Ability, Disability, Responsibility, Diversity

The pragmatic reason for adapting instruction is that it is required educational policy.
The more philosophical reasons include the universally accepted view that all students
have a right to learn in the regular classroom. Despite the professional, legal and politial
debates and arguments throughout North America that surround the principle of
including students with special needs in the regular classroom, it appears, as Florian
noted (1998) that “the concept of inclusive education enjoys a high profile around the
world by virtue of its incorporation into the policy documents of numerous international
organizations”.
One of the most significant and powerful documents is the Salamanca Statement
and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (The Salamanca Statement,
UNESCO, 1994), which resulted from a meeting of over 300 participants representing
92 governments and 25 international organizations. The meeting was jointly sponsored
by the government of Spain and UNESCO in 1994. The statement was adopted by
acclamation and thus can be seen representing a worldwide consensus in favor of
inclusive education. Among other things, the proclamation states that:

 Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of
combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an
inclusive society, and achieving education for all; moreover they provide an effective
education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the
cost - effectiveness of the entire educational system.

The Salamanca Statement also calls on all governments to:

 adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive education by enrolling

all children in regular schools, unless there are compelling reasons for doing
otherwise

 develop demonstration projects and encourage exchanges with countries having

experience with inclusive schools

 invest greater effort in early identification and intervention strategies, as well as in

vocational aspects of inclusive education

 Ensure that, in the context of systemic change, teacher education programs, both
pre - service and in - service, address the provision of special needs education in
inclusive schools

Inclusion is a phenomenon that is here to stay. Florian (1998) says, in reference

to the Salamanca Statement, Although this (inclusion) means, different things in
different places, there is a universality to the underlying human rights philosophy of
inclusion which suggests that the concept is destined to persist rather than
represent the latest educational fad or bandwagon”.
Defining Student and Teacher Responsibilities

The spectrum of beliefs about the nature of disability gives rise to considerable
confusion when professionals and parents plan how best to meet the needs of each
student. The very range of differences in these beliefs creates a barrier of
communication. At committee meetings where students may be recommended for
special education, some of the people present may speak from a perspective that
others fail to understand. This contrast in understanding the mission of the meeting
stems in part from deep differences in the assumptions and beliefs that people hold
about the nature of disability. At one end is a traditional perspective that emphasizes the
pathological nature of the disability. People who hold such beliefs assume that a
disability is an internal, biological or organic attribute or trait of a person. They further
accept that since this trait is a stable and long term characteristic of the person, it can
be reliably measured by standardized tests. Thus the teacher may pinpoint the disability
as the reason why the student is not learning easily. Attributions are the reasons that
people give as the causes for the events they observe and experience.

Teachers, and perhaps everybody, carry personal theories and assumptions that
give rise to different attributions about their own and other’s learning. Differences in
these beliefs and assumptions influence the decisions they make and how they
respond.

The Attribution Theory

People generate explanations for why events happen in the real world that reflect
their own feelings of being able to influence that event. This is called attribution. The
theory of attribution holds that there are two factors that influence the
attributions people make: whether they feel able to control or influence the event,
and whether the event arose from sources that were internal or external to them.
Together, these dimensions give rise to four sets of explanations (Table 1 - 1).
Teachers’ explanations for students’ learning are one set of events that teachers explain
by attribution. Teachers can use any of the four groups of reasons to explain an event,
such as a student’s learning or failure to learn. By attributing learning outcomes to
causes, the teacher “explains” why the event occurred. On the two - by - two attribution
chart, one dimension is whether the effect is caused by factors internal or external to the
learner. The other dimension is whether the learner has any control over the effect.

TABLE 1 - 1: Attribution Theory

Where is the source

Can the person control it? Internal External
Yes Effort Support
No Ability Luck

There are many more reasons that can be used as attributions, and each of them can
have positive or negative connotations. Believing in the ability of a student to learn and
in one’s own skill in fostering learning are only two of many possible types of attributions
that teachers make about why students learn.

Pathognomonic and Interventionist perspectives

The term pathognomonic is derived from the Greek term “pathos” or suffering and
“gnomon” or naming, hence, naming the pathology. By attributing the disability to
the internal state of a student, a teacher is using a pathognomonic explanation that
absolves him or her of the responsibility for the learning of that student. These beliefs
are not necessarily a result of negative attitudes that have been carefully formulated
against people with disabilities. These are more like a set of unexplored assumptions.
As a result, the term “personal theory” is used to indicate this set of working
assumptions
used by people in everyday practices, and the term pathognomonic is used to describe
this personal theory or set of beliefs that emphasizes the internal attributes of a
person as an explanation for how they learn or behave.

On the other end of the spectrum of beliefs is a differing perspective about disability
and ability. These are termed interventionist beliefs because people who express
them also believe that they are responsible for intervening on behalf of students
with disabilities. People who hold interventionist beliefs see disability as created
in part by social conditions. They hold that society creates barriers that prevent
people who are outside the mainstream of society from enjoying society’s
privileges.

DISABILITY

Disability can be defined in many ways, and depending on the country e.g. Canada.
According the World Health Organization, Around 15% of the global population – over a
billion people – lives with some form of disability, of whom 2–4% experience significant
difficulties in functioning. Many of these people require assistive technologies such as
low-vision devices, wheelchairs or hearing aids. This number is expected to double to 2
billion by 2050.

Women are more likely to experience disability than men and older people more than
young. Low- and middle-income countries have higher rates of disability than high-
income countries, and the impact of disability on people in poorer areas is compounded
by issues of accessibility and lack of health care services. Indigenous persons,
internally displaced or stateless persons, refugees, migrants and prisoners with
disability also face particular challenges in accessing services.

In recent years, the understanding of disability has moved away from a physical or
medical perspective to one that takes into account a person’s physical, social and
political context. Today, disability is understood to arise from the interaction
between a person’s health condition or impairment and the multitude of
influencing factors in their environment. Great strides have been made to make the
world more accessible for people living with disability; however, much more work is
required to meet their needs.

Diversity

What is Diversity

1.The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means

understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual
differences.

2.The ways we are different; the condition of having unique characteristics.

Diversity.can be along the dimensions of:

 Race
 Age
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Religious beliefs
 Sexual orientation
 Political Beliefs
 Socio - Economic Status
 Or other ideologies

 The exploration of differences in a safe, positive and nurturing environment. It is

about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to
embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each
individual.
 Diversity is more than just tolerating differences. It is respecting, appreciating,
and understanding the varying characteristics of individual

Why accept diversity?

 Diversity brings benefits to society. It brings richness and variety. There are always
new and interesting things to be earned from each other.

 Diversity brings benefits to businesses. Employing a diverse workforce enables it to

use a wider range of talents and skills. These lead to creativity and innovation.
Businesses need to mirror the communities and cultures they work in so they can
understand and anticipate the diverse needs of their customers. In order to get the
best from staff and meet the varying needs of their diverse customers, it is very
important for businesses to manage diversity in a positive way. They need to
recognize, respect and value people’s differences.
 Everyone is unique and no single person is a representative of a certain group.
Stereotypes and other racial biases/prejudices are damaging to a business.

 Discrimination breeds narrowmindedness, impairs employee morale, strains

employee relationships and thus, damages productivity. Not to mention, it is illegal
and costly in terms of litigation.

The stereotype of the US as a “melting pot” is misleading, because most minorities

live in certain parts of the country. In many areas, for practical purposes. They in the
United States are actually lacking real ethnic, racial, and religious diversity. Instead, it
seems that we have a few, small melting pots, located in gateway metros where Blacks,
Asians and Hispanics live in large numbers. In contrast, the Midwest and South are still
pre-dominantly occupied by Whites, as are many suburban areas nationwide.

Factors behind diversity

 Military invasion
 Migration
 Philosophy/vision
 Inter religious/inter caste marriages
 Education
 Social mobility