people with disabilities into society is through the school system.

• Students can list differences and similarities between Nigeria and countries when defining the role of inclusive education.

Answer to question 7: Define Quality of Life (QoL). How can Social Marketing programmes improve the quality of life of people living with disabilities, such as Nimi in the case study? Compare the situation of disability inclusion in Nigeria vs. other countries and identify social marketing campaigns developed in other countries to improve QoL of people with disabilities.

Define Quality of Life.

• Quality of Life definition. Students should provide definitions in their own words and include the following concepts:

  • Psychological and physical health

  • Individual’s perception

  • Individual’s expectations.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Quality of Life as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad-ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person’s physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment.” ⁴

• For people living with disabilities, Quality of Life implies Social Acceptance, especially by their peer groups (especially by other children for the young ones and other employees, in the workplace), and their recognition as an individual with equal rights (economic, educational, health, etc.)

• To improve the Quality of Life of people with special needs, Social Marketing programmes can change the narrative by sharing the right information in the society. The leading cause of stigmatisation and bias is ignorance.

• When comparing developing countries to more advanced economies, students may argue that the former faces more challenges with disability inclusion, particularly in poor communities with limited resources. Students are expected to search for and provide examples of measures that could be adapted to encourage disability inclusion in developing countries like Nigeria.