The article "ABC of emergent inclusive pedagogy" by Dr. Lalit KIshore was earlier published in Merinews.com (Date27 March, 2017) and is now is being reproduced here (visit link given at end).
The article goes like this:
Of late, even in India, the focus has shifted to the human rights of the 'differently abled people' or 'Divyangjan' and policies and legal provisions have been 'formulated' for their education and social inclusion.
However, it needs to be understood the 'disability' like 'gender' is a social construct and sensitisation and reorientation of people and service providers like teachers, therapists, doctors and lawyers is required.
The implications for schools is to make a shift towards 'inclusive education' and restructure themselves based on new assumptions and pedagogy that assumes that all children can learn and schools need to create appropriate learning environment, restructure content and employ differentiated learning methods. Also, a continuous progress system with freedom of learning paces and accommodation of learning styles is required.
Currently, schools are oppressive, insensitive and exclusive since they have not implicated new policies and laws to change themselves. Most well meaning educators believe that the schools are meant to challenge status quo and work for transformation and liberation of learners, which will transform society.
Here is an ABC of inclusive pedagogy:
A: Assumption is that the ability is a continuum and all can learn which requires barriers-free physical environment for access along with adjustments and accommodation of social environment of classroom, changes in the structure of content and invention, discovery and mobilization of diverse methods of learning.
B: Beholding that inclusion and participation of all in the school as a smaller community of learners within a larger community of a place including teachers, parents and people engaged in in the world of work
C: Challenging social and academic constructions of the categories like 'disability', 'impairment' or 'disorder' and treating all as equally respectable members of learning society
D: Disability, disorder and impairment categorizations be seen as wrongful social phenomena, disempowering social constructs, derogatory metaphors perpetuated by oppressors and divisive forces
E: Education is meant to liberate from oppression or exclusion on the basis of race, class, gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, and ability as suggested by Paulo Freire who is the founder of critical pedagogy.
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