“…In order to probe this topic ethnographically, a comparative case study (Bartlett and Vavrus ) was conducted. The overall research project was an exploration of the multidimensionality of the new inclusive education policies and disability discourses that were being appropriated in Bhutan, which culminated in the completion of my doctoral dissertation (Schuelka ). This article focuses specifically on the construction of the “disabled person” in Bhutanese schools through socio‐cultural school structures, meaning, and organization but only lightly touches upon policy or socio‐cultural constructions of disability in Bhutanese society writ large.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…If call‐and‐response pedagogy can disable students through its inattention to individual learning and understanding, a hyper‐focus on individual understanding in front of the whole class can have similarly disabling effects. The following vignette from my field notes demonstrates this, taken from an observation at Thimphu Special School (field notes, Schuelka ): The students sit outside on the porch, most of them on the floor. This group of twenty‐five students are from the “Advanced” grouping of students of secondary‐school age.…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The teacher does not return to the classroom for the rest of the day, nearly one hour before the end of the school day, and the students are left on their own with no adult supervision. (Field notes, Schuelka )…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…I comment on this to the teacher during work time, and the teacher informs me that mixed‐ability grouping works well because the students with disabilities can copy from other students to get the right answers. (Field notes, Schuelka )…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, the effectiveness of such a policy is diminished in the face of a stubborn history and culture of strict teacher‐centered practice (Kezang Sherab et al ). The Bhutanese students also produce this culture themselves, as in this exchange I had with students in a focus group at a Mountain Village School (focus group, Schuelka ): Student 2: If teacher beats student, then they will be sad.Matt: Does that ever happen at this school, that the teacher beats students?Student 3: Yes, many teachers before would hit, Sir.Matt: With a hand or a stick?Students: YesMatt: With both?Student 3: Yes, but the government makes the rule not to beat student. Now teachers are thinking about new punishment.…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
The Himalayan country of Bhutan has witnessed monumental social and cultural changes in only the last fifty years with the implementation and institutionalization of mass secular schooling. This “modern” schooling has also served to newly sort, produce, and construct “disabled” persons. Through a year of ethnographic fieldwork, I explored this construction of disability through the institution of schooling and have organized these observations into four forms: physical, pedagogical, curricular, and linguistic.
“…In order to probe this topic ethnographically, a comparative case study (Bartlett and Vavrus ) was conducted. The overall research project was an exploration of the multidimensionality of the new inclusive education policies and disability discourses that were being appropriated in Bhutan, which culminated in the completion of my doctoral dissertation (Schuelka ). This article focuses specifically on the construction of the “disabled person” in Bhutanese schools through socio‐cultural school structures, meaning, and organization but only lightly touches upon policy or socio‐cultural constructions of disability in Bhutanese society writ large.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…If call‐and‐response pedagogy can disable students through its inattention to individual learning and understanding, a hyper‐focus on individual understanding in front of the whole class can have similarly disabling effects. The following vignette from my field notes demonstrates this, taken from an observation at Thimphu Special School (field notes, Schuelka ): The students sit outside on the porch, most of them on the floor. This group of twenty‐five students are from the “Advanced” grouping of students of secondary‐school age.…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The teacher does not return to the classroom for the rest of the day, nearly one hour before the end of the school day, and the students are left on their own with no adult supervision. (Field notes, Schuelka )…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…I comment on this to the teacher during work time, and the teacher informs me that mixed‐ability grouping works well because the students with disabilities can copy from other students to get the right answers. (Field notes, Schuelka )…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, the effectiveness of such a policy is diminished in the face of a stubborn history and culture of strict teacher‐centered practice (Kezang Sherab et al ). The Bhutanese students also produce this culture themselves, as in this exchange I had with students in a focus group at a Mountain Village School (focus group, Schuelka ): Student 2: If teacher beats student, then they will be sad.Matt: Does that ever happen at this school, that the teacher beats students?Student 3: Yes, many teachers before would hit, Sir.Matt: With a hand or a stick?Students: YesMatt: With both?Student 3: Yes, but the government makes the rule not to beat student. Now teachers are thinking about new punishment.…”
Section: Constructing the “Disabled Person”mentioning
The Himalayan country of Bhutan has witnessed monumental social and cultural changes in only the last fifty years with the implementation and institutionalization of mass secular schooling. This “modern” schooling has also served to newly sort, produce, and construct “disabled” persons. Through a year of ethnographic fieldwork, I explored this construction of disability through the institution of schooling and have organized these observations into four forms: physical, pedagogical, curricular, and linguistic.
Education systems are made up of individuals, groups, identities, cultures, institutions, discourses, networks, histories, relationships, and so on. In other words, educational systems are complex. Enter into this complexity the issue of inclusion from/for a heterogenous society and how these complex systems can be designed andspecifically for our purposesanalysed. In this article, we propose a new conceptual framework for assisting in the understanding of inclusion in complex educational systems: Complex Educational Systems Analysis (CESA), and its visual representation via the CESA Cube (CESA 3). At the very heart of CESA is the question of educational purpose. Why school? What is education for? These questions have direct implications in how we understand educational systems and, indeed, how we understand inclusion within these systems.
Research on the internationalization of inclusive policies for students with special needs is still developing alongside the shifting implementation of practice. This analysis seeks to understand the process of adopting inclusive policies in Jordan and the subsequent implementation through a modified comparative case study framework. Current research demonstrates how global forces have led to the adoption of a national inclusive education policy that local programs redefine and negotiate in implementation. The paper uses emerging frameworks from Schuelka (2018b) and existing comparative case study methodology from Bartlett and Vavrus (2006; 2009; 2014; 2017) to structure an in-depth analysis of the macro, mesa and micro levels of inclusive policy adoption and implementation across time. Jordan is a developing nation and in a strategic geographic location, two factors which bring multiple international organizations into its borders. This has had a significant effect on the development of education policy. At the same time, local construction of disability and inclusion continue to marginalize students with disabilities, especially in rural communities. This paper will outline the current state of inclusive education at the international, national and local levels in Jordan based on a review of policy and academic literature.
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