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All Journal Global Health Management Journal Indonesian Journal of Educational Development (IJED)
Gasa, Velisiwe
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Education Health Professions Medicine & Pharmacology Nursing Public Health

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Rethinking Educational Research Involving Students with Disabilities Muzite, Precious; Gasa, Velisiwe
GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) Vol. 8 No. 2 (2025)
Publisher : Yayasan Aliansi Cendekiawan Indonesia Thailand (Indonesian Scholars' Alliance)

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.35898/ghmj-821212

Abstract

Background: This paper investigates the decolonisation of educational research concerning students with disabilities. Aims: The primary aim was to validate and interpret these students' lived experiences, challenging established dominant epistemologies in disability studies. Methods: A radical near-experience methodology, which emphasises participant-driven storytelling within their contextual realities, was employed as a qualitative research design. Twenty youths, aged 16 to 24, with either physical or learning disabilities, enrolled at five TVET Colleges, or Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges, in Gauteng, South Africa, engaged in storytelling exercises tailored to their abilities. Results: The storytelling exercises revealed key themes, including identity affirmation, systemic challenges, and agency. Findings indicate that conventional disability research often marginalises students' voices, perpetuating stereotypes and failing to enact meaningful policy changes. For instance, participants expressed feelings of empowerment and recognition through their narratives. Conclusion: This research holds significant implications for policymakers, highlighting the need for inclusive education studies that genuinely reflect the experiences of students with disabilities. Disability advocates can utilise these narratives to promote redefined identities and rights. Scholars can incorporate decolonial methodologies into their work, fostering a nuanced understanding of disability relevant to the global South. Additionally, practitioners in human services can leverage these insights to design supportive programs that encourage self-advocacy and positive identity formation. By prioritising the voices and experiences of individuals with disabilities, this study underscores the transformative potential of inclusive educational practices.
SUPPORT PROVIDED TO LECTURERS TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWEAN TEACHERS’ COLLEGES Madzore, Rosemary; Gasa, Velisiwe
Indonesian Journal of Educational Development (IJED) Vol. 5 No. 4 (2025): February 2025
Publisher : Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (LPPM) Universitas PGRI Mahadewa Indonesia

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.59672/ijed.v5i4.4484

Abstract

This study explores lecturer support in implementing inclusive education in Zimbabwean teacher colleges. Employing an interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative approach, and a case study design, 24 participants were purposively sampled, including three principals and 21 lecturers. The research drew on Sherman and Wood's classical liberal theory of equal opportunity, focusing on three colleges transitioning to inclusive education. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, then analysed thematically. Findings reveal insufficient support for lecturers, compounded by non-inclusive infrastructure and a struggling national economy that fails to provide essential teaching resources. The Ministry of Education was found to inadequately assist lecturers in implementing inclusive curricula, leaving them to navigate significant challenges such as a lack of teaching materials. To enhance inclusive education in teacher colleges, the study recommends the provision of assistive aids and personalised learning materials. It also calls for further research to identify effective strategies for implementing inclusive education. These findings highlight the urgent need for systemic improvements to support lecturers and foster equitable educational opportunities.
For the Love of Sisi: Peer Support and Friendship in Navigating Health Adversity Gasa, Velisiwe; Madikizela-Madiya, Nomanesi; Gumbo, Mishack Thiza; Magano, Meahabo Dinah; Pitsoane, Enid Manyaku; Mahlangu, Vimbi Petrus; Shava, Soul; Nkumane, Khabonina Grace; Machaisa, Pertunia Rebotile; Phala, Thembi; Luvalo, Loyiso; Motlhabane, Abraham; Ntshangase, Sibusiso D.
GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) Vol. 8 No. 3 (2025)
Publisher : Yayasan Aliansi Cendekiawan Indonesia Thailand (Indonesian Scholars' Alliance)

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.35898/ghmj-831250

Abstract

Health adversity, whether due to chronic illness, disability, or severe medical conditions, often leads to emotional, social, and psychological challenges. While much research has focused on clinical care, growing attention is paid to peer support and friendship as crucial non-clinical resources. The experience of Sisi, a person living through health adversity, offers an illustrative case of how love and social connection can play a transformative role in coping and resilience, even if it is for a short while. This paper explores the importance of peer support and friendship in enhancing empowerment, maintaining personal identity, and encouraging meaning-making during health-related adversity. It seeks to contribute knowledge on how social relationships function as sources of emotional comfort and as mechanisms that enable individuals to reframe their experience and maintain a strong sense of self in times of illness. The narratives show that peer support and friendship are essential facilitators of psychological empowerment, assisting individuals in feeling more in control and competent even in the face of adversity. Relationships with peers protect identity by affirming personal narratives beyond the illness. Furthermore, they act as informal support systems that augment medical interventions, frequently improving quality of life and psychological resilience. Peer connection can assist individuals in viewing illness not merely as a medical experience but as a collective human experience characterized by connection and meaning. The insights underscore the necessity for more comprehensive, person-centered strategies in health care that acknowledge love, friendship, and social connection as vital elements of recovery and resilience.
Rethinking Youth Resilience in Africa: The Untapped Role of Intergenerational Care and Indigenous Support Systems in Community Health Gasa, Velisiwe; Kpum, Moses Mhide
GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026)
Publisher : Yayasan Aliansi Cendekiawan Indonesia Thailand (Indonesian Scholars' Alliance)

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.35898/ghmj-911271

Abstract

Background: Global health narratives on youth resilience predominantly reflect Western-centric models emphasizing individual agency and nuclear family structures, marginalizing the intergenerational care networks and indigenous knowledge systems central to African societies. Objective: This conceptual paper critically examines the limitations of Western resilience frameworks in African contexts and proposes a reconceptualization grounding youth resilience in indigenous epistemologies, particularly Ubuntu philosophy and intergenerational care practices. Methods: Drawing on decolonial theory, African-centered psychology, and community resilience literature, we synthesize evidence from ethnographic studies, program evaluations, and regional health data across sub-Saharan Africa to demonstrate the efficacy of culturally grounded approaches. Results: Indigenous support systems, including grandparent-headed households, traditional healing practices, and community-based care networks, constitute tested resilience mechanisms that have sustained African youth through adversity yet remain systematically undervalued. Successful integration models from South Africa, Senegal, and Uganda demonstrate superior outcomes when indigenous wisdom informs youth development programming. Conclusion: Repositioning intergenerational care and indigenous knowledge from peripheral supplements to foundational pillars requires substantial policy reform, culturally appropriate research methodologies, and deliberate decolonization of health and social service systems across Africa.
Data Without Dignity? A Critical Perspective on How Educational Assessment Systems Overlook the Financial and Safety Realities of Women Learners Kpum, Moses Mhide; Gasa, Velisiwe
GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal) Vol. 9 No. 2 (2026)
Publisher : Yayasan Aliansi Cendekiawan Indonesia Thailand (Indonesian Scholars' Alliance)

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.35898/ghmj-921306

Abstract

Educational assessment systems worldwide claim objectivity and meritocracy, yet they systematically fail to account for the gendered realities that shape women learners' access, performance, and persistence. This perspective paper critically examines how contemporary assessment frameworks, despite increasing datafication and loud claims of evidence-based practice, overlook the financial precarity and safety vulnerabilities that disproportionately affect women and girls in educational settings. The analysis draws on a critical synthesis of peer-reviewed empirical studies across diverse contexts, including South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and North America, alongside policy documents from international organizations and recent large-scale quantitative and qualitative research. Assessment systems from primary through higher education are examined here. The paper is delimited to formal educational assessment contexts, standardized examinations, continuous assessment, and digital assessments, and focuses specifically on five categories of gendered barriers: period poverty, financial precarity, transportation and campus safety risks, intimate partner violence, and caregiving responsibilities. The analysis does not extend to informal assessment, workforce credentialing, or barriers arising from disability, though intersections with these are acknowledged where evidence permits. Through the lens of feminist epistemology, capability approach theory, and recent empirical evidence, the central argument holds that assessment systems function as technologies of inequality when they measure learning outcomes without acknowledging the material conditions required for dignified participation. Period poverty, transportation safety concerns, caregiving responsibilities, and economic vulnerability each create assessment disadvantages that are rendered invisible by ostensibly neutral measurement systems. In response, the paper proposes a dignity-centered assessment framework, one that treats safety and financial security as prerequisites for valid educational measurement rather than mere contextual variables. Concrete principles for gender-responsive assessment design are offered as a path toward transforming evaluation systems from instruments of exclusion into tools for genuine equity and empowerment.
Co-Authors Gumbo, Mishack Thiza Kpum, Moses Mhide Luvalo, Loyiso Machaisa, Pertunia Rebotile Madikizela-Madiya, Nomanesi Madzore, Rosemary Magano, Meahabo Dinah Mahlangu, Vimbi Petrus Motlhabane, Abraham Muzite, Precious Nkumane, Khabonina Grace Ntshangase, Sibusiso D. Phala, Thembi Pitsoane, Enid Manyaku Shava, Soul