Abstract
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.
Presenters
Maya KalyanpurProfessor, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of San Diego, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Inequality, Poverty, Cultural Imperialism, Post-colonialism, International Inclusive Education, India, Special Education, Disability Studies, International Development
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