Disability and the Politics of Education

Disability and the Politics of Education: An International Reader is a rich resource that deals comprehensively with the many aspects of the complex topic of disability studies in education. For nearly two decades, global attention has been given to education as a human right through global initiatives such as Education for All (EFA) and the Salamanca Statement. Yet according to UNESCO, reaching the goals of EFA remains one of the most daunting challenges facing the global community. Today, millions of the world’s disabled children cannot obtain a basic childhood education, particularly in countries with limited resources. Even in the wealthiest countries, many disabled children and youth are educationally segregated from the nondisabled, particularly if they are labeled with significant cognitive impairment. International agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank have generated funds for educational development but, unfortunately, these funds are administered with the assumption that «west is best», thereby urging developing countries to mimic educational policies in the United States and the United Kingdom in order to prove their aid-worthiness. This «McDonaldization» of education reproduces the labeling, resource allocation, and social dynamics long criticized in disability studies. The authors in this volume explore these subjects and other complexities of disability and the politics of education. In doing so, they demonstrate the importance and usefulness of international perspectives and comparative approaches.

The Editors: Susan L. Gabel is Professor of Special Education in the National College of Education at National-Louis University where she teaches classes in special education, disability studies in education, and foundations of education. Her previous books include an edited volume, Disability Studies in Education: Readings in Theory and Method (Lang, 2005) and, with Scot Danforth, she co-edited Vital Questions Facing Disability Studies in Education (Lang, 2007). Her research examines disability and the socio-political aspects of education. With Scot Danforth, she is the co-editor of Peter Lang’s Disability Studies in Education series. Scot Danforth is Associate Professor of Inclusive Education at the Ohio State University. In 1999, he and Susan L. Gabel co-founded the Disability Studies in Education Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. He is the co-author (with Terry Jo Smith) of Engaging Troubling Studies: A Constructivist Approach (2004) and co-editor (with Susan L. Gabel) of Vital Questions Facing Disability Studies in Education (Lang, 2007). He is also co-editor (with Brenda Brueggemann and Stephen Kuusisto) of Disability Studies Quarterly.