Visions of the Special Class

Abstract

Although the advent of public school special day classes for children with disabilities at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th marked a major shift in the service model, apparently in the direction of educational and societal inclusion, such classes had different meanings for different students. They reflected at least three different "visions," which can be understood by the metaphors cluster, clinic, and clearinghouse, though the last was not sustained for the students for whom it was intended, nor can it be today, The story of each may offer guidance for special educators today and in the future.

The Politics of Discipline: Balancing School Safety and Rights of Students with Disabilities

“…For example, the right to participate in the life of the community can only be forfeited as a consequence of a due process evaluation of one's actions, not as a result of one's minority status. However, in the past, students with disabilities were excluded from general education as a result of individual assessments or administrative expediencies, not as a consequence of jeopardizing the safety of others (Gerber, 1996;MacMillan & Hendrick, 1993;Safford & Safford, 1998). The struggle for the right of students with disabilities to be included in general education classrooms has been a politically based civil rights movement, designed to make real the constitutional guarantee to equal protection under the law for members of this minority group (Dunn, 1968;Semmel, Gerber, & MacMillan, 1994).…”

Educare Nelle Differenze Per Una Cultura Prosociale

“…Occorre ricordare il principale impulso che è stato dato in questo periodo storico dall"Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite. In questi anni infatti, c"erano stati una serie di impetuosi richiami ad abbandonare le scuole e le classi speciali, dopo una sintesi di evidenze empiriche che offrivano inequivocabili conclusioni su questa ragione (CHRISTOPOLOS & RENZ, 1969;LILLY,1970), (GOLDSTEIN, 1967;GUSKIN & SPICKER, 1968;KIRK, 1964;SAFFORD & SAFFORD 1998;). Sul piano internazionale, il processo di trasformazione storica e sociale, dei contesti educativi e d"inclusione scolastica degli alunni con disabilità, è culminato con Education for All Handicapped Children Act nel 1975 7 , (DE ANNA, 1991;KENNETH A. KAVALE AND STEVEN R. FORNESS, 2000).…”

Educar Nas Diferenças Por Uma Cultura Prossocial

“…Faz-se necessário recordar que o principal impulso foi dado pela Organização das Nações Unidas nesse período histórico. Nestes últimos anos, de fato, houve uma série de impetuosas chamadas para se abandonar as escolas e classes especiais, depois de uma síntese de evidências empíricas que ofereciam inequívocas conclusões sobre isso (CHRISTOPOLOS; RENZ, 1969;GOLDSTEIN, 1967;GUSKIN;SPICKER, 1968;KIRK, 1964;SAFFORD;SAFFORD, 1998). No cenário internacional, o processo de transformação histórica e social dos contextos educativos e de inclusão escolar de alunos com deficiência, culminou com a Education for All Handicapped Children Act em 1975 9 (DE ANNA, 1991;KAVALE;FORNESS, 2000).…”