Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences celebrates new Division of Disability Studies

Hearing the word “new”, one would be forgiven for thinking that the recently created Division of Disability Studies, in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, is yet to come into its own. In actuality, the roots of the Division stretch back thirteen years to the establishment of Africa’s first and only Disability Studies postgraduate programme. The programme blazed a trail for Disability Studies in Africa culminating in official divisional status in August 2016. The Division recently held an event to celebrate this important milestone.

Obtaining divisional status is no walk in the park. Head of Department Dr Judith McKenzie says the developments would not have materialised without the support of Associate Professor Shajila Singh who assisted with the process. “We recognise the contribution of others that have made this division possible and salute the pioneering work of Professor Theresa Lorenzo who after over ten years of leadership is now able to spend some time pursuing her own research,” she added.

After more than a decade, the programme has a strong network of graduates and students from Malawi, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe to name a few. “We anticipate that they will take the discipline back to develop in their own university and societal contexts and we continue to collaborate with them, thereby expanding our African footprint,” says Dr McKenzie.

In addition to being a major producer of disability studies research from Africa, the Division is a pioneer in the use of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as an alternative admissions strategy. Former students include a Deputy Director General in the national Department of Social Development, the Director of Student Affairs at the University of South Africa and disability rights activist Victor McKinney who graduated with a Phd in Disability Studies in June 2016. Through RPL the Division has made an impact on curricular change and disability inclusion in higher education institutions.

Now that it is official, the Division will continue to develop research capacity and academic leadership that contributes to the understanding of disability in context, as an issue of social justice. Under the leadership of Professor Lorenzo, it has just completed a major international study for Special Olympics on access to health for people with intellectual disabilities across seven sites on five continents.