Facilitators’ Attitude and Engagement in Advocacy towards Inclusion of Adults with Disabilities in Integrated Functional Adult Education Program in Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was exploring the facilitators’ attitude and engagement in advocacy towards inclusion of adults with disabilities in the integrated functional adult education program (IFAEP) in Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia. To this end, the explanatory sequential design which belongs to the mixed methods approach was employed. A total of 214 facilitators were selected using stratified random sampling to fill out the questionnaire with 98.6% (211) response rate. Three respondent facilitators were selected using purposive sampling technique for an interview based on their active participation in IFAEP. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and presented through mean, SD, percentage, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney Test and Pearson correlation while the qualitative data were analyzed through narrative analysis. The quantitative results revealed that the majority of facilitators’ had positive attitude and demonstrated the highest engagement in advocacy towards inclusion of adults with disabilities in IFAEP. Among the demographic characteristics, a statistically significant mean score difference was observed in facilitators’ educational qualification but not in other demographic characteristics. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r= .655**) indicated that facilitators’ attitude and their engagement in advocacy were positively correlated. The qualitative results also revealed that facilitators’ had positive attitude and demonstrated the highest engagement in advocacy. Changes in facilitators’ attitude can bring about changes in their engagement in advocacy towards inclusion of adults with disabilities in IFAEP. It is recommended that facilitators’ educational qualification should be improved for the effective inclusion of adults with disabilities in IFAEP.