Teaching lessons in exclusion: researchers’ assumptions and the ideology of normality

An exploration of parental decisions to transfer children from regular to special schools

“…The goal of avoiding deficit/disability identification is elusive, however. Categorisation of students remains (see, for example, Australia's Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for School Students with Disability, 2016) and education systems continue to rest on a normative model (Benincasa, 2012). In the inevitable identification of difference that is required, a standard of "normality" must be referenced and therein lies another dilemma of disability labelling.…”

“…In the educational arena, the classification of intellectual disability has consequences for educational "placement" and the curriculum that is offered to students (Lalvani). It has been noted that, generally, assessment for disability identification implies a decision about placement in the most appropriate setting (Jenkinson, 1997), and offers a benchmark for decisions about who will be in and who will be out of regular schools (Benincasa, 2012). Just so, it is the classification of "intellectual disability" that facilitates the special education response of segregated special schools (Pfahl & Powell, 2011).…”

“…Rejection and discrimination remain for a "significant proportion of students with disabilities, particularly students with intellectual disabilities" (NCID, 2013, p. 8). Even when enrolled in regular schools, students with intellectual disability are vulnerable to exclusion, and are more likely to be physically but not meaningfully present, "silently excluded" (Benincasa, 2012(Benincasa, , p. 1089, with, but not of, their communities (Novak Amado et al, 2013).…”

“…Intellectual disability has strong links with social exclusion (Carter et al, 2010;Carter et al, 2016;Nicholson & Cooper, 2013;Novak Amado et al, 2013); consequently, consideration of how to optimise the development of friendships is even more vital for children with intellectual disability than for those who don't have a disability. Benincasa (2012) pointed out that social exclusion is shaped by social institutions; that is, in a schooling context, the education policies and practices that categorise children, allocate resources and govern teaching approaches. In this way, special schools can be vehicles for the perpetuation of negative values, discriminatory attitudes, social disadvantage and exclusionary practices (Slee, 2012).…”

“…- Benincasa (2012) highlighted the negative imagery used by educational researchers in surveys about students with disability.…”