Home Institution

Tufts University

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Program Name

India: Sustainable Development and Social Change

Abstract

Inclusive education, or school systems that cater to both differently abled students and their “normal” counterparts, has been heralded by the international community as a beacon of hope for improving the social mobility of disabled people. Educational institutions in India, though devoted to a fundamental human right, have excluded most people with disabilities at an astonishingly high rate. Rich qualitative research compiled about the experiences of this group of systemically disenfranchised people reveals the urgency of inclusive education as a means to change the social opinion and status quo. To illuminate the efficacy of this type of school, as well as its successes and shortcomings, observations and multiple interviews were conducted at the Kiran Centre; an inclusive school in Madhopur, Uttar Pradesh. Research suggests the value of professional development and teacher training for not only the benefit of differently abled students but also for the teacher and the classroom as a whole. Other themes of community membership as a means of accountability and social and emotional development were greatly revealing in considering the role of educational inclusion to combat social exclusion

Disciplines

Disability and Equity in Education | Inequality and Stratification | Special Education and Teaching

Share

Article Location

 
COinS