The sociology of disability and the struggle for inclusive education

Abstract

This article charts the emergence of the sociology of disability and examines the areas of contestation. These have involved a series of erasures and absences – the removal of the body from debates on the social model of disability; the disappearance of the Other from educational policies and practices; and the absence of academics from political discourses and action. The paper considers the contribution of the sociology of disability to inclusive education and examines some of the objections currently being voiced. It ends with some reflections on the possibilities for academics within the sociology of disability to pursue alternative forms of engagement and outlines a series of duties that they might undertake.