Disability, Human Rights and Education

by Michael Armstrong, Felicity Armstrong

Overview

This volume recognizes the importance of an informed cross-cultural understanding of the policies and practices of different societies within the field of disability, human rights and education. It represents an attempt to critically engage with issues arising from the historical and contemporary domination of portrayals of the western as advanced, democratic and exemplary, in contrast to the construction of the rest of the world as backward, primitive and inferior in thses fundamental areas. How human rights are understood in different contexts is a key theme in this book. Some contributors raise questions about the value of a human rights model across all societies. Others see the struggle for human rights as at the heart of the struggle for an inclusive society. The implications for education arising from this debate are identified. and a series of questions are raised by each author for further reflection and discussion as well as providing a stimulus for developing future research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780335204571
Publisher:	McGraw-Hill Companies, The
Publication date:	01/10/1999
Series:	Disability, Human Rights and Society Series
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.54(d)

Table of Contents

	Notes on contributors	vii
	Foreword	xi
	Acknowledgements	xiii
	Introduction	1
1	Disabled people's quest for social justice in Zimbabwe	7
2	Human rights and the struggle for inclusive education in Trinidad and Tobago	24
3	Headlights on full beam: disability and education in Hong Kong	38
4	Human rights and inclusive education in China: a Western perspective	54
5	Rights and disabilities in educational provision in Pakistan and Bangladesh: roots, rhetoric, reality	67
6	Inclusive education in Canada: a piece in the equality puzzle	87
7	Disability, human rights and education: the United States	100
8	Special education and human rights in Australia: how do we know about disablement, and what does it mean for educators?	119
9	Educational opportunities and polysemic notions of equality in France	132
10	Experience-near perspectives on disabled people's rights in Sweden	149
11	Equality and full participation for all? School practices and special education/integration in Greece	161
12	Disability, human rights and education in Cyprus	176
13	Disability, human rights and education in Romania	193
14	'Is there anyone there concerned with human rights?' Cross-cultural connections, disability and the struggle for change in England	210
	Index	230

Editorial Reviews

Contributors critically engage with issues arising from the historical and contemporary domination of portrayals of "the west" as advanced and exemplary, in contrast to the construction of "the rest of the world" as backward and inferior. Some raise questions about the value of a human rights model across all societies, while others see the struggle for human rights as at the heart of the struggle for an inclusive society. Discussion questions are included. The editors are affiliated with the Inclusive Education Research Center at the University of Sheffield. Distributed by Taylor and Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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