| CODE | IAL3002 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Children and Social Welfare: Rights and Legal Issues with Special Reference to Persons with Disabilities | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Inclusion and Access to Learning | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will first introduce students to the history of disabled people's struggle for their rights to be recognised and for disability to become a rights as well as a welfare issue. The study-unit will then focus on international and national legislation which is related to disabled people, with a specific focus on legislation which is relevant for disabled children, especially the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) and the UNCRPD Act 2001, the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act 2000, the Social Security Act 1987 and the Education Act 2021. Reference will also be made to relevant policy documents, especially in relation to inclusive education, including the Salamanca Statement and current national policies. The services and benefits available for disabled people, especially children, will be outlined. Emphasis will be made on the right of disabled people, including disabled children, to make choice and be in control of their own lives and how this right is fundamental to their truly enjoying the rights that are enshrined in legislation. The study-unit also presents disabled children as being able to identify themselves as having rights and as having a meaningful voice in service-provision. The difference in how disability is perceived and portrayed by the professionals, parents and disabled children themselves through the services available is also explored, reflected on and discussed. Study-Unit Aims: - To make the students aware of the history of disabled people's struggle for their right to participation in society to be recognised through legislation; - To enable students to appreciate the reasons why such legislation is needed; - To enable students to appreciate the importance of disabled people being able to make choices and be in control of their lives; - To expose students to relevant international and national disability legislation, especially as applicable to inclusive education; - To expose students to relevant policy documents that aid in the realisation of these rights; - To expose students to relevant services and benefits for disabled people; - To explore and reflect on the different perspectives of disability in the different services available; - To reflect on practices, including in the classroom setting, in a manner that reflects the rights, responsibilities and choice available to disabled students; - To present ways in which the disabled child鈥檚 voice can be heard and valued. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the history of disabled people's struggle for their rights to be recognised; - Differentiate between different types of legislation and the rights they afford to disabled people; - Identify disabled people's rights especially in relation to inclusive education; - Identify other relevant policy documents; - Identify relevant services and benefits; - Recognise the importance and validity of the disabled child鈥檚 voice; - Recall the different services available to disabled persons and their families; - Identify barriers in various settings in disabled children鈥檚 lives, including in the classroom; - Listen to and facilitate children鈥檚 voice. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify cases of discrimination, especially in relation to inclusive education; - Analyse a particular scenario and explain which disabled people's rights are being breached and suggest possible remedies; - Distinguish between different types of discrimination; - Identify which services and benefits are most appropriate for disabled people in particular situations; - Identify the space and tolls needed within service-provision to actively listen and work with the child鈥檚 own concerns. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Callus, A. M., & Farrugia, R. (2016). The disabled child鈥檚 participation rights. Routledge. - Callus, A.M. and Bajada, G. (2023) The Individual Education Programme: Who Knows Best? In Beckett, A. and Callus, A.M. editors. The Lives of Children and Adolescents with Disabilities (126-144). Routledge. - Franklin, Anita, and Patricia Sloper. (2009) Supporting the participation of disabled children and young people in decision-making. Children & Society 23(1), 3-15. - Psaila, E. (2017). Voices in the classroom: exploring how the voice of the disabled child and the educational professionals are manifested in the classroom. Malta Review of Educational Research, 11(2), 171-186. - Psaila, E. (2023). Beyond the spoken word - facilitating the disabled child鈥檚 voice through the mosaic approach. In A. Beckett and A.M. Callus (editors) The Routledge International Handbook on Children鈥檚 Rights and Disabilities, Routledge, pp. 188-205. Supplementary Readings: - A. Beckett and A.M. Callus (editors) The Routledge International Handbook on Children鈥檚 Rights and Disabilities, Routledge. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Anne-Marie Callus Elvira Spiteri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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