Listening to Young People with Physical Disabilities' Experiences of Education

‘I want support, not comments’: children's perspectives on supports in their life

“…Different kinds of supports are appreciated by students when they allow them to participate in class activities, help them keep up with the rest of the class, or stimulate social participation (Lightfoot, Wright, and Sloper 1999;Hutzler et al 2002;Messiou 2002;Hemmingsson , Borell, and Gustavsson 2003;Curtin and Clarke 2005). Some students mention they do not like to be taken out of the class during fun activities.…”

“…Some students mention they do not like to be taken out of the class during fun activities. Students often do not like "special" attention that can come with supports, they want to be treated the same as their classmates (Giangreco et al 1997;Hutzler et al 2002;Norwich and Kelly 2004;De Schauwer et al 2009;Curtin and Clarke 2005). …”

Exploring narratives of education: disabled young people’s experiences of educational institutions in Ghana

“…in the Global North, and increasingly in the Global South, being enrolled in mainstream education is perceived as a facilitator to promoting social inclusion for disabled young people and is commonly accepted as the most appropriate form of education (Cooney et al 2006;Curtin and Clarke 2005;Miles and Singal 2010). However, the attendance at mainstream schools for participants in this study was mainly due to the lack of adequate alternatives that suited their individual needs, as similarly noted elsewhere (Singal et al 2011).…”

“…recently, however, there has been an increased interest in exploring the educational narratives of disabled young people (Curtin and Clarke 2005;Davis and Watson 2001;Diez 2010;Llewellyn 2000;Tangen 2008;Vlachou and Papananou 2015). These studies show how investigating the educational experiences of disabled children and young people is crucial in generating inclusion and finding the most appropriate ways of meeting their educational needs.…”

Children with special needs and the right to education

“…However, a number of concerns have been raised regarding the inclusive approach to education, and there has been something of a backlash against it in recent years. It has been said that, in practice, mainstream schools are not always able to deliver a program that successfully meets the diverse needs of children with disabilities (Frankel 2004;Hyde et al 2005/06;Curtin and Clarke 2005;Kavale 2000;Hegarty 2001). Being 'included' in a regular school may not always possible or desirable, particularly where a child's personal care needs, or cognitive delays, make their presence in a regular classroom unworkable.…”