title: Inclusive education for children with disabilities in Fiji: Teacher perspectives and attitudes

authors: Daveta, Mereoni Laveti

subjects: inclusive education

abstract: The purpose of this research was to examine teacher perspectives and
attitudes on inclusive education for children with disabilities in Fiji. Teachers'
perspectives and attitudes are crucial in providing insights that could
help improve education and services for children with disabilities in regular
schools in Fiji.
A qualitative approach using semi structured interviews was selected as
the methodology for this research. Nine teachers from nine different
schools in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, participated in this research. The
nine participants were selected from three different school settings. Three
of the participants were from special schools, three were from primary
schools and three were from secondary schools.
Data collected showed that teachers support inclusive education, however,
they had reservations on the inclusion of students with severe disabilities.
Several factors were identified to influence teachers' attitudes towards inclusion.
The most common factors were severity of disability that the students
had, inadequate training of teachers on teaching students with disabilities,
inadequate government funding, lack of specialised resource personnel
and lack of appropriate equipment and resources to support students
and teachers in the teaching learning process. Limited commitment
from the Ministry of Education and limited participation and consultation of
teachers on policy and curriculum design were also identified as contributing
factors for non inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools.
Teachers need to change their perspectives and attitudes and schools
need to be welcoming and prepared to accept all students with disabilities
into the general education system in Fiji.

text: Inclusive education for children with disabilities in Fiji: Teacher perspectives and attitudes The purpose of this research was to examine teacher perspectives and
attitudes on inclusive education for children with disabilities in Fiji. Teachers'
perspectives and attitudes are crucial in providing insights that could
help improve education and services for children with disabilities in regular
schools in Fiji.
A qualitative approach using semi structured interviews was selected as
the methodology for this research. Nine teachers from nine different
schools in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, participated in this research. The
nine participants were selected from three different school settings. Three
of the participants were from special schools, three were from primary
schools and three were from secondary schools.
Data collected showed that teachers support inclusive education, however,
they had reservations on the inclusion of students with severe disabilities.
Several factors were identified to influence teachers' attitudes towards inclusion.
The most common factors were severity of disability that the students
had, inadequate training of teachers on teaching students with disabilities,
inadequate government funding, lack of specialised resource personnel
and lack of appropriate equipment and resources to support students
and teachers in the teaching learning process. Limited commitment
from the Ministry of Education and limited participation and consultation of
teachers on policy and curriculum design were also identified as contributing
factors for non inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools.
Teachers need to change their perspectives and attitudes and schools
need to be welcoming and prepared to accept all students with disabilities
into the general education system in Fiji.

year: 2009

title: Are media reports representative of host community support for mega-events? The case of Sydney world youth day 2008

authors: Locke, Mirrin

subjects: mega-event

abstract: World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) held during July was the fourth mega-event to be held in Sydney in the past decade. All mega-events, such as WYD08, attract considerable media attention in the lead up to, during, and after the event. In the lead up to WYD08, media reports, particularly those in the Australian written press, were predominately negative. These reports gave the impression that there was little, if any, support for holding the event among the residents of Sydney. Data were collected through a combination of document analysis and host community interviews, in the lead up to, during, and immediately following the event. The document analysis included two local Sydney newspapers and one national newspaper. The findings show that printed media reports were not an accurate reflection of community support. Given that media is believed to be not only influenced by public opinion, but also capable of influencing public opinion, why was there such disparity between media reports and other sources of evidence regarding community support for this event? There is a call for more research investigating if what is reflected in the media is a fair approximation of community response to events.

text: Are media reports representative of host community support for mega-events? The case of Sydney world youth day 2008 World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) held during July was the fourth mega-event to be held in Sydney in the past decade. All mega-events, such as WYD08, attract considerable media attention in the lead up to, during, and after the event. In the lead up to WYD08, media reports, particularly those in the Australian written press, were predominately negative. These reports gave the impression that there was little, if any, support for holding the event among the residents of Sydney. Data were collected through a combination of document analysis and host community interviews, in the lead up to, during, and immediately following the event. The document analysis included two local Sydney newspapers and one national newspaper. The findings show that printed media reports were not an accurate reflection of community support. Given that media is believed to be not only influenced by public opinion, but also capable of influencing public opinion, why was there such disparity between media reports and other sources of evidence regarding community support for this event? There is a call for more research investigating if what is reflected in the media is a fair approximation of community response to events.

year: 2011

title: The Māori Data Privacy Framework: How useful is it for hapū?

authors: Clark, Vanessa

abstract: This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. In this brief we focus on the Māori Data Privacy Framework developed by the TiNT team and assess how useful it is for hapū. To do so, we draw on a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapū of the Waikato confederation (Kukutai, Whitehead & Kani, 2022). This brief should be read in conjunction with TiNT Brief #2 Protecting hapū data privacy: A Ngāti Tiipa case study of technology considerations.

text: The Māori Data Privacy Framework: How useful is it for hapū? This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. In this brief we focus on the Māori Data Privacy Framework developed by the TiNT team and assess how useful it is for hapū. To do so, we draw on a case study with Ngāti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapū of the Waikato confederation (Kukutai, Whitehead & Kani, 2022). This brief should be read in conjunction with TiNT Brief #2 Protecting hapū data privacy: A Ngāti Tiipa case study of technology considerations.

year: 2025-02-11