Discourse of segregation and inclusion: a discourse analysis of a Russian newspaper for teachers

Abstract

In Russia, children with disabilities have limited access to inclusive education. This article presents the findings of a discourse analysis of 32 newspaper articles focused on the education of children with disabilities, all of which appeared in a Russian newspaper for teachers. We identified two discursive patterns about the education of children with disabilities: preserving a special approach and removing barriers. These patterns highlighted the tensions that exist between the long-standing medical approach to special education and the emergent, inclusive initiatives. Our findings emphasize the need to create space for the perspectives of people with disabilities to be heard, while also serving to shape the future direction of the educational systems within Russia.

‘They would be bullied in ordinary schools’ – exploring public discourses on inclusionary schooling

“…One main feature of the segrequality discourse leans heavily on an individual model of disability as opposed to a social model of disability (e.g. Oliver 1983). The individual model is a perspective that is referred to in the context of special needs education as the 'psycho-medical paradigm' (Clark, Dyson, and Millward 1998), the 'deficiency perspective' (Ainscow 1998) or the 'compensatory perspective' (Haug 1998), which is characterised by interpreting school difficulties as individual problems, locating the causes of the difficulties within the child.…”

“…Two other studies more directly examine media discourses on inclusive education, but neither examines general media discourses. One of the studies examines Icelandic media pieces written by teachers (Gunnþórsdóttir and Jóhannesson 2014), and the other looks at the Russian specialist press for teachers (Oreshkina and Lester 2013). In both studies two broad discursive themes or patterns were found: one more pro-inclusion and the other more critical of inclusion, or pro-segregation.…”