Job-Related Challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities in Kumasi

Main Article Content

Moses Danso-Afriyie
Isaac Owusu
Reindolf Anokye
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah

Keywords

Job-Related, Challenges, Teachers, Physical Disabilities, Kumasi

Abstract

This study aimed to establish the job-related challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities (TWPD) within the Kumasi Metropolitan Education Unit in Ghana. Twenty-one (21) TWPDs completed the study. A cross-sectional study design was used and an interview guide was utilized to solicit responses. Thematic content analysis was employed in analyzing the data collected. Relative to the nature of impairment, ‘pain’ and ‘weakness’ emerged in relation to impairments associated with TWPDs. ‘Mobility on school compound’ and ‘writing on the board’ were specific task related challenges encountered by TWPDs. However, additional job-related challenges existed in the form of attitudinal barriers. Due to the prevailing job-related challenges, most TWPDs had employed specific coping mechanisms to offset some of the challenges. Prominent among these coping mechanisms were being dependent on others for physical support and taking frequent breaks from tasks that were physically demanding. Overall, most TWPDs asserted they felt disadvantaged compared to their colleagues without physical disabilities due to the numerous job challenges they encountered. In light of these, it is recommended that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should profile the respective work-related challenges of TWPDs to come up with policies and interventions that would gradually eliminate these challenges.


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Job-Related Challenges of Teachers with Physical Disabilities in Kumasi by Moses Danso-Afriyi, Isaac Owusu, Reindolf Anokye & Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://rdsjournal.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.rds.hawaii.edu.

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