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This week in the lecture we discussed inclusion and equality from a disabled point of discussion. I found it very interesting and useful to be able to learn about Allport’s scale of Prejudice and Discrimination and also learn a bit about the theorists which are relative to this field such as Nancy Fraser. I also found that religion and inclusion are linked closely together as people can be subject to discrimination, violence or verbal attacks because of their religion/race.

We also learned about the history of disability and inclusion and how disabled people were subject to mistreatment and humiliation such as being placed in asylums, harmed or being toured around in circuses but we also discussed how attitudes towards disability has changed drastically  over the years and decades. In our seminar later on, we were discussing situations where children with disabilities may be discriminated against and how we could deal with these situations. It was useful to be able to use Allport’s scale to classify these examples and also think if our own examples that we have experienced ourselves.

I now feel that I have a better understanding of this topic and I feel that I would now be able to handle a situation like the ones in the seminar more effectively if they happened in my own classroom. However, I do intend to read further into this topic to further my knowledge.

Our recent input of Inclusion and Equality focused on disability, one of the nine characteristics to be protected specified by the Equality Act 2010. We studied  what forms of discrimination disabled humans have faced in history and still face this day. The use of Allport’s scale of prejudice and discrimination were useful when identifying clear examples of oppression of disabled people including: drawing from my own experiences of witnessing antilocution, discrimination, physical attack (persecution and assault) and extermination. Attitudes towards disability have unarguably progressed over the last hundred years, however only a short 70 years ago Nazi Germany persecuted disabled Germans as they were seen as ‘unfit’ for their national community. I experienced feelings of shock and discomfort when learning the truth of how these people were extremely oppressed in past centuries.

Furthermore in our seminar we looked at discriminative situations against disabled people to order understand in what ways the situation could be improved and for the oppressed individual to feel included and equal amongst a majority. I found this incredibly useful and eye-opening. Discrimination may sometimes not come from prejudicial thoughts and it can initiate over wanting to protect that individual from harm, however excluded that person from having the same experiences and chances as the majority prevents them from making a worthy contribution and progressing as a person.

There were many aspects to this input that I understood thoroughly, however I intend to keep on reading and researching information on the focus of disability and other characteristics of oppressed groups in order to fully grasp the concept of inclusion and equality.

After this weeks lecture the main concepts that I have learned are the definitions and understanding of Inclusion and Equality. Before this input, I had previous knowledge on equality and inclusion from school however, I was always thought inclusion and equality was of similar meanings now I know they are in fact completely different. I feel that I now understand the importance of these terms and how they effect society in various different ways. I found equality most interesting to read about and fully understand the key information.

Equality has many different approaches towards the meaning, first being equality of opportunity. (Thompson 2011) believes that equality of opportunity means to provide people with the same equal opportunities and chances. This will allow everyone to receive the same starting point in life and limit the equal chance of success. Equality of outcome is another approach that can determine the meaning of equality. This approach means that moving on from opportunities different  people must be given the same outcome and rewards no matter what the opportunity was. A third approach is the equality as fairness that ensures that different types of people are provided with the amount of support they need and allowed to carry out their full potential no matter what their differences are to become successful. Furthermore, equality of condition involves people being given the equal support through various different forms in their life. (Lynch and Baker 2005) examines the five key dimensions, first being, resources such as income, health care, education – the psychological needs. Equality of respect and recognition such as to be accepted and have equal rights. Equality to love care and solidarity which is societies that offer this support like education and employment. Equality of access to power, such as to make civil and political decisions. Finally, equality of equal access to working and learning such as the right to be educated, gain skills and qualities.

Unfortunately these approaches are not agreed in society by everyone and discrimination is still happening everywhere. In order to understand what gives rise to inequality and discrimination (Thompson 2011) believes that the PCS analysis helps understand how they operate. P referring to personal; this is individuals assumptions in society today which are shaped by the personal experiences of equality around us. C refers to the cultural level is very influential people are constantly being stuck under what is perceived as ‘normality’ and refusing to open up to anything outside of this. S refers to the structural level and relates to wider opportunities of discrimination such as action in communities and political people. People follow in these steps and believes anything they do is correct and the right way. Following on from this Allport (1954) wrote a book called ‘The Nature of Prejudice’ and refereed to discrimination in terms of a scale. I found this extremely interesting as it marked down the terms in order of least to most extreme. Anti locution was his first term which refers to verbal abuse by discrimination. This is insensitive remarks made towards another group which are not intentional however it is based on their opinion and shown as their judgements towards the group. Avoidance is second on the scale which is when a person isolates/avoids/maintains distance themselves from a particular group because of their differences. Discrimination is next, this is denying people access to opportunities or services because they are different, for example segregation in america. Physical attack is next which is crime and vandalism , then extermination; ethnic cleansing. From the Inclusion and equality seminar the quote from Allport ‘Although most barking does not lead to biting [..] there is never a bite without previous barking’ (p. 57). I personally believe this means that verbal abuse could potentially lead to physical attack and people should constantly watch their verbal language.

I really enjoyed this input on inclusion and equality however I feel that i must complete further reading on inclusion as I don’t quite fully understand these concepts.

The focus of today’s inputs was Inclusion and Equality with a particular ‘focus on disability’. The lecture was rather insightful and enabled me to reflective on how equal our society really is.  I was able to build upon what I learnt from last week’s lecture specifically the Equality Act 2010 and how this legislation can aid those with disabilities, however this act can be at times complex as it is not air type and is opened to opinions and views. Similarly, to the Equality Act there is Addition Support Needs Act 2004/2009, which is a much wider term and supports a broader range of needs- emotional, physically, behavioural, social and mental.

The aspect of the lecture I considered most penetrative was the disability right movements as it was not until the 1950’s that people with disabilities started to gain access and independence to services, however still encountered inequality whether it was at work or outside the work place.  I learnt the importance of disability can be reduced or eliminated by changing society, even by making slight changes. What was striking for myself was attitudes in past years and limited changes being made for people who have impairments, only recent years have attitudes changed and thankfully our society is increasingly becoming more diverse, and more citizens with impairments are going beyond their impairments and contribute their skills, gifts and strengths to the wider society. It Is therefore pivotal as a student teacher/ perspective teacher to engage with diversity and adapt the classroom to the needs of pupils but also discuss with pupils regarding the importance of diversity and importance of anti-discrimination in our society.

Today was the first time that have heard of the term ‘Universal Design’, this alludes to the designing of buildings that considers everyone and can be used by anyone regardless of their needs. Most significantly stairs being replaced by ramps. This term highlights that diversity is normal.

Likewise, today I was able to advance my knowledge regarding key scholars: Mel Ainscow, Lani Florian,   Nancy Fraser,  John Rawls

Scholar John Rawls theory stood, he wrote a book about social justice which looked at the equality of those less advantaged in order to serve everyone well. He created a structure and activities that is suitable for all. He also raised the issue that decision makers should consider everyone in society and not just showing interest in individual by human diversity as a whole.  

During the inclusion and equality input, in week 3 and 4,  was interesting. We discussed what inclusion and equality means, and why they are important in today’s society. I found this interesting to talk about because equality and inclusion is an ongoing subject of discussion in the media and in every day life. Although inequality … Continue reading Society and Lifestyles ePDP blog →

In this weeks weeks input we focused on how people with disabilities have and are being treated in society.  I thoroughly enjoyed this session because it was interesting to get some insight in to how some people feel they are treated in today’s society. We looked at the Equality Act (2010) to determine a definition of disability. I noticed from this that the definition can be open to interpretation and is not air-tight.

Looking at attitudes towards disability was very interesting and shocking at the same time. I did not realise that in some cases disabled people have been killed due to various reasons, some examples being religion and state policy. I researched further into the ancient Roman culture and found out that most infants were abandoned outside and left to die which was very shocking to me.

The Disability Rights Movement has showed a massive change in attitudes towards disability. In their opinion, we should not focus on the impairment but the environmental barriers they face in day-to-day life. This linked to ‘Universal design’ which refers to designing building that everyone can use. I think that this is a brilliant idea and hopefully in the future every single building or structure will be disabled friendly.

I have really enjoyed today’s session because it has made me realise that there should be more awareness about seeing the person before the disability. Although a person may be physically disabled, the can be incredibly capable mentally, for example Stephen Hawkins. I am looking forward to next weeks input to look into Lifestyle choices and Consequences .