e-ISSN 2231-8534
ISSN 0128-7702
Zahraa Jamel Rahahleh, Mizyed AbdelFattah Hyassat, AbdelLatif Khalaf Alramamneh, Obaid Abdalkarim Sabayleh, Ra’ad AbdEl Kareem Al-Awamleh and Azeez Ahmad Alrahamneh
Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Volume 29, Issue 1, March 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.1.19
Keywords: Challenges, disabilities, individuals with disabilities, Jordan, political participation, social integration
Published on: 26 March 2021
This qualitative study examines the participation of individuals with disabilities in political activities in Jordan: a topic on which there is little existing literature despite its capacity to promote successful social integration. Data for this study was gathered by conducting sixteen semi-structured interviews with individuals with disabilities and was then examined collectively using thematic analysis, in the context of related literature and medical and social models of disability. The resulting findings revealed that the most prevalent obstacles that people with disabilities encountered regarding participating in political activities were poor communication, their own negative attitudes towards politics and politicians, and inaccessible physical environments.
Agran, M., & Hughes, C. (2013). “You can’t vote—you’re mentally incompetent”: Denying democracy to people with severe disabilities. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 38(1), 58-62. https://doi.org/10.2511/027494813807047006
Agran, M., MacLean, W., & Andren, K. A. K. (2015). “I never thought about it”: Teaching people with intellectual disability to vote. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 50(4), 388-396. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26420348
Agran, M., MacLean Jr, W. E., & Andren, K. A. K. (2016). “My voice counts, too”: Voting participation among individuals with intellectual disability. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 54(4), 285-294. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-54.4.285
Barbour, R. S. (2001). Checklists for improving rigour in qualitative research: A case of the tail wagging the dog? BMJ, 322(7294), 1115-1117. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7294.1115
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brett, J. (2002). The experience of disability from the perspective of parents of children with profound impairment: is it time for an alternative model of disability? Disability & Society, 17(7), 825-843. https://doi.org/10.1080/0968759022000039109
Bricout, J. C., & Gray, D. B. (2006). Community receptivity: The ecology of disabled persons’ participation in the physical, political and social environments. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 8(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15017410500335229
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.
Burden, B. C., Fletcher, J. M., Herd, P., Moynihan, D. P., & Jones, B. M. (2017). How different forms of health matter to political participation. The Journal of Politics, 79(1), 166-178. https://doi.org/10.1086/687536
Dawson, C. (2007). Practical research methods: A user-friendly guide to mastering research techniques and projects. How To Books Ltd.
Friedman, C., & Rizzolo, M. C. (2017). Correlates of voting participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 16(3-4), 347-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/1536710X.2017.1392393
General Statistics Department. (2019). Jordan in figures. http://dosweb.dos.gov.jo/DataBank/JordanInFigures/Jorinfo_2019.pdf
Goering, S. (2015). Rethinking disability: The social model of disability and chronic disease. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 8(2), 134-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-015-9273-z
Goggin, G., & Wadiwel, D. (2014). Australian disability reform and political participation. In Symposium: Reform and Rhetoric in Australian Social Policy, September. http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2014/09/goggin_wadiwel.html
Guldvik, I., Askheim, O. P., & Johansen, V. (2013). Political citizenship and local political participation for disabled people. Citizenship Studies, 17(1), 76-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2013.764219
Haegele, J. A., & Hodge, S. (2016). Disability discourse: Overview and critiques of the medical and social models. Quest, 68(2), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2016.1143849
Hall, T., & Alvarez, R. M. (2012). Defining the barriers to political participation for individuals with disabilities (Accessible Voting Technology Initiative Working Paper No. 1). The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. https://elections.itif.org/reports/AVTI-001-Hall-Alvarez-2012.pdf
Hammel, J., Magasi, S., Heinemann, A., Gray, D. B., Stark, S., Kisala, P., Carlozzi, N. E., Tulsky, D., Garcia, S. F., & Hahn, E. A. (2015). Environmental barriers and supports to everyday participation: A qualitative insider perspective from people with disabilities. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 96(4), 578-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.12.008
Harris, S. P., Owen, R., & De Ruiter, C. (2012). Civic engagement and people with disabilities: the role of advocacy and technology. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 5(1), 1-14. https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/jces/vol5/iss1/8
Hästbacka, E., Nygård, M., & Nyqvist, F. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to societal participation of people with disabilities: A scoping review of studies concerning European countries. Alter, 10(3), 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alter.2016.02.002
Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2019). Wāqyʿ brāmj al-taʿlīm al-dāmj fī rīāḍ al-ʾaṭfāl fī al-mamlakaẗ al-ʾardanīẗ al-hāšymīẗ [The reality of early childhood inclusive education system in Jordan]. http://hcd.gov.jo/sites/default/files/%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B9%20%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AC%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AC%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%2%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B7%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9.pdf
Holland, R. (2016). Participation and engagement of people with a learning disability in the lead up to the 2015 general election. Tizard Learning Disability Review, 21(1), 10-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLDR-10-2015-0037
Hyassat, M. (2013). Jordanian parents of young children with disabilities perspectives on care, coping and service provision. Scholars’ Press.
Hyassat, M. (2016). The voice of Jordanian parents of young children with disabilities on involvement in their children’s educational services. International Journal of Special Education, 31(3), 508-532.
Independent Election Commission (2016). Law on the election of the House of Representatives. https://www.iec.jo/sites/default/files/2020-09/2ParliamentaryElectionLawMay2016EN.docx%20%281%29_0%20%281%29.pdf
James, E., Harvey, M., & Hatton, C. (2018). Participation of adults with learning disabilities in the 2015 UK General Election. Tizard Learning Disability Review, 23(2), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLDR-04-2017-0022
Jordanian Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. 2017. No. 20. (2017). http://hcd.gov.jo/sites/default/files/English%20version.pdf
Levesque, M. (2016). Searching for persons with disabilities in Canadian provincial office. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 5(1), 73-106. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v5i1.250
Matthews, H., Limb, M., & Taylor, M. (1999). Young people’s participation and representation in society. Geoforum, 30(2), 135-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(98)00025-6
Mattila, M. (2019). Does poor health mobilize people into action? Health, political trust, and participation. European Political Science Review, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S175577391900033X
Mattila, M., & Papageorgiou, A. (2017). Disability, perceived discrimination and political participation. International Political Science Review, 38(5), 505-519. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512116655813
Mattila, M., Rapeli, L., Wass, H., & Söderlund, P. (2017). Health and political engagement. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315561691
Mattila, M., Söderlund, P., Wass, H., & Rapeli, L. (2013). Healthy voting: The effect of self-reported health on turnout in 30 countries. Electoral Studies, 32(4), 886-891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2013.07.010
McCausland, D., McCallion, P., Brennan, D., & McCarron, M. (2018). The exercise of human rights and citizenship by older adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 62(10), 875-887. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12543
McEwan, C., & Butler, R. (2008). Disability and development: Different models, different places. Geography Compass, 1(3), 448-466. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2007.00023.x
McGrath, O., Crawford, S., & O’Sullivan, D. (2019). ‘It’s a challenge’: Post primary physical education teachers’ experiences of and perspectives on inclusive practice with students with disabilities. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity, 12(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5507/euj.2018.011
Noy, C. (2008). Sampling knowledge: The hermeneutics of snowball sampling in qualitative research. International Journal of social Research Methodology, 11(4), 327-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570701401305
Opoku, M. P., Mprah, W. K., & Saka, B. N. (2016). Participation of persons with disabilities in political activities in Cameroon. Disability and the Global South, 3(2), 980-999.
Palmer, M., & Harley, D. (2012). Models and measurement in disability: An international review. Health Policy and Planning, 27(5), 357-364. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czr047
Powell, S., & Johnson, A. A. (2019). Patterns and mechanisms of political participation among people with disabilities. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 44(3), 381-422. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-7367000
Priestley, M., Stickings, M., Loja, E., Grammenos, S., Lawson, A., Waddington, L., & Fridriksdottir, B. (2016). The political participation of disabled people in Europe: Rights, accessibility and activism. Electoral Studies, 42, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2016.01.009
Radermacher, H., Sonn, C., Keys, C., & Duckett, P. (2010). Disability and participation: It’s about us but still without us! Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 20(5), 333-346. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.1039
Reher, S. (2018). Mind this gap, too: Political orientations of people with disabilities in Europe. Political Behavior, 10(4), 613-635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-018-09520-x
Rutherford, R. (2007). Jordan and disability rights: A pioneering leader in the Arab world. The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 3(4), 25-42. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/58331
Sackey, E. (2015). Disability and political participation in Ghana: An alternative perspective. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 17(4), 366-381. https://doi.org/10.1080/15017419.2014.941925
Sakarneh, M. A., & Al-Swelmyeen, M. B. (2020). The extent to which the Jordanian inclusive basic school teachers use the constructivism theory in teaching. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 10(1), 182. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2020-0017
Sakarneh, M. A., Sabayleh, O. A., & Alramamneh, A. L. K. (2019). The sensory characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder: Teachers’ observation. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 11(2), 105-115. http://doi.org/10.20489/intjecse.670459
Sakarneh, M., Paterson, D., & Minichiello, V. (2016). The applicability of the NSW quality teaching model to the Jordanian primary school context. Dirasat: Educational Sciences, 43(Supp. 4), 1773-1789.
Salameh, M. T. B. (2017). Political reform in Jordan: Reality and aspirations. World Affairs, 180(4), 47-78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018765373
Sandall, S. P., Smith, B. J., McLean, M. E., & Ramsey, A. L. (2002). Qualitative research in early intervention/early childhood special education. Journal of Early Intervention, 25(2), 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1177/105381510202500210
Schur, L., & Adya, M. (2013). Sidelined or mainstreamed? Political participation and attitudes of people with disabilities in the United States. Social Science Quarterly, 94(3), 811-839. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2012.00885.x
Schur, L., Adya, M., & Kruse, D. (2013). Disability, voter turnout, and voting difficulties in the 2012 elections. U.S. Election Assistance Commission and Research Alliance for Accessible Voting. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/1/Disability%20and%20voting%20survey%20report%20for%202012%20elections.pdf
Schur, L., Shields, T., & Schriner, K. (2003). Can I make a difference? Efficacy, employment, and disability. Political Psychology, 24(1), 119-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00319
Schur, L., Shields, T., Kruse, D., & Schriner, K. (2002). Enabling democracy: Disability and voter turnout. Political Research Quarterly, 55(1), 167-190. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290205500107
Schur, L. A., & Kruse, D. L. (2000). What determines voter turnout? Lessons from citizens with disabilities. Social Science Quarterly, 81(2), 571-587. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42863976
Scullion, P. A. (2010). Models of disability: Their influence in nursing and potential role in challenging discrimination. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(3), 697-707. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05211.x
Skelton, T., & Valentine, G. (2003). Political participation, political action and political identities: Young D/deaf people’s perspectives. Space and Polity, 7(2), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/1356257032000133892
Smith, W., Roth, J., Okoro, O., & Odedina, F. (2011). Disability in cultural competency pharmacy education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe75226
Suzanne, M., Hennie, R., & Iris, I. (2019). Voting barriers and solutions: The experiences of people with disabilities during the Dutch national election in 2017. Disability & Society, 34(5), 819-836. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1566052
Willig, C. (2008). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and method. Open University Press Buckingham.
ISSN 0128-7702
e-ISSN 2231-8534
Recent Articles