Abstract
There is a limited research available on the wellbeing of children with disabilities from their own perspectives. The investigations that do exist are largely informed by the perspectives of parents, caregivers and teachers, amongst others. In South Africa, segregated schooling and limited educational opportunities, access to healthcare, appropriate transport, basic services and assistive devices all hinder the wellbeing of children with disabilities (Department of Social Development, 2009; 2016). In 2019, approximately 600 000 of children with disabilities were not attending school (Human Rights Watch, 2019). One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the distance between schools and children’s homes. Literature in this regard (Ben-David & Nel, 2013) highlights that these homes are generally poorer and the hazardous roads that children would have to travel, on a regular basis, would make the journey to school impossible. In such instances, residing in school hostels is an option for some children. Yet, not much is known in respect of whether children’s subjective wellbeing differs if they reside in private residences compared to residing in school hostels. The purpose of this study was to compare the subjective wellbeing and academic performance of children with physical disabilities attending nine special needs schools in the Western Cape province of South Africa. A purposive sampling technique was used, inclusive of 30 children living in school hostels and 30 children residing in private residences. In addition, associations between socio-demographic characteristics, subjective wellbeing and academic performance were explored. The results revealed no statistically significant difference in the overall subjective wellbeing of children with physical disabilities based on their physical residency. However, a positive correlation between involvement in extracurricular activities and overall subjective wellbeing (r = 0.254; p < 0.05) was observed. Furthermore, children residing in private homes (Mdn = 34.63) demonstrated significantly higher levels of family-related wellbeing compared to children residing in school hostels (Mdn = 26.37). This finding calls for the need to strengthen family involvement in the lives of children who live in hostels. This need is particularly important given the emerging body of evidence suggesting that a lack of parent involvement (if children live at hostels) can result in the stunted wellbeing and development of children (Jack, 2020).
M.A. (Psychology)