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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Want to find out about new developments or areas that HEDSA is researching? You have come to the right place! Please click on the links below.
Areas of Research & New Developments
The Centre for Human Rights is pleased to announce the publication of Volume 7 of the African Disability Rights Yearbook.
The African Disability Rights Yearbook aims to advance disability scholarship, with a focus exclusively on disability rights on the African continent. The Yearbook provides an annual forum for scholarly analysis on issues related to the human rights of persons with disabilities. It is also a source for country-based reports and commentaries on recent developments in the field of disability rights in Africa.
The African Disability Rights Yearbook is published annually and is available online free of charge, with no need to register or subscribe. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of these articles, or use them for any other lawful, non-commercial purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. Click on this link to access Volume 7 of the African Disability Rights Yearbook http://www.adry.up.ac.za/index.php/issues/volume-7-2019. The link will also give you access to earlier publications of the Yearbook.
The Centre for Human Rights is also pleased to provide an open access resource platform on disability in Africa, the Repository on Disability Rights in Africa (RODRA). This is the first repository of its kind in Africa, aimed at tracking the development and progress in the provision, protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa. RODRA is an online library of resources that the Centre for Human Rights envisions will benefit and enrich the research outputs of disability rights researchers and advocates in the African continent. The repository is accessible to persons with visual and hearing disabilities. To access RODRA please visit: http://www.rodra.co.za/.
For more information please contact:
Tariro Rufetu, Research Assistant, Disability Rights Unit
Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law
University of Pretoria
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 3072
Email: tariro.rufetu@up.ac.za
Website: www.chr.up.ac.za
Article in the African Journal of Disability:
Assistive technology enables inclusion in higher education: The role of Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association
Abstract:
Background: Using assistive technology is one way to foster inclusion of students in the post-school education and training (PSET) sector.
Objectives: Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association (HEDSA) enables the sharing of new knowledge about assistive technologies through its symposia, and making information available on its website. Additionally, it facilitates dialogue and collaboration amongst institutions in the PSET network using a listserv and newsletters, given that PSET institutions are spread countrywide.
Method: This is an article based on a presentation at the 5th African Network of Evidence-to-Action in Disability (AfriNEAD) conference in Ghana in 2017 that focused on the value of assistive technology for students pursuing studies in the PSET sector and the role played by HEDSA in South Africa.
Results: The positive gains and existing gaps in disability inclusion in the higher education sector in South Africa are highlighted, with reference to access to technology. All higher education institutions have internet access and can thereby make use of listservs to communicate information. MapAbility is a way that prospective students can gain a snapshot view of available resources at institutions of learning, using the internet.
Conclusion: An association such as HEDSA plays a critical role in the PSET sector to enhance disability inclusion using online tools to disseminate information.
Online resources on 1st year anxiety - a useful guide for teachers
Dr Valerie Sotardi from the University of Canterbury (UC)’s College of Education, Health & Human Development researches assessment-related anxiety in first-year students. The educational psychologist recently developed online resources to help young people access practical coping strategies, and resources to upskill teachers, too.
“In my years of teaching first-years, it has been clear to me that university performance, achievement, and wellbeing are often hindered because of anxiety and related concerns. Although these challenges are experienced in other stages, assessment-related anxiety is particularly pronounced in schooling transitions, when the whole system - from classroom structure to grading scales - may change.”
The guides Under Pressure: Understanding assessment anxiety – Resource for students and Mitigating Assessment Anxiety in First-Year University Students: A resource guide for teaching staff, were funded by Ako Aotearoa, New Zealand’s Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, and are available on their website.