Supporting the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood in Malawi

School of Education Research Seminar hosted by Department of Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs (DISN)

Speakers

• Jenipher Ngwira, Researcher and lecturer, The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences
• Dr Anita Soni, Professional tutor and Educational Psychologist, University of Birmingham

This talk reports from a research project in Malawi. The project, Tiphuzile, sought to identify successful examples of good practice that have supported children with disabilities to transition into and make progress in early childhood and primary education.

The event will include sharing a video from the project as well experiences of the researchers who undertook this collaborative project.

Biographies

Jenipher Ngwira 

Jenipher Ngwira is a Special Needs and Inclusive Education researcher and lecturer at The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). Jenipher has worked for 15 years as a disability specialist teacher trainer in various Universities in Malawi, including the Catholic University of Malawi (CUNIMA) and University of Malawi (UNIMA). She has vast expertise in designing, developing, implementing and reviewing curriculum for pre-service and in-service specialist teacher training programmes. She has rigorously and proficiently carried out collaborative research focusing on Inclusive Education and Early Childhood Development, working with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, University of Malawi, Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow and Cambridge among others. She has carried out numerous consultancy and programme evaluation works for organisations such as World Vision International, Sight Savers, Plan Malawi, Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi, and Livingstonia Synod Education Department. 

Dr Anita Soni 

Dr Anita Soni teaches on the Doctorate in Applied Education and Child Psychology within the School of Education. She is interested in working with children and their families in their early years of life, between birth and 7 years. She is enthusiastic about developing the skills of the Children’s Workforce, especially those working in Children’s Centres, and early childhood/years provision in the maintained, voluntary and independent sectors.

This is a hybrid event. Registration is essential to receive the link to ZOOM if you are attending online.

This event is open to the public, staff and students. 

Please note, this event will NOT be recorded.