Rethinking inclusion: is there a right to inclusive education?

• Author: NI Zhen
• Pages: 486-514

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 11 SEPTEMBER 2016 NO. 3

DOI 10.3868/s050-005-016-0029-8

ARTICLE

RETHINKING INCLUSION: IS THERE A RIGHT TO INCLUSIVE EDUCATION?

NI Zhen*

Abstract By combining theories of education, human rights law, and political

philosophy, the author provides lenses to understanding inclusive education, thereby

establishing consensus on the new, cognitive grounds over the description of a better

inclusive education system for all children. The investigation is guided by two research

questions. The first question concerns what description we should hold for a better

education system inclusive of disabled children. The second addresses how to arrive at a

consensus over that better system among stakeholders and within the whole society. To

answer these questions, the investigation is conducted through both transcendental and

comparative routes. Firstly, to contextualize this research, a brief review of theoretical

disagreements on inclusive education is provided, and a case study of China’s struggles

towards inclusion is presented. The theoretical review and the case study provide

concrete information for later assessment and comparison between reality and the ideal

plan. Meanwhile, the author discusses ways to go beyond binary thoughts and

disorganized practice. To achieve the goal, transcendental thought experiments are

employed to generate new grounds for a more comprehensive, inclusive project; the idea

of a right to inclusive education is elaborated.

Keywords inclusive education, consensus, justice, disability, CRPD, China

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 487

I. REVIEW OF THEORETICAL DISAGREEMENTS........................................................... 488

A. From Special Schools to Educational Integration ............................................489

B. The Discourse and Disagreements of Inclusive Education............................... 490

C. Individual Model and Social Model of Disability.............................................491

II. A CASE STUDY OF CHINA....................................................................................... 492

A. China’s Special Education: A Review ..............................................................493

1. The Legacy of Special Education between 1874 and 1949............................ 493

2. Institutionalized Segregation........................................................................493

3. The Predominant Individual Model..............................................................495

B. The Formation of a Double Track Special Education System and Its Relations

with Politics....................................................................................................496

* (󳏜) M.A. in Education, University of Durham, UK and LL.M. in Human Rights Law, Faculty of Law,

The University of Hong Kong; Researcher, Beijing, China. Contact: sdnizhen@gmail.com

2016] RETHINKING INCLUSION: IS THERE A RIGHT TO INCLUSIVE EDUCATION? 487

C. Distorted Inclusive Education in Domestic Theories and Practice.................498

III. LOOKING FOR CONSENSUS AND A THEORY OF BETTER INCLUSIVE EDUCATION... 500

A. The Composition and Scope of the Syncretic Approach.................................. 501

B. The Top-Layer: The Original Position ...........................................................502

1. The Original Position ................................................................................ 502

2. The Idea of Overlapping Consensus...........................................................504

C. The Basic Values: The Middle Layer .............................................................505

1. The First Principle and Basic Liberties.......................................................506

2. The Second Principle and Equality ............................................................507

D. Fundamental Human Society Qualities: The Bottom Layer ...........................507

1. Informational Basis ...................................................................................507

2. Rationality, Reflection, and Public Reason................................................. 509

E. Evaluating Current Theories and Practice ....................................................510

1. Segregation and the Inevitable Injustice..................................................... 510

2. Integration and Current Inclusion: Only a Small Step forward....................512

F. A Theory of Better Inclusion and the Right to Inclusive Education .................512

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................ 514

INTRODUCTION

The idea of inclusive education is a manifestation of the power of emancipatory

disability politics. Inclusive education questions disability segregation in educational

provisions.1 However, the inclusive project throughout the world has been confronted

with enormous difficulties.2 In a philosophical sense, it seems that the ideal of inclusive

education derives from intuitive beliefs about inclusion; and there are no other grounds

upon which the inclusive idea can be better elaborated.3 As a result of its opacity, it is

difficult to reach a consensus over what inclusive education means and how to proceed.4

By contrast, disability segregation in education on a global scale is still well preserved, if

not aggravated, by the edifice of special education theories and institutions.5 In many

cases, the rhetoric of inclusive education serves as a gloss over deep-seated segregation.

The growing power of international human rights law tries to provide momentum to

promoting inclusive education. The most recent effort was made by the United Nations

(UN) through the making of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

(CRPD) and had inclusive education as the core idea and principle of educational

1 Gary Thomas & Andrew Loxley, Deconstructing Special Education and Constructing Inclusion, Open

University Press (Berkshire), (2001).

2 Julie Allan, Rethinking Inclusive Education: The Philosophers of Difference in Practice, Springer

(London), (2009).

3 Sally Tomlinson, A Sociology of Special Education, Routledge (London), (1982).

4 See Thomas & Loxley, fn. 1.

5 Ann Cheryl Armstrong, Derrick Armstrong & Ilektra Spandagou, Inclusive Education: International

Policy & Practice, Sage Publication Ltd. (London), (2009).