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Browsing by Author "Burgess-Pinto, Elizabeth"

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    Journey to reconciliation through mutual learning and gifting
    (2019) Ouedraogo, Valerie; Burgess-Pinto, Elizabeth; Hayduk, Larisa; Whitson, Lindsey
    Responding to the revelations of the TRC and its Calls to Actions, a group of educators invested in social justice issues worked to integrate Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies into a semester-long teaching and learning project. Participating faculty and staff learned about ceremony and protocols and likewise connected with elders and other knowledge keepers to offer a series of learning events for students, faculty, staff, and the public to explore the ongoing impacts of colonization and cultural power imbalances through an intercultural process. The reflexive process encouraged active, transformative learning and reciprocity.
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    To live or not to live: the silent voices of adolescents with disabilities in Ghana
    (2025) Naab, Florence; Asirifi, Mary A.; Adjei, Charles Ampong; Kyei, Josephine M.; Menkah, William; Gateri, Hellen; Reisdorfer, Emilene; Parikh, Reyna; Burgess-Pinto, Elizabeth
    About 8% of Ghanaians, including adolescents, have various types of disabilities. Although many legal and constitutional protections for people with disabilities, including adolescents, exist in Ghana, it is widely known that these persons face a variety of psychosocial issues. Several factors have been identified as contributing to the unremitting marginalisation of people with disabilities in general, but the extent to which these can be generalised to adolescents with disabilities is unknown. This study, therefore, sought to document the determinants, manifestations, and consequences of disability-related stigma among differently abled adolescents in three special schools in northern, middle, and southern Ghana. An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was used. Overall, 54 participants were purposively selected for a semi-structured interview and focus group discussions. Braun and Clarke’s procedure for thematic analysis was followed. The findings showed a variety of stigmatising experiences by adolescents with disabilities in their sociocultural context. More broadly, the cause of disability was linked to the ramifications of parental sins against the gods, being a descendant of river gods, and the consequences of bewitchment/curses by family members. Others included the perceived transmissibility of the disability and disability as a visible condition. Stigma manifested in the form of pejorative labelling, ableism, and social exclusion. The consequences of this stigma included negative psychological and emotional effects (i.e., depression, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence) and suicidal ideation. There is an urgent need for stigma reduction interventions for adolescents with disabilities in Ghana as part of an effort to improve their wellbeing.
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    “To Live or Not to Live”: the silent voices of adolescents with disabilities in Ghana
    (2025) Naab, Florence; Asirifi, Mary A.; Adjei, Charles Ampong; Kyei, Josephine M.; Menkah, William; Gateri, Hellen; Reisdorfer, Emilene; Parikh, Reyna; Burgess-Pinto, Elizabeth
    About 8% of Ghanaians, including adolescents, have various types of disabilities. Although many legal and constitutional protections for people with disabilities, including adolescents, exist in Ghana, it is widely known that these persons face a variety of psychosocial issues. Several factors have been identified as contributing to the unremitting marginalisation of people with disabilities in general, but the extent to which these can be generalised to adolescents with disabilities is unknown. This study, therefore, sought to document the determinants, manifestations, and consequences of disability-related stigma among differently abled adolescents in three special schools in northern, middle, and southern Ghana. An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was used. Overall, 54 participants were purposively selected for a semi-structured interview and focus group discussions. Braun and Clarke’s procedure for thematic analysis was followed. The findings showed a variety of stigmatising experiences by adolescents with disabilities in their sociocultural context. More broadly, the cause of disability was linked to the ramifications of parental sins against the gods, being a descendant of river gods, and the consequences of bewitchment/curses by family members. Others included the perceived transmissibility of the disability and disability as a visible condition. Stigma manifested in the form of pejorative labelling, ableism, and social exclusion. The consequences of this stigma included negative psychological and emotional effects (i.e., depression, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence) and suicidal ideation. There is an urgent need for stigma reduction interventions for adolescents with disabilities in Ghana as part of an effort to improve their wellbeing.