From Special to Inclusive Education in India : Case Studies of Three Schools in Delhi

Cover About the Author Table of Contents List of Abbreviations Foreword Acknowledgements Message Chapter 1: Introduction: From Special to Inclusive Education What is Special Education? Psycho-Medical Models and IQ Models and Discourses Integration Inclusive Education Some Debates on Inclusion Chapter 2: The Indian School System: Policy and Reality Governance and Structure Central Institutions Schooling Satterns Equity in Indian Schools The Common School and National Education Policy Non-formal Education Private Schools Economics, Choice and Quality Defining disabIlity and Special Needs Educating Children with Special Needs Special Needs and the National Policy Disability Law Schools in Delhi Special Needs Education in Delhi Schools Summary Chapter 3: Gyan Vihar School: A School with a Unit The Main School The Special Education Unit—A School Within a School? The Special Unit and School Policies Organizational Policies Cultures and Practices Who are the Special Children? Vasudha Bharat Alisa Arnab The Making of a Special Child The role of IQ The Social Construction of the Special Child The Special Experience Peers and Friendships What is Special About Special Education? Teaching Special Children Teacher–Student Interactions Parents Perspectives Teachers Perspectives Summary Chapter 4: Plain Field School: A School with a Difference The Main School Differential Features Vision and Culture NOS Children The Special Education Department and its Identity Organisational Policies and Practices Therapist Services The Abolition of the Special Sector Thirty Plus Other Activities and Facilities Four Special Children: Whose Responsibility? Rohini Swarnjit Rishav Ankur Why Me? On the Margin Peers and Friends Social Construction: Identities and Labelling Unquestioned Responsibility? Special Education: How Different Special Pedagogy and Curriculum Pedagogy and Classroom Ecology Teaching Special Children? Perspectives on School Inclusion Parents and Inclusion Heads and Teachers on Inclusion Summary Chapter 5: St. Cross School: A School ‘Doing Inclusion The Main School History, Values and Outreach An Inclusive School The Organisation of Special Education Why no Special Teachers? Admission and Reports Facilities and Participation Special Children: Helped and Cared for? Onam Akash Aman Nick Why Me? Socially Constructed Identifiers Peer Relationships Helping and Caring Special Education Without Special Teachers? Akash’s Class Onam’s Class Outreach Class Aman’s Class Nick’s Class Special Attention Classroom Ecology Inclusion Into What? Integration and Inclusion Education for What? A Changing School? Summary Chapter 6: Comparing and Contrasting Themes The Settings and Access Securing Access and Parental Satisfaction Special Children as ‘They’ ‘They’ and the Teachers Peer Relationships Common Vocabularies Inside the Classroom Teaching Special Children Ecological Variations in the Classroom Outside the Classroom On the Games Field The Meaning of Inclusion Parents and Inclusion Perceptions of Special Education Special Needs Summary Chapter 7: Making Sense of Inclusion Same Goals But Different Settings School–parent Encounters Understanding School Policies Discussing the Discourses Psycho-medical Perspectives Inclusion and Education What is Special Education? What is Special Teaching? Professionalism and Special Education The Politics of Special Needs and Integration Who Benefits? Conclusion Glossary References Index From Special to Inclusive Education in India: Case Studies of Three Schools in Delhi focuses on the growing international interest in inclusive education and on how to offer equal education to all children regardless of their needs, or their social, cultural and economic backgrounds. With the number of private schools that admit children identified with special needs, particularly of the non-physical and non-sensory categories, as a part of "integrated" or "inclusive" education, increasing in India, the challenges of inclusive education in India are also many. The concerns that require attention involve the inclusion of children with disabilities and special needs, those from socially and economically disadvantaged groups and from diverse cultural and linguistic groups, and those alienated in classrooms that offer non-relevant curricula and teacher-centred methods. This book discusses these issues and challenges against the background of the existing educational system. Using a case study approach, the author has examined three different schools in Delhi where "special" needs children have been admitted, and has analysed the findings against the background of the Indian education policy and its provisions for special education