Reclaiming “Inclusive Education” toward Cohesion in Educational Reform: Disability Studies Unravels the Myth of the Normal Child

Background/Context This article calls attention to the restrictive notions of inclusive education promulgated within the discourse of special education in the United States and asserts the value of using disability studies in education to support broader conceptualizations of inclusion that potentially incorporate all students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study By dismantling the myth of the typical/average child, the authors reveal ways in which educational practices actively contribute to the creation of “normalcy” and discuss the harmful effects that this can have on all citizens. They illustrate selected practices that help constitute the normative center of schools by using the organizing principle of disability as a heuristic device to enable multiple simultaneous critical standpoints. Research Design Analytic essay. Conclusions/Recommendations The authors call for the dissolution of the normative center of schools through an interdisciplinary alliance between disability studies and other criticalist fields that share the aim of claiming value in human diversity over standardization.