Youth Voices
Further Disadvantaging the Already Disadvantaged : Understanding the Emergence of Learning Disabilities in India within the Context of Globalization and International Development
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maya Kalyanpur
A supremely ironic outcome of the international aid agenda of Education For All initiative, originally intended to benefit low-income and other marginalized communities that had traditionally been denied access to an education, is the creation of a new group of children who are being excluded from schooling: students with learning disabilities. Based on a qualitative research study of classroom observations and interviews with teachers, diagnostic clinicians, and parents, this study situates the origin and development of learning disabilities in India within the larger context of international development and globalization. Using a post-colonial and disability studies lens, it examines the process by which academically struggling students are labeled learning disabled, and in particular, the implications of the global demand for English-speaking skills on low-income students who are learning English for the first time in school. It concludes that students who are being identified by teachers and psychologists are not necessarily cognitively or neurologically impaired, but are disabled by social constructions of what constitutes a learning disability and school failure.
Youth Involvement in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals : A Solution for Future
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nurul Hasnat Ove
Today more than half of the world’s population is under 30 years of age making millennials the biggest generation of young people the world has ever seen. Being the best-educated generation that has ever existed, millennials have the potential to change the course of history and lead the planet on a path to greater prosperity, peace and ultimately, sustainable development. To ensure a successfully implement the Sustainable Development Goals, young people’s imagination, creativity, and idealism must be cultivated and used as a means to achieve this dream. However, to harness the power of youth, firstly there is an urgent need to educate them about the importance of the SDGs and secondly to provide them with opportunities to implement these goals through local action. Currently, many young people are not familiar with the concept of sustainable development and its global implications. This reinforces the need for a program that brings SDGs closer to students, teachers, and schools in a serious attempt to build consciousness and leadership around this agenda. Therefore, our vision must include and we must vision on we should generate interest in sustainable development in schools in an effort to educate and engage students with the SDGs and to encourage them to prioritize the goals in their lifestyles, behaviors, education and professional careers.
