An Interpretation of disability in Grade 10 business studies textbooks in South Africa.
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Date
2020
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Abstract
In South Africa, the textbook is considered a crucial pedagogical tool used in the classroom,
particularly in the subject of Business Studies. Textbooks are also a means of passing on
societal values to learners. From this perspective, there is a need to understand the concept of
disability as it is presented in textbooks, as well as the values passed down to learners
regarding people with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to interpret the portrayal of
disability in Grade 10 Business Studies textbooks within the South African context. This
qualitative study is situated in the interpretive paradigm and draws on critical theory as the
theoretical framework of the study. The research employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
as the analytical tool for this study to probe the texts for any hidden ideologies in relation to
disability that may have been present. A purposive sample of eight Grade 10 Business
Studies was selected to explore the phenomenon of disability as it is presented in the
textbooks. The findings of the study were discussed according to the following themes that
emerged from the texts: workplace discrimination among previously disadvantaged groups,
such as people of colour, women and people with disabilities, where people with disabilities
are professionally discriminated against; exclusion of people with disabilities from the world
of work due to negative stereotypes of being incapable and incompetent, as well as due to the
added cost of making appropriate accommodations for them at work; legislation enacted to
facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities into society and the workplace, as well as
legislation directed at the eradication of discrimination against people with disabilities, is
unsuccessful due to a lack of proper implementation. Textbooks also contained subliminal
messaging, with the implementers of legislation exerting power and control over the disabled;
and implications for inclusivity in businesses revealed underlying authoritative tones on the
part of the state when addressing businesses with regards to practicing inclusivity. In
conclusion, the textbooks under study were found to reinforce negative stereotypic notions of
people with disabilities as victims of discrimination facing exclusion from society,
specifically in the context of the workplace. From the findings, a recommendation that
cognisance be paid to the negative societal values contained in these textbooks.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.