Susan Anderson

In Pursuit of Excellence: Educational Barriers,opportunities, and Experiences of Jamaican Students with Disabilities. Susan Anderson

This exploratory study looked at the barriers, opportunities and experiences of students with disabilities in their pursuit of personal excellence. The psycho-social dimension emerged as the most critical theme and it captured the quintessence of the stories told by the informants. The findings in this focus also concurred with theoretical analyses of developmental stages, pointing to the fact that, whether students are disabled, or non-disabled, their psycho-social needs are equally apparent and robust. Findings at the high school level revealed that inclusion/mainstreaming served to make each individual more aware of others with differences and made them willing to share and work together. Inclusion, however, tended to be restricted to academic interaction. At the UWI, students found the attitudes of staff and students more positive than those which guided the experiences they had at the lower levels, although there were instances of insensitivity by some staff members, as well as negative experiences with non- disabled students during Orientation practices.