Education as a human right : inclusion and social justice

With Icelandic and international perspectives, and using research, reports and philosophical theories, from leading writers, across the globe, this thesis presents a synopsis of current state of disabled people’s struggle to integrate into mainstream education settings in particular and the larger society in general. Medical model of disability focuses on medical, care-giving or therapeutic treatment to disability. Distributive justice approach to disability discourse focuses on deficits in capacity and performance. Anti-discrimination approaches to disability focus on stigmatization and exclusion. While social justice approach to disability focuses on democracy and equality aspects of disabling practices. Social model of disability focuses on the disabling environments, cultures, social perceptions; all of which combines to make the life of disabled people difficult than it otherwise should be. This thesis advocates for a shift from the medical to social model of disability, because the social model of disability helps to illuminate all indistinctively applied socio-cultural policies, law and practices that are more disabling than the actual impairments. Since equality and fairness are protean concept that is capable of constant changes depending on what context it’s being used, it follows that for the purpose of this thesis, I simply limit my use of these words to its connection with disabled learners being given the same opportunities in fact and in law as their none disabled others to improve their social capitals. There are few ways to do this than by accepting them into our mainstream education setting for the purpose of inclusive education for all learners irrespective of levels of capabilities. Participants were school aged disabled children (6-18 years), adult teachers and two selected parents of diabled students. A qualitative research method was used in gathering and interpreting the collected data. Great emphasis was placed on interpreting the theoretical philosophical framework and reviewed literatures. This qualitative research, that was conducted in a phenomenological style, but written in advocacy tones, challenges as well as provokes teachers, educational authorities, policy makers the general public and government, to rethink current segregation educational settings and move in the direction of no child left behind. I will argue that the most difficult obstacle to disabled peoples development of their human capital are not located in legislations, school written policies, pedagogical practices etc, but are actually located in their surrounding physical environments, in the mindsets of non-disabled people, such as values, expectations, attitudes towards disabled people etc