Disability-inclusive education, development, and dialectics: Complex cases in Bhutan

Christopher Johnstone, Matthew J Schuelka, Yeshi Choeki, Tashi Yetsho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Disability-inclusive education and development have become priorities for global governance organizations over the past decade and have thus introduced new complexities to existing development narratives. One reason for this is the long-standing discourse of “disability models” (medical, social, and cultural models) most often found in disability studies discourses. This study demonstrates that individuals with disabilities and their advocates navigate education and development opportunities through the lens of multiple models simultaneously. In this article, we introduce the philosophical theory of dialectics as a way of understanding how seemingly competing models might simultaneously inform the actions that individuals take in relation to disability-inclusive education and development. We present three minicases-two from teachers and one from a youth with a disability-drawn from a recent 3-year project in Bhutan. These case examples demonstrate how dialectical thinking is often present in education and development initiatives.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)147-166
Number of pages20
JournalComparative Education Review
Volume67
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Comparative and International Education Society. All rights reserved.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Disability-inclusive education, development, and dialectics: Complex cases in Bhutan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this