Expanding Spaces for Adolescent Girls with Disabilities in Senior High Schools in Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the inclusion of girls with disabilities in Senior High Schools (SHSs) in Ghana. The sample size comprised of 300 girls from five SHSs in Ghana, five female teachers, three headmasters and two staff from the social welfare department in Ghana. The instruments used for data collection included questionnaires and interviews. The categories of data obtained were analysed using frequency counts, simple percentages and presented in bar charts and tables. The results showed that girls with disabilities were stigmatized as 50% of their peers indicated that they should be educated in special schools and not in the regular schools. The study also showed that existing government policies such as the Free Senior High School Policy, Inclusive Education Policy, Persons with Disability Act 2006, Act 715, the Persons with Disability share of the District Assembly Common Fund and Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty did not provide dedicated funding for girls with disabilities in SHSs in Ghana. This made it difficult for them to procure assertive devices such as braille machines, screen readers, tricycles, wheel chair, hearing and speech aids and other relevant learning materials for their studies. The study recommended school based and community disability awareness campaigns and the establishment of a dedicated funding windows for girls with disabilities in SHSs in Ghana as ways of including them in SHSs in Ghana.