The invalid effort. Analysis of notions about humanity that trivialize the education of students with disabilities

Abstract

Education for people with disabilities has become a priority in Mexico, where despite the abundance of inclusion policies, the percentage of population with disabilities attending school is minimal, not to mention the higher chances of dropout and the economic adversities they have to face. This research aims to understand the causes of their exclusion from elementary schools in the Mexican context. Through the analysis of interviews with subjects from three different categories of schools: public, special education and private, that receive students with disabilities, was found that notions of humanity and normality have implicit premises about functionality and economic utilitarianism, and that exists an unsustainable optimism about student achievement. This work reveals the influence of the utilitarian logic underlying the contractarian political tradition over education, and raise questions about its convenience in a human world, not exclusively rational and whose inhabitants are not permanently functional or ‘normal’.

Keywords

• disability
• inclusion
• argumentation
• human condition
• contractual approach