Facteurs liés à la scolarisation de l’enfant malade chronique : cas de l’élève drépanocytaire de la ville de Yaoundé

Abstract

The study we conducted arises from the gap observed between the commitment of the Cameroonian State to educate all children of school-going age regardless of their health or social situation and the experience of children with sickle cell disease in the school environment. Indeed, the Cameroonian government has passed a good number of laws on inclusive education, but the inclusion ofchildren with sickle cell in mainstream education is still an acute problem. Knowing that multiple research studies in medicine present a whole range of complications, both acute and chronic, of sickle cell anemia and which have consequences on all aspects of the lives of those affected, it was necessary to investigate the factors linked to their schooling in order to to understand their educational situation, with a view to designing a coherent framework for an appropriate solution. To do this, we inquired about the impact of factors inherent to them, their socio-family characteristics and factors linked to school stakeholders. To achieve this, the explanatory theories explored were those of the pace of development, the ecology of human development, stigma and cultural representations of illness. The study being of mixed type- qualitative and quantitative, a questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of 144 teachers and 31 parents of students with sickle cell disease; as well as interviews carried out with 29 school head teachers and 3 parents. Furthermore, a documentary analysis of certain works, as well as information sheets of 59 students with sickle cell disease and 205 students without sickle cell disease was carried out. We questioned the relevance of this schooling irrespective of the gravity of the condition and its impacts. This is why we analysed the physiological and psychological repercussions of sickle cell disease on the life of the affected subject; the level of knowledge of both parents and school stakeholders about the contours of inclusive education and sickle cell anemia; their socio-cultural representations of these children; as well as the integration of compensatory integrative practices into daily actions to facilitate the schooling of these children. The data obtained was not entirely satisfactory. The results of the study are clear and highlight the fact that the schooling of children with the sickle cell disease is significantly determined by factors inherent to them, their socio-family characteristics and factors linked to school stakeholders. Therefore, the study recommends the establishment of an integrative programme with an individualized support policy based on a SCHOOL – HOME – HOSPITAL collaboration.