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David Kwame Kumador, University of Ghana, GhanaAbstract
The pedagogy of learners with disabilities in inclusive early childhood education (ECE) refers to how material, cultural, and historical artefacts of regular schooling are adapted to accommodate and develop learners with disabilities in line with Ghana’s Inclusive Education Policy 2015 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, which promotes inclusive, equitable education. The study presents a situated pedagogy of learners with disabilities in early childhood education settings within selected communities in Accra-Ghana, using Vygotsky’s cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as a theory-method. Data was gathered from eighteen ECE teachers through focus group discussions and individual teacher interviews. A thematic analysis revealed that teachers employ culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate pedagogical practices that match the needs of learners with disabilities in their classrooms. However, inadequate teaching and learning resources, insufficient training in special education and socio-cultural and political influences create contradictions that entrap teachers and foster resistance to learning among young learners with disabilities. Using a transformative activist stance (TAS) approach, the study recommends a socio-political non-neutral position of transformation in ECE that embodies the notion of respect, social justice, and equity for teachers and learners with disabilities in early childhood education. The study has implications for the future of education in Ghana and Africa, where negative perceptions about disabilities and violence against children with disabilities persist and evolve within communities and institutions.
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