Some students in the Faculty of Education had a chance to present papers for the first time at an international conference on inclusive education while others had transformative experiences after engaging with fellow students from abroad, researchers, academics, policy makers and representatives from numerous global NGOs.
Nine students from the Faculty were privileged to attend the 2018 Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) international conference which was recently held at Century City Hotel.
DISES is a division of the Council for Exceptional Children and its purpose is to promote international communication, cooperation and progress in education and services for children and youth who have disabilities and/or are gifted. The division refers to these children and youth as individuals with exceptional education needs.
One of DISES’ main objectives is to improve understanding of the conditions facing individuals with exceptional educational needs and the professionals, parents and others who provide education and services to them throughout the world. DISES also serves as a catalyst for the international exchange of information on practice, research, technology and issues related to education and services for individuals with exceptional education needs.
In 2017 the DISES conference was held in Bulgaria, this year in South Africa and in 2019 it will move to Jamaica. This year’s DISES conference was described by one of the organisers as bigger and better than before as it was attended by delegates from more than 30 international countries and academic engagements were rich and fruitful.
The students were selected to attend the conference as part of the global collaborative project on Inclusive Education, which was initiated by Dr Lawrence Meda, the Faculty’s Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Professor Rebekka Jez, Director of Global Education at the University of San Diego (USD) and CPUT’s Dr Cina Mosito, Head of Department: Intermediate Phase.
Prof Jez attended the conference along with her ten undergraduate students from USD who are studying Inclusive Education. She managed to obtain conference registration fees for three CPUT students Hannah Godfrey, Michelle Niemand and Thabo Mofolo who are all in their third year.
The other six students – Abongile Matyaleni (second year), Johan Pienaar (third year) and fourth-years Carla Barnard, Yosamela Mabhovula, Odwa Ntwanambi and Thando Dyamara – received complimentary registration fees from the Western Cape Education Department.
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