From Special to Inclusive Education in India

Chapter 6

Comparing and Contrasting Themes

Having described the three schools and their organisation of both mainstream and special schooling, this chapter identifies the themes emerging from each of the portrayals, and seeks commonalties and contrasts among them. The broad focus remains on three areas. Firstly, it relates to the origin of the settings and factors contributing to the special children gaining access to schooling. Secondly, once the children are in the schools, how they become included in the educational and social milieu, and thirdly, how do the parents, teachers and the heads perceive children becoming ‘special’ in relation to their inclusion in mainstream schools. This chapter draws largely upon the narratives in the previous ...