DISABILITY AWARENESS In HIGHER EDUCATION:
AN EXPERIENCE FROM UNIVERSITY OF INDONESIA
Dini Widinarsih
dini.widinarsih at gmail.com
Curtin University – Western Australia
University of Indonesia - Jakarta
A paper presented at the “35th Annual AHEAD Conference
July 12, 2012
New Orleans, Louisiana - USA: Sheraton Hotel
Abstract Synopsis
Disability awareness identifies as one of the most important element in effectively
promoting and enacting the idea of an inclusive society for people with disabilities in
the Asian and Pacific region.
This presentation describes our struggle to develop disability awareness in higher
education institution in Indonesia where disability is still invisible in policy and
academic discourse.
Keywords: Disability, People with disabilities, higher education, Indonesia, Disability
Awareness.
Introduction
Indonesian people with disability confront complex issues derived from both actual
impairment and social determinants, such as marginalisation, stigma, prejudice, and
exclusion in society by, for example, neighbours and schools (Byrne, 2002; Fuad,
2008a, 2008b; Komardjaja, 2001a, 2001b; Sirait, 2008).
Indonesian people with disability are slowly increasingly enrolling in college and
universities. Gaps exist between equal opportunity policies and everyday learning
culture. Unlike their non-disabled peers, student with disabilities often do not enjoy
full integration into the learning environment because their social requirement in the
campus are not fully accommodated.
Student with disabilities encounter high expectation for autonomous learning and
struggle to access class lecture in not accessible learning environment. Most college
and universities content is still conveyed through class lecture which necessitates
student to attend.
No adaptive equipment, no removal of architectural barriers and no disability support
services. Change is unfamiliar to most higher education institutions where most
adjustment is additive and reactive. All these conditions reflect lack of awareness
among the college and university authorities, faculties’ member, and non-disabled
students. Society as a whole fails to consider disability as human difference and
people with disabilities as person like ourselves, have the rights to live with us and
as we do.
Research evidence indicates disability awareness-raising is a key measure in
creating inclusive communities for people with disability (Beckett, 2009; Safran,
2000). The challenge remains to transfer these research results to very different
contexts such as Indonesia.
So far, disability awareness in Indonesia is mostly only ceremonial with the ritual
annual conduct of an international day of people with disabilities on December 3 rd
which has done little to change the lived experience of people with disabilities.
Indonesian people with disabilities largely dissatisfied with their surrounding social
conditions.
The Action description
The action initiated by a small group of alumni of University of Indonesia involving
both those who do not and those who have disability and had graduated with a
postgraduate degree from overseas universities with scholarship support from
International funding bodies.
This group collaborated to develop the Disability Studies Centre and disability
awareness training to the civitas academica of University of Indonesia.
These actions are practiced as a tangible response to the international consensus
that people with disabilities should be involved in the programs intended for them.
Their involvement is also an implementation of a basic awareness-raising principle of
working with people not on or for them.
The disability awareness training was designed to include the following topics:
- Basic concepts about various types of disabilities and special needs
- What it means and doesn’t mean to have a disability
- How to interact with and to help people with disabilities
These topics are implemented within six hours of training through power point
presentation consisting 51 slides that also provided with disability game and
simulations and discussions.
This training delivered by the trainer team consists of alumni of University of
Indonesia who have disability and those who do not.
This training engages participants from the civitas academica of the University of
Indonesia that is academic staffs, non-academic staffs, and students of this
University. It is also hoped that this training can be widely implemented to various
higher education institutions in Indonesia.
The outcome of the training is an increasing awareness among the nondisabled
students, and academic and non-academic staffs of the University of Indonesia so
that they can becomes change agent providing welcoming environment for people
with disabilities.
Results
After overcoming some technical obstacles, the disability awareness training can be
carried out twice on 16th February and 8th June 2009 with each 30 participants from
several schools/faculty of the University of Indonesia.
The feedback from participants revealed that the practice has increased their
understanding, empathy, and appreciation toward people with disabilities. They got
knowledge and skill in interacting properly with people with disability. They also were
committed to extend this knowledge and skill to their peers and/or colleagues, and
their families.
Their evaluation of this action recommended that it would be better if the training is
complemented with audio visual material.
Conclusion and Implications
This action project provided me the opportunities to appreciate the metaphor of
‘learning is a never ending journey’ and ‘better take a risk than do nothing - waiting
and wanting to do rightly’. Furthermore, it also challenged me to do a participatory
action research regarding audio visual material for disability awareness in
Indonesian context.
The primary significance of this practice is in facilitating Indonesian people with
disabilities to take control of the way they are represented in their community and
ultimately will be a complementary tool for their advocacy efforts. It is a timely action
as it coincides with the implementation of the UN Asia Pacific Decade for people with
disabilities which identifies disability awareness as one of the most important
elements in effectively promoting and enacting the idea of an inclusive, barrier-free
and rights-based society for people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific region.
References
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