Ed 4

FSIE

ADDRESSING DIVERSITY
THROUGH YEARS:
SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION (Part 1)
JOHANNE SJ. ATERRADO
Subject Facilitator
Reference: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education,
Aligada-Hala, Cristina Nieves et.al, Rex Book Store

MODULE 2
Objectives
At the end of the chapter you will be able to:
1. Create a safe, inclusive, and culturally responsive
learning environment for students with additional
needs;
2. Use knowledge of general and specialized
curricula to individualize learning for students
with additional needs; and
3. Demonstrate reflective thinking and professional
self-direction.
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MODELS OF DISABILITY

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➢The concept of disability has been existent for
ages
➢Cultural narratives like “the Hunchback of
Notre Dame” and “Kampanerang Kuba” depict
disability as a source of fear and ridicule.
➢Even Philippine history has records of
disability through Apolinario Mabini, who was
unable to walk because of physically impairing
condition called poliomyelitis.
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➢There is often resistance, especially when people are
met with situations that they are unfamiliar with.
➢Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are not exempted
from this type of treatment.
➢People formed opinions and reactions towards
disability in a similar patter.
➢Society first took notice of those with physical
disabilities because they immediately stood out, they
they notice those with less apparent developmental
conditions because they acted differently.
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➢As soon as the “deviants” were “identified”,
segregation, exclusion, isolation and other forms of
violence and cruelty followed.
➢Prior to the Age of Enlightenment in the 1700s,
these were common practices highly accepted by
society. Such practices, which are now
considered discriminatory and violating of human
rights, were evident in all aspects of community:
living spaces, health care, education and work.
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➢In earlier times, PWDs were seen as social threats
capable of contaminating an otherwise pure human
species (Kisanji 1999)
➢Some people saw them as menaces, while others
treated them as objects of dread, pity, entertainment,
or ridicule.
➢At best, they were put on a pedestal and perceived as
Holy Innocents or eternal children who do no wrong
(Wolfensberger 1972)
➢At worst, they were killed or treated as subhumans
devoid of any rights (Kisanji 1999, Wolfensberger
1972)
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➢The best way to understand why people think
or act they way they do is by looking at what
was happening to their community at a certain
point in time.

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➢Smart’s study in 2004 (as cited in Retief and Letsosa, 2018)
emphasizes that models of disability are important as they serve
several purposes:
1. they provide definitions of disability
2. They offer “explanations of causal and responsibility
attributions
3. They are based on perceived needs
4. They inform policy
5. They are not “value-neutral”
6. They define the academic disciplines that focus on disability
7. They “shape the self-identity of PWDs
8. They can provide insight on how prejudices and discriminations
occur. Module 2 (FSIE) JSJA
THE MORAL/RELIGIOUS
MODEL

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➢Medieval age said to be started from AD 476,
the year the Western Roman Empire fell, and
ended toward the early 1800s, ushering the
Renaissance age and Age of Discovery.
➢This period saw the Church as one of the
most influential figures in Europe.
➢The idea of God as an all-powerful being was
so strong in man’s consciousness that it
affected the way society treated PWDs at the
time.
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➢Parents who bore children with disabilities were
seen from within a spectrum where on one end,
God was punishing them for a sin that needed to
be atoned, and at the other extreme, He was
blessing the family by giving them a precious gift
that only they could care for.
➢The middle ground was to see disability as a test
of faith and an opportunity to redeem oneself
through endurance, resilience and piety. (Niemann
2005 as cited in Retief and Letosa 2018)
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➢Such perspective are rooted in a moral or
religious model of disability which sees
disability as either a blessing or a curse.
➢Biblical scripture would refer to persons wit
chronic illnesses like leprosy as unclean,, while
those considered demonically posses may
actually have had mental illness (Mclure 2007
as cited in Retief and Letosa 2018) or seizure
disorders.
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➢In one strand of the moral religious model,
disability is equated with the sin, evilness or
spiritual ineptness of either the PWD or of a PWD’s
family member.
➢Some cultures who ascribe to a moral/religious
model of disability may also lean toward a type of
mystical narrative.
➢Their belief is that disabilities may impair some
senses yet heighten others, hereby “granting him
or her ‘special abilities to perceive, reflect,
transcend be spiritual. (Olkin 1999 as cited in
Retief and Letosa 2018)
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➢Although moral/religious model is not as
dominant now as it used to where religion
plays a huge influence on daily life.

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THE
BIOMEDICAL/INDIVIDUAL
MODEL

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➢The discovery of Nicolaus Copernicus that the
center of the universe was the sun and not the
Earth, is one of the most controversial yet
significant discoveries of all time.
➢It dared to contradict the Bible as well as then-
considered fundamental truths.
➢Its contribution to scientific and technological
advancements.
➢People shift mind-sets from a religious perspective
to a more evidence-based model of disability
called the Biomedical (medical) model.
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Biomedical (medical) Model
➢Disability s seen as a medical problem that resides
in the individual. It is a defect in or failure of a
bodily system and as such, is inherently abnormal
and pathological. The goals of intervention are
cure, amelioration of the physical condition to the
greatest extent possible, and rehabilitation (i.e the
adjustment of the person with the disability to the
condition to the environment. Person with
disabilities are expected to avail themselves of the
variety of services offered to them and to spend
time in the role of patient or learner being helped
by trained professionals. “ (p. 26)
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➢Moral/religious perspective sees disability as
something permanent, the biomedical
(medical) model considers disability as a
“glitch” the PWD is born into, which needs
assessment and fixing.

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THE FUNCTIONAL/
REHABILITATION MODEL

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Functional/Rehabilitation Model
➢Is quite similar to the biomedical model in that
it sees the PWD as having deficits. These
deficits then justify the need to undergo
rehabilitative intervention such as therapies,
counseling, and the like in the aim of
reintegrating the disabled into society.
➢The main difference between the two models
is int the concept of habilitation and
rehabilitation.
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Functional/Rehabilitation Model
➢The biomedical model often suggests
habilitation, which refers to help given to those
whose disabilities are congenital or manifested
very early in life in order to maximize function.
➢The functional/rehabilitation model refers to
the assistance given by professionals to those
who have acquired disability in the hope of
gaining back one’s functionality.

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THE SOCIAL MODEL

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The Social Model
➢Mike Oliver, a lecturer in the 1980s who coined the
term “social model” and is considered one of its
main proponents, wrote a position paper directly
reacting against how the medical field has been
reinforcing a disabling view of PWDs
➢According the sociological response, disability
occurs as a result of society’s lack of
understanding of individual differences.
➢PWDs are seen as disabled not because they are
deficient but because society “insists” they are
deficient and disadvantaged.
➢Norms are determined by society.
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The Social Model
➢According to Professor David Pfeiffer:
“Norms depends upon the concept of norms. That
is, being a person with a disability which limits my
mobility means that I don’t not move about in a (so-
called) normal way. But what is the normal way to
cover a mile…? Some people would walk. Some
people would ride a bicycle or a bus or in a taxi or
their own car. Others would use a skateboard or in
line roller blades. Some people use wheelchairs.
There is, I argue, no normal way to travel a mile.”
(Kaplan 2000:355)
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The Social Model
➢The underlying principle of the social model
of disability is that disability is a social
construct, where standards and limitations that
society places on specific groups of people are
what disable a person.
➢With this perspective everything from
government laws to education to employment
opportunities to access to communal facilities
take on a different meaning.
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The Social Model
➢The World Health Organization (1980)
differentiates disability and impairment.
➢Impairment- is seen as “any loss or abnormality
of to “any restriction or lack (resulting from an
impairment) of ability to perform activity in the
manner or within the range considered normal for
human being.
➢In the social model, impairment should be seen as
a normal aspect of life and when it happens, it
should not cause a stir, instead, society must plan
in anticipation of possible impairment occurrences
so as not to disable anyone.
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The Social Model
➢Disability were to be seen as something natural and expected, it
could change the way we design our systems and our
environments. (Wendell (1996 as cited in Kaplan 2000;356) relates:
“The cultural habit of regarding the condition of the person, not the
built environment or the social organization of activities, as the
source of the problem, runs deep. For example, it took me several
years of struggling with the heavy door to my building, sometimes
having to wait until a person stronger came along, to realize that the
door was an accessibility problem, not only for me, but for others as
well. And I did not notice, until one of my students pointed out, that
the lack of signs that could be read from a distance at my university
forced people with mobility impairments to expend a lot of energy
unnecessarily, searching for rooms and offices. Although I have
encountered the difficulty myself on days when walking was
exhausting to me, I interpreted it, automatically, as a problem arising
from illness (as I did with the door) rather than a problem arising
from the built environment having been created for too narrow a
range of people and situations.”
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RIGHTS-BASED MODEL AND
TWIN TRACK APPROACH

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Rights-based Model and Twin Track Approach
➢This is a framework that bears similarities with
the social model.
➢It moves beyond explanation, offering a
theoretical framework for disability policy that
emphasizes that human dignity of PWDs
(Degener 2017:43)
➢It recognizes the PWDs vulnerability and tries
to address this by upholding and safeguarding
their identities and rights as human beings.
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Rights-based Model and Twin Track Approach
➢While the social model is mostly critical of public
health policies that advocate the prevention of
impairment, the human rights model recognizes
the fact that properly formulated prevention policy
may be regarded as an instance of human rights
protection of PWDs (Degener 2017:52)
➢The right-based approach to education ensures
that all energies are devoted to the realization of
each learner’s right to education.
➢It is built on the principle that education is a basic
human right and therefore all must have access to
it. (Van den Brule-Balescut & Sandkull 2005)
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Rights-based Model and Twin Track Approach
➢There are four key actors directly involved in
such model:
1. The government as duty bearers
2. The child as the rights-holder
3. The parents not only as duty-bearers but
also as representatives of the child
4. The teachers, both as right-holders and
duty bearers (Van den Brule-Balescut &
Sandkull 2005)
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Rights-based Model and Twin Track Approach
➢The twin trach approach combines the social
model and the rights-based model.
➢It allows for holistic changes to occur, with the
option of promoting individual needs whenever
necessary.
➢For instance, in education, this would mean
allowing a PWD to join the mainstream, yet be
given opportunities for disability-specific
programs in case additional support is needed
(Chassy & Josa 2018)
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 Ed 4
FSIE

ADDRESSING DIVERSITY
THROUGH YEARS: SPECIAL
AND INCLUSIVE
EDUCATION
ACTIVITY NO. 2
Reference: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education,
Aligada-Hala, Cristina Nieves et.al, Rex Book Store
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PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR REFERENCES.

 Activity no. 2
1. How important are models of disability?
2. How can they affect students and the different stakeholders
of special needs and inclusive education?
3. Is it possible for medical practitioners to embrace a social
perspective of disability? How can they marry two seemingly
opposing concepts?

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Assessment
Rubrics for each answer.

Criteria Points
Answer/Argumentation/Ex 2 pts
planation
Personal Insights 2 pts
Completeness of the 1 pt
answer
TOTAL 5 pts x 4 = 20 pts

Module 2 (FSIE) JSJA