Challenges and opportunities in efforts towards inclusive education: reflections from India

Across the globe, the Salamanca Statement has provided the strongest impetus for drawing attention to the education of some of the most marginalised groups. In India, it has had a significant and specific impact on the provision of schooling opportunities for children with disabilities. This paper p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of inclusive education Vol. 23; no. 7-8; pp. 827 - 840
Main Author Singal, Nidhi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.08.2019
Taylor & Francis LLC
Subjects
Access to Education
Children
Children with disabilities
classrooms
Educational Policy
Educational Quality
Enrollment
Foreign Countries
Inclusion
Inclusive education
India
Intellectual disabilities
Justice
learning
Legislation
National Programs
participation
People with disabilities
Resource Allocation
Schools
Social Justice
Students with Disabilities
teachers
Teaching
India
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Summary:Across the globe, the Salamanca Statement has provided the strongest impetus for drawing attention to the education of some of the most marginalised groups. In India, it has had a significant and specific impact on the provision of schooling opportunities for children with disabilities. This paper provides a critical analysis of key developments in national policies and programmes and how these have shaped provision at the classroom level. Drawing on Nancy Fraser's conception of justice as an analytical tool, efforts towards inclusive education in India are explored through the interlinked ideas of redistribution, recognition and representation. Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of children with disabilities being enrolled in schools, driven by factors including, positive legislation and the increased provision of aids and appliances, etc. However, little attention has been paid to the quality of teaching and learning, experienced by children with disabilities. Instead, efforts remain focused on assimilation into a mainstream system fraught with different challenges. Despite these issues, India is a powerful example of how the vision of inclusive education, as outlined in the Salamanca Statement, is feasible, especially if efforts build on contextual realities.
ISSN:1360-3116
1464-5173
DOI:10.1080/13603116.2019.1624845