ABSTRACT

Marginalisation, discrimination and depersonalisation are some of the negative experiences of children with Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in rural mainstream primary schools in Guyana. This paper presents these experiences from qualitative data gathered over six months of ethnographic research in two primary schools in Guyana. The data were analysed using situational analysis as posited by Adele Clarke and interpreted through a poststructuralist lens with the social model of disability theoretical framework. Children with SEND feel valueless and experience anxiety and loneliness in their placement in rural mainstream schools. This paper forms part one of a series presented to highlight institutional discrimination embedded in the practices and discourses which is fuelled by the dominance of the individual deficit model of disability in mainstream schools. The paper also illustrates how teachers’ beliefs’ that disability is biological and they can not cater for such children who are considered unteachable and challenging. The paper further reflects on the collective conscience of mainstream teachers in rural Guyana who feel unsupported in unsuitable classrooms to meet the needs of children with SEND.

摘要

在圭亚那农村主流小学中，边缘化，歧视和人格解体是有特殊教育需要和/或残疾儿童（SEND）的一些负面经历。本文从圭亚那两所小学六个月的人种学研究收集的定性数据中介绍了这些经验。数据由阿黛尔·克拉克（Adele Clarke）提出的情境分析进行了分析，并通过后结构主义的视角与残疾理论模型的社会模型进行了解释。患有SEND的孩子感到无价值，并在安置到农村主流学校时感到焦虑和孤独。本文构成了一系列系列文章的一部分，着重强调了在实践和话语中嵌入的制度歧视，而主流学校中残疾的个人赤字模型的主导地位助长了制度歧视。本文还说明了教师关于残疾是生物的信念如何无法满足那些被认为是无法教育和挑战的儿童的需求。该论文进一步反映了圭亚那农村地区主流教师的集体良知，他们在不合适的教室里无法获得支持，无法满足SEND儿童的需求。