Diversity, Special and Inclusive Education

• The presentation is about addressing diversity through the years, focusing on special and inclusive education.

Models of Disability

• Moral/Religious Model
• Biomedical Model
• Functional Model
• Social Model
• Rights Based Model
• Twin Track Approach

Moral/Religious Model

• This perspective, from the 5th to 8th century, views disability as either a blessing or a curse.
• This model is rooted in the idea that disability is a blessing or a curse
• It is the oldest model, with many religious traditions.
• Disability is equated with sin, evilness, or spiritual ineptness of either the PWD or of a PWD's family member in one strand of the moral/religious model.
• Disability either becomes one's ticket to heaven or an opportunity toward character development, for those who view disability as a blessing.
• Medieval age started from AD 476, the year the Western Roman Empire Fell.
• This period saw the church as one of the most influential figures in Europe.
• Parents who bore children with disabilities were seen in a spectrum.
• At one end, God was punishing them for a sin that need to be atoned.
• At the other extreme, He was blessing the family by giving them a precious gift that only they could care for.

Biomedical/Individual Model

• Also called the "Charity Model."
• Paved the way for people to shift mind-sets from a religious perspective to a more evidence-based model of disability called the biomedical (medical) model.
• PWD's are seen as persons who are ill and meant to be treated or "made more normal."
• Considers disability as a "glitch” the PWD is born into, which needs assessment and fixing, whereas a moral/religious perspective sees disability as something permanent.

Functional/Rehabilitation Model

• Quite similar to the biomedical model.
• Sees the PWD as having deficits
• These deficits undergo rehabilitative interventions.
• A person's performance is immediately deemed deficient if it does not fall within the norm.
• Collaboration "undermines the client's dignity by removing the ability to participate in the simplest, everyday decisions affecting his or her life" (Jean, 2012) at the extreme.
• Showed how much society has placed value on convention, performance, or achievement.

Social Model

• Provides a strong, subtle way of influencing a person's beliefs, behaviors, and value systems.
• Disability occurs as a result of society's lack of understanding of individual differences.
• PWDs are seen as disabled not because they are deficient but because society "insists" they are deficient and disadvantaged.
• The underlying principle is that disability is a social construct, where standards and limitations that society places on specific groups of people are what disable a person.

Rights-Based Model

• Similar to the Social Model.
• A key difference is that "offers a theoretical framework for disability policy that emphasizes the human dignity of PWDs" (Degener 2017:43).
• Built on the principle that education is a basic human right therefore all must have access to it.
• The duty-bearers are the government, the child as the rights-holder, the parents not only as duty-bearers but also as representatives of the child, and the teachers, both as rights-holders and duty-bearers.

Twin Track Approach

• Is a combination of the Social Model and the Rights-Based Model.
• Promotes a more holistic change.
• Allows for holistic change to occur, with the option of promoting individual needs whenever necessary by marrying two perspectives.
• In education, this would mean allowing a PWD to join the mainstream, yet be given opportunities for disability-specific programs in case additional support is needed.