Special Educational Needs & Disabilities and Social Justice in Education

My views and conduct toward children with disabilities and special educational needs have significantly changed as a result of the social justice in education module. In the previous seven years of my teaching profession, there is one notion that I have not encountered.

A child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning challenge or impairment that necessitates the creation of special educational provisions for them. A child has a learning challenge if they struggle with learning much more than the majority of kids their age or if they have a handicap that prohibits them from using educational resources that are typically available to kids their age in mainstream schools (Special Educational Needs & Disability Code of Practice, 2014, 0 – 25).

A person is considered handicapped if they suffer from a physical or mental disability that significantly and permanently impairs their ability to perform daily tasks. (2010 Equity Act)

In my previous teaching profession, I considered special educational needs to be the academic needs of students with disabilities. If there is no obvious problem, I thought that learning challenges only result from a lack of interest in the subject. In my view, it is best to keep impaired children out of general classes and special schools since their presence there could disturb other pupils. I thus thought they should not be taught in the mainstream and should be placed in separate special schools with a different curriculum (Palmer & Harley, 2012). Due to their segregation, the parents of handicapped children and the help they need went unnoticed. I suggested that parents give their children who struggled with learning extra tutoring to help them become more knowledgeable in their subjects. I now feel very guilty about how I formerly treated and thought about children with special needs. My inexperience and unfriendly views toward them had made learning from them an unpleasant affair. I must admit that I never considered the world from a handicapped person’s perspective. Parents were more likely to be persuaded to keep their impaired children away from the community where they should be given equal opportunity as a result of the isolation of disadvantaged children from society. I understand how hurtful it must be for parents who don’t get any help from the authorities. My own country of Sri Lanka does not have any specific laws or rules pertaining to special educational requirements or disabilities.

To ensure equitable chances for SEND children, the UK has unique laws and actions such the Children & Families Act of 2014, the Equality Act of 2010, and the 2015 SEND Code of Practice (0–25). Additionally, the UK joined the UNCRPD in 2009, and its article 24 stipulates that all children with disabilities have the right to participate in all types of mainstream education. One of the key ideas of the UK educational system that I had never heard of before is “Inclusive Education.” The inclusive education system is one in which all students, including those with special needs and those without disabilities, study together in regular classrooms at colleges and universities (ALLFIE Organization).

I now see that one of the major problems with SEND children in Sri Lanka is a lack of understanding and support for them. People with disabilities were totally cut off from the society and the normal school system, leaving them defenseless. In Sri Lanka, there are no rules or regulations requiring SEND children to attend school (Muttiah et al., 2016). Due to inadequate facilities, special schools, and a shortage of qualified instructors, handicapped children continue to have difficulty obtaining education, even if it is free (Furuta, 2006). The majority of the time, kids with disabilities were kept apart from their peers and taught in special classrooms or schools with little resources.

Finland has one of the most inclusive education systems in the world when it comes to inclusion in school. The educational system offers a structure that allows children with disabilities to study in regular schools with supplementary help. Children who need ongoing help in their schooling are given both general and intensive support. When the usual assistance is inadequate for children, enhanced help is given based on pedagogical/medical evaluation. This will allow them to successfully provide equitable opportunities for all the children in the mainstream, which is akin to the embodiment model of disability discourse. They will be able to accommodate SEND children in the mainstream.

Even while there are laws in the UK to help SEND children and families, the reality seems to be quite different. Using the UK’s 1996 Education Act as an example, parents of handicapped children have the freedom to choose the school where they want to enroll their kid. However, schools and local governments are allowed to reject mainstream placement. Parents were under greater pressure to seek legal assistance for the justice because of this legal gray area. According to a poll done by the Alfie organization, 54% of parents who had handicapped children during the pandemic did not get enough assistance from the local authorities or from the school to enable home schooling, limiting their access to education.

The Sri Lankan viewpoint is that the educational system has to be significantly restructured. Regardless of a child’s aptitude, rules and regulations should be put in place to safeguard their access to an education. One of the primary problems is that the parents’ unfavorable views make them hesitant to provide their impaired kid access to an education (Kalyanpur, 2008). As a result, it is important to educate parents and provide a supportive environment for SEND kids in local communities. Along with teacher training for working with SEND students, additional resources must be made available to help SEND students enter the mainstream school system.

The term “Inclusive education” is often misconstrued since it refers to giving additional help for children with SEND in order for them to function within the current system (Diane Richler 2019). However, the primary goal of an inclusive education system should be to alter the current framework so that everyone, regardless of their disability, has an equal chance to succeed. As a result, in my opinion, education policies should be determined by considering the world from the perspective of people with disabilities in order to comprehend their needs in order to integrate into the society where they may benefit from equal possibilities. Every child’s self-expression must be understood, and we must allow him or her to impact other people (Mayall, 2002). Social justice for SEND children may be somewhat attained in this manner.