Seeing the human behind the research: Strengthening emerging African disability researchers

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Seeing the human behind the research: Strengthening emerging African disability researchers
 
Creator Botha, Michelle Ohajunwa, Chioma
 
Subject Education; disability studies research and scholarship disability studies; higher education; social justice; conscientisation; African ethic.
Description Background: A pre-conference workshop that investigated the experiences and needs of PhD candidates and early career researchers in disability studies in Africa was held as part of the proceedings of the African Network for Evidence to Action in Disability (AfriNEAD) 7th Conference in November 2023.Objectives: To determine how the existing structures in AfriINEAD can be leveraged to support emerging African disability researchers. This article documents this event and summarises the key findings from the discussions that took place.Method: The workshop included presentations from leading scholars in health professions education, panel discussions with PhD candidates and early career researchers, and small group discussions on what is needed to support emerging researchers.Results: Disability studies was positioned by participants as not only an academic exercise but also a deeply personal pursuit, requiring introspection and conscientisation, with which they felt they needed support. There are also specific ethical concerns related to doing research work with persons with disabilities, which need to be prioritised in postgraduate education in disability studies. The needs identified by participants are summarised as: (1) mentorship, (2) networking, and (3) funding.Conclusion: We suggest that the development of African disability scholars and scholarship requires an African ethical approach, which prioritises humanity, community and reciprocity.Contribution: African disability studies scholars are well-placed to disrupt ableism in academic, medical and social spheres, as well as hierarchies within academia, which limit development, mutual growth and respect.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor African Network fro Evidence to Action in Disability (AfriNEAD)
Date 2024-08-29
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Conceptual reflection
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v13i0.1494
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 13 (2024); 9 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1494/2831 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1494/2832 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1494/2833 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1494/2834
 
Coverage Africa Current N/A
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Michelle Botha, Chioma Ohajunwa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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