Counting the “Invisible”? The need for qualitative data

Marion Steff, PhD6th December 2016Plan Conference, Nepal

Facts SDG 4

Inclusion: mentioned 1 time (in the overall goal #4) Disabilities: mentioned 4 times (4.5 and 4.a) Girls: mentioned 2 times (4.1 and 4.2) Women: mentioned 2 times (4.3 and 4.6) Vulnerability: mentioned 2 times (4.5)

The world has a very clear message coming from the United Nations: everyone has an equal right to quality inclusive education no matter their ethnic group, age, gender, disability, or belief system.

What is missing? Qualitative data! It is not mentioned at all in the SDGs

Good news? UN is open to creative and innovative

combinations of quantitative and qualitative information to support understanding

Data collection is based at national level, with a chance for us to influence review processes to reach people who are the most left behind

Hearing my voice: empowerment through community-based participatory research

The study in TanzaniaPurpose: To gather the voices of women and men with disabilities and older people, and provide qualitative input to inform Agenda 2030 and the SDGs.

Methodology: Community-based participatory research

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Data collection & analysis26 people trained to become peer researchers:

• Women and men with disabilities,

• Older people

• Local NGOs staff

They collected and analysed 106 stories in their communities (urban & local)

Eight priority themes

Peer researchers identified 8 priorities themes for policy focus & advocacy efforts:

Access to education and quality learning Access to health services Issues fed back from NGOs Poverty relating to income & dependence Attitudes towards witchcraft & albinism Relationships difficulties & marriage breakdowns Sexual violence & gender issues Poor treatment from family

Findings in education

• Little investment from the government in supporting inclusive education

• Teachers are not adequately trained to teach children with disabilities

• Schools infrastructures are not accessible

• The community does not engage in supporting access to education for children with disabilities

• Families does not send their children with disabilities to schools because of different reasons (cost, illness, etc.)

• There is free education policy for children with disabilities in Tanzania but it is not implemented and parents still have to pay school fees

Passages from stories on education (1/2)

“When I was discharged from the dispensary, I lost my hearing. I continued to stay with my aunt at home while using drugs prescribed at the hospital and felt better. When I came back from the hospital, I could not hear properly. I was bright but I started to drop in the class… I left school because I could not hear what was being taught so I saw no importance in school”

Person with hearing impairment, 18 years, Nachingwea district

“When I attended school, I was humiliated by teachers and decided to quit. I was the only person with albinism in the class. For example, the teacher would tell me that I had to sit at the front because I had a visual problem and could not see well, but in fact, I was already in the front seat [and could not be closer]”

Person with albinism, 19 years, Nachingwea district

Passages from stories on education (2/2)

“When I was in primary school, I would tell the teacher that I could not see. I would ask: ‘Can you please read for me?’ but the teacher would say: ‘ Why do you come to school if you cannot see?’. Besides, there were no user-friendly learning materials.”

Person who is blind, 25 years, Kibaha district

Ways forward

Peer researchers suggested a number of ways forward to share with the Tanzania government. For instance, they recommended the following:

• More teachers should be trained to provide quality inclusive education for learners with disabilities

• Curriculums should be flexible and adapt to the needs of learners

• Parents of children with disabilities should be sensitised to the importance of taking their children to school to receive an education

• Communities should be made aware of the importance of supporting families with a member having a disability

• Curriculums should teach about the importance of respecting and caring for each other

• Older people should be listened to as their life experience is invaluable

Recommendations & conclusion

Qualitative data brings a deeper understanding of the issue

The data is linked to human experience and this is more compelling and powerful than data gathered through quantitative research

Qualitative data reveals issues that could not be exposed with the sole use of quantitative data

Statistical analysis should be a complement to, not a substitution for, qualitative assessments.

We need to engage in advocating for the use of different data sources in the SDGs, including qualitative data, perceptions data and citizen-generated data.

For more information

Email: msteff@sightsavers.org

Visit: www.sightsavers.org/voices

Tweet: @sightsavers_pol

Thank you