There has been a move in education for a number of years now that has focused on what Jan Meyer and Ray Land call Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge (Meyer and Land, 2006). These are ideas that students really struggle to grasp. We've all experienced it. For me it was mathematical formulae. I could never understand why it was that the maths teachers stepped through equations the way that they did. I didn't know the rules and they did an appalling job of explaining them to me. I fumbled around trying to make sense of my ignorance before giving up. But the fact that I've never forgotten this, and keep returning to it is a telling point. Meyer and Land argue that these … [Read more...] about Why a grand vision might be bad for your practice (and your soul)
Disrupting the Disabled/Normal Divide
blog post by A/Prof Barbara Gibson My new book Rehabilitation: A Post-critical Approach was written to help rehabilitation students and practitioners make the links between the critical scholarship and what it might mean for practice. A key chapter in the book explores how as a society we think about ‘normal’ as a preferred state of being, and how this is carried over into our rehabilitation practices. Here I provide an overview of this discussion. Normalizing practices in rehabilitation help sustain negative attitudes towards disabled people and deny the richness of human diversity. In making this somewhat provocative statement my purpose is not to suggest that all rehabilitation … [Read more...] about Disrupting the Disabled/Normal Divide
Help HelpAge in Ukraine and Tanzania
A few days ago, we received this request for help from one of HelpAge International's disability advisors and thought it might be of interest to members: From Diana Hiscock, Disability Advisor, ADCAP Project, HelpAge International I am looking for contacts in two countries or regions to support HelpAge projects in their work. 1. Help Age International is working in Ukraine - http://www.helpage.org/what-we-do/emergencies/ukraine-crisis/ and I am trying to find OT’s or PT’s to provide support there. I have tried to contact the Ukrainian Physiotherapy association without luck – so now I am looking for links and previous experience in this region. We are planning to bring in therapists … [Read more...] about Help HelpAge in Ukraine and Tanzania