On the Challenges of Inclusive Education, or How to Tell a Child about Disability

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of inclusive education is a consequence of dynamic social processes as a result of which people with disabilities freed themselves from dependence and social exclusion. The primary space for the implementation of the idea of inclusion are educationalinstitutions. The unveiling of complex educational experiences prompts the search for a variety of artifacts that prepare children to understand the phenomenon of human disability.
Research Aim: The purpose of the analyses is to draw attention to the complexity of problems arising from inclusive education and to propose their solutions based on the literature, which does not define human (child) disability, but tells about disability.
Evidence-based Facts: The issue of human disability is in permanent discourse. One of its consequences is inclusive education as a consequence of the historical experiences of people with disabilities and as a response to the need to create a society open to diversity. It was assumed that early experiences acquired in childhood, beliefs about disability itself will not remain indifferent to behaviour and beliefs in adulthood. Organizing education in a common space has become a warp of various artifacts that support the understanding of the phenomenon of human disability. One of them is literature.
Summary: Inclusive education as an idea of democratic learning subverts barriers and exposes exclusion. Achieving these goals requires critical thinking about one’s identity and the role of difference in the process of social identification. Where difference is understood as being oneself is a value, and the word is used to obtain awareness. Literature created for children, parents and teachers dealing with the phenomenon of disability is one of the very important didactic means of understanding disability, forming empathy and the attitudes necessary to build a society open to diversity.