Engineering Students With Disabilities In The Kingdom Of Jordan
- Conference
- Location
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Publication Date
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June 22, 2008
- Start Date
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June 22, 2008
- End Date
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June 25, 2008
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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International
- Page Count
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10
- Page Numbers
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13.526.1 - 13.526.10
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--4117
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/4117
- Download Count
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414
Paper Authors
Aiman Kuzmar Pennsylvania State University-Fayette
AIMAN S. KUZMAR is an assistant professor of engineering at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus. He holds a Ph. D. degree from Duke University. He has a Mastes degree from Rice University. His B. S. is from the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. All of his degrees are in civil engineering. His industrial experience includes working as an Engineer for the NCDOT. He is a registered engineer in North Carolina.
Taima Alhiyari Al-Balqaa Applied University
Mrs. Taima Alhyari is an instructor in the Dept. of Special Education at Al-Balqaa Applied University in Salt, Jordan. She received a B.A. degree in Arabic Literature in 1995 and an M. A. degree in Special Education in 2000. Both are from the University of Jordan. She is about to start her Doctorate program in Special Education. She worked as an educator in many places including the Universal Academy of Pittsburgh and the Kinder Kinetic Program of the University of Pittsburgh in the US.
Abedalbasit Abedalhafiz Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Hashemite University,
ABDELBASIT ABDELHAFEZ is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. He is a vice-dean at the Deanship of Students' Affairs. He holds a Ph. D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Motor Behavior. He has a Master’s and a BS degrees from the Univ. of Jordan in Physical Education. He is a member in many committees inside and outside the Hashemite University.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Engineering Students with Disabilities in the Kingdom of Jordan
Abstract
Disabled students do not tend to join engineering programs in general. In the Kingdom of Jordan, only fifteen out of more than ten thousand engineering students are disabled. To understand the reasons behind this extremely low number, a study was conducted. The study included interviewing several disabled engineering students. It focused on why disabled students opt not to join engineering programs. The sample was small because the general population itself was small. It was observed that all of the disabled engineering students in Jordan have high academic standings. The interviewed students outlined some of the reasons behind the shortage of disabled students in engineering programs. They attributed this common phenomenon to their own choice as well as to the lack of support by those surrounding them. Several other observations, conclusions and recommendations were made accordingly to promote the engineering education process itself as well as the education of disabled students.
Introduction
Historically, disability in general and disabled students in particular have been almost totally ignored. It is only recently that this sector has received some attention from the rest of the society. This attention varies from country to country and even from one state to another within countries.
Besides its noble nature and its appeal as a sign of civilization, it is an obligation to integrate disabled individuals with the rest of the society. It is also extremely important to protect their rightful and intrinsic rights and to create equal opportunities for them. This issue should continue to receive full attention from everyone to highlight all of its aspects and effects on our human society. It is the obligation of the whole society and not certain individuals or groups to promote the rights of disabled students.
Integrating disabled students with the society should be based on two basic fundamentals. First, disabled individuals have the abilities and willingness to learn, grow, work, and positively participate in and for their communities. This is true regardless of the severity of the disabilities they live with. Their potential should therefore be understood and utilized to benefit them as well as the rest of their communities. Second, disabled individuals are part of the society. They have the right to share all available recourses exactly like everyone else around them. Federal and local governments should include the needs of disabled individuals in their strategic planning and all other actions.
Many countries, especially in the west have recognized this and have adopted actual measures in this regard. The Kingdom of Jordan, a country in the Middle East with very limited recourses prides itself to be a leader in promoting fair treatments of individuals with disabilities in this part of the world. Jordan became the first and only Arab country to receive the Franklin Delano
Kuzmar, A., & Alhiyari, T., & Abedalhafiz, A. (2008, June), Engineering Students With Disabilities In The Kingdom Of Jordan Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--4117
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