'Me and my sister Emma playing in the garden.'

By Abigail (aged 4), disabled child with physical impairments. 

Thursday 30 November 2017, 1830hrs

University of Malta Valletta Campus

Angharad Beckett
Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Centre for Disability Studies

University of Leeds, UK.

All children have the right to play (UNCRC Art. 31). Yet access to play is not enjoyed equally by all. Disabled children, internationally, are a group known to be marginalized in this regard. This should be a concern to their allies. They are known to face two types of barrier to their play: (1) ‘inaccessible facilities and environments, negative attitudes and inappropriate social policies and programmes’ and (2), ‘the imposition of activities determined by adults’ (International Play Association). This lecture will consider how we might ensure access and inclusion in free play for disabled children and why we need to liberate their play from adult agendas.

Biography

Dr Angharad Beckett is Deputy Director of the Centre for Disability Studies (CDS), University of Leeds, UK. The CDS is the longest established and best known centre for research and teaching in this area internationally, with a history of conducting research informed by a commitment to equality and social justice for disabled people. Angharad researches disability politics and how to build inclusive societies. She has undertaken studies in the area of inclusive education, exploring how positive attitudes towards disabled people might be promoted through teaching and learning activities in schools. Her current work focuses on the ‘politics of play’ for disabled children. She is part of a highly interdisciplinary EU-funded COST Action Network entitled ‘LUDI’, which brings together researchers and practitioners to find ways to facilitate play for disabled children.