Effects of Demographic Characteristics on Facilitators’ Attitude and Engagement in Advocacy towards Inclusion of Adults with Disabilities in the Literacy Training Program in Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Effects of Demographic Characteristics on the Facilitators’ Attitudes and Engagement in Advocacy towards the Inclusion of Adults with Disabilities in the Literacy Training Program in the Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia. To this end, the explanatory sequential design of a mixed research method was used. The study involved 224 respondents and among these 214 facilitators were selected by stratifying sampling technique to fill the questionnaire and a total of 13 principals, supervisors, adults with disabilities, and literacy training program experts were selected by purposive sampling technique for interview. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS version 23 and presented by Step-wise regression while the qualitative data were analyzed by word-by-word narrative analysis. The results from both quantitative and qualitative data revealed that their educational qualifications had slight effects on the facilitators’ attitudes and engagement in advocacy towards the inclusion of adults with disabilities in the literacy training program; while the other demographic characteristics had no effects. Finally, the different challenging factors within the training centers that tend to shape the facilitators’ attitudes and their engagement in advocacy differently regarding patience, tolerance, and accommodation would be researched.

Keywords

• adults with disabilities
• attitudes
• engagement in advocacy
• facilitators’
• inclusion
• literacy