Inclusion, Equity and Access for Individuals with Disabilities: Insights from Educators across World

737 Pages·2019·7.82 MB·English

by  Santoshi Halder

Inclusion, Equity and
Access for Individuals
with Disabilities
Insights from Educators across World
Edited by
Santoshi Halder · Vassilios Argyropoulos
Inclusion, Equity and Access for Individuals
with Disabilities
Santoshi Halder · Vassilios Argyropoulos
Editors
Inclusion, Equity
and Access for
Individuals with
Disabilities
Insights from Educators across World
Editors
Santoshi Halder Vassilios Argyropoulos
Department of Education Department of Special Education
University of Calcutta, Alipore Campus University of Thessaly
Kolkata, India Volos, Greece
ISBN 978-981-13-5961-3 ISBN 978-981-13-5962-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5962-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018966688
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
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Accepting, respecting and celebrating diversity is the ultimate answer to most
unsolved global challenges.
—Santoshi Halder
Inclusion offers marvelous, multi-dimensional journeys with many
variations of discovery about human nature in the space-time continuum; it
is up to us to create Ithakas or wastelands.
—Vassilios Argyropoulos
Foreword
The experience of disability impacts all people around the world,
whether one is him- or herself a person born with a disability, a person
who has a family member or close friend with a disability, or as we age,
as someone who incurs disabilities or the limitations imposed by health
issues in the natural process of getting older. Because of its pervasive
impact, it provides both a challenge across cultures and country bound-
aries as a common concern, but also can afford us an opportunity to
align our efforts, set common goals, and make greater impact to address
the well-being and quality of life of individuals with disabilities glob-
ally. This book offers a unique opportunity to contribute to this path
of shared vision for disability inclusion across country-specific contexts,
affording a rich array of material from which to identify areas of col-
lective concern and promising practices that we can all learn from to
improve our respective efforts.
With almost four dozen contributors and over 30 chapters, this vol-
ume is an excellent collection of research, perspectives, and ideas across
close to 20 countries. The volume focuses heavily on the educational
experience and inclusion issues for youth with disabilities, laced with
a broader discussion that includes commentary on disability rights,
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viii Foreword
accessibility, and technology. Since educational access opportunities
form the basis of future opportunities for employment, economic inde-
pendence, and community participation, this is a most appropriate
focus. The disability groups focused on in the respective chapters, afford
an opportunity to reflect on how issues of rights and inclusion run
throughout the experience of individuals with hearing, vision, cognitive,
intellectual, learning, physical, and other disabilities. The emphasis of
each chapter, even those all focusing on special or inclusive education,
is quite distinct. Examples include discussion around such diverse top-
ics as: the disproportionate number of young African-American males
who move from special education to the prison system in the USA; use
of different layers of learning intervention to improve student learning
in inclusive classrooms in Australia; the need for qualified teachers of
special needs students in Lebanon; the criticality of media accessibility
in education in Spain; and the strong desire for employment, articulated
through a mediated dialogue with youth in South Africa with complex
communication needs.
Across these chapters, common themes emerge pointing to critical
elements that provide a fundamental framework for consideration for
worldwide change in improving the status of individuals with disabili-
ties, including: the importance of a global and country-specific public
policy environment that protects the rights of individuals with disabili-
ties to equal participation in society; the criticality of equitable access to
education, preferably in an increasingly mainstream environment; the
importance of trained staff for schools serving youth with disabilities,
as well as broader community service systems; how accessibility consid-
erations are continually broadening and must now include attention to
technology platforms and tech-intensive organizational infrastructures;
and the significance of education for self-advocacy and self-awareness of
personal worth which must be a fundamental part of all we do, to truly
liberate individuals with disabilities to direct their own future destinies.
With the multiplicity of perspectives and endeavors represented in this
book, we are making strides toward this desired outcome.
Ithaca, NY, USA Susanne M. Bruyère Ph.D., CRC
Foreword ix
Susanne M. Bruyère, Ph.D., CRC is currently a
Professor of Disability Studies and Director of the
K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on
Employment and Disability, Cornell University ILR
(Industrial and Labor Relations) School, Ithaca, N.Y.
The Yang-Tan Institute is a research, training, and
technical assistance center focusing on disability
inclusion in employment, education, and commu-
nity. Dr. Bruyère serves as institute administrative
and strategic lead, and also as the PI/Co-PI of
numerous research, dissemination, and technical
assistance efforts focused on employment and disabil-
ity policy and effective workplace practices for people
with disabilities. She is the author/co-author of three
books and over 120 peer-reviewed articles and book
chapters on workplace disability inclusion and related
topics. Susanne holds a doctoral degree in
Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a Fellow in
the American Psychological Association. Dr. Bruyère
is a past president of the Division of Rehabilitation
Psychology (22) of the American Psychological
Association, the American Rehabilitation Counseling
Association (ARCA), the National Council on
Rehabilitation Education (NCRE), and past Board
Chair of the Executive Board of the Global Applied
Disability Research and Information Network on
Employment and Training (GLADNET), and the
Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation
Facilities (CARF).
Preface
Human resource is surely the most significant natural resources the
world can have which is increasing with leaps and bounds. Living a
quality life and enjoying every moment of human existence is perhaps
the right of each and every individual. However, we all are not born
having the same attributes personal or social/context driven. Differences
and diversity is a natural phenomenon which is to be accepted,
respected, celebrated, and rejoiced. More than a billion people (10–15%
of the world population) live with some form of disability or differential
needs. Unfortunately many of these people with disabilities are the most
marginalized and vulnerable population worldwide. In spite of the abil-
ities and unique traits, focus is mostly on the “disabilities” rather than
the “abilities.” The UNCRPD (2008) has been a catalyst in making a
significant stir nationally and globally by emphasizing on the rights of
people with disabilities (CRPD) clearly marking a paradigm shift from
the medical model to the “social model of disability” as an evolving con-
cept resulting from the interaction between persons with disabilities and
the attitudinal and environmental barriers existing in society. Inclusion
is the slogan currently worldwide but this is not enough without imple-
mentation. Changes have already taken place all over but the pace is
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xii Preface
very slow. Strategic movements and actions needs to be undertaken at
every tier and hierarchy for a visible notable difference to take place.
Significant and effective inclusive practices and conceptual transfor-
mations are being felt in many regions and these need to be brought
forward and extended and made accessible to as many as possible world-
wide. This book is an attempt to capture perspectives of the experienced
faculty members or researchers and practitioners belonging to some of
the most reputed universities, institutes, and organizations worldwide.
All the authors have years of experience of working in close proximity
with the people with disabilities and are contributing consistently to pro-
vide an accessible and inclusive community. Authors are invited based
on consistent, continuous, and significant contribution in a specific area
nationally and internationally in the area of inclusion. Authors present
various inclusive practices related to equity and access of persons with
disabilities across the world in many countries like India, USA, Australia,
UK, Greece, Singapore, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Lebanon, Nepal,
Japan, Nepal, Ukraine including many EU countries, etc. Authors pres-
ent cross-cultural perspectives within and across a variety of countries
provoking symptomatic and critical analysis of the respective country
and issue. Most of the authors have firsthand experience of working
across countries on the area of disability studies. The proposed book
brings together so many distinguished faculties who are experts and
specialized in their respective focus areas and contributing significantly.
Studies from around the world provide crucial new aspects of inclu-
sion, equity, and access in one edited volume. This book provides mixed
method research from experts in the disability field that may help all
readers (scholars, teachers, parents, and community members) develop
a deeper awareness of the importance of infusing an inclusive attitude
around the world bringing together various cutting-edge inclusive
practices in action.
The book is categorized into two parts:
Part I: Inclusion and Disability: Social Realms and Conceptual
Underpinnings Across the World
Part II: Identifying Enablers, Barriers and Challenges in Inclusive
Education