Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and ratified in 1990 by the UN General Assembly, and signed by most member countries of the United Nations. However, its implementation is slow, complex, and can to-date be considered as incomplete in most countries, particularly as children’s rights often seem to be in contradiction with traditional perceptions of children as dependent, immature and incompetent human beings under their parents’ tutelage. Furthermore, it appears that children’s rights are at risk of colliding with the rights of the family. These issues are even more strongly highlighted when it comes to children with disabilities, as those children often are perceived as vulnerable and incompetent. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006 emphasizes the right to full participation based on the social model of disability, including the right to inclusive education for children with disabilities. This article addresses both conventions, the contradictions within but also with each other, which impede the rights of children with disabilities as much as traditional perceptions of childhood do. It will then demonstrate how the recognition of the rights of children with disabilities can be improved by using the frameworks of sociology of childhood (Corsaro, 2015) and the work on relationship building and solidarity by Honneth (1995). Lastly, the article will give examples of how to implement and respect the rights of children with disabilities in schools, by using the example of the Index for Inclusion.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and ratified in 1990 by the UN General Assembly, and signed by most member countries of the United Nations. However, its implementation is slow, complex, and can to-date be considered as incomplete in most countries, particularly as children’s rights often seem to be in contradiction with traditional perceptions of children as dependent, immature and incompetent human beings under their parents’ tutelage. Furthermore, it appears that children’s rights are at risk of colliding with the rights of the family. These issues are even more strongly highlighted when it comes to children with disabilities, as those children often are perceived as vulnerable and incompetent. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006 emphasizes the right to full participation based on the social model of disability, including the right to inclusive education for children with disabilities. This article addresses both conventions, the contradictions within but also with each other, which impede the rights of children with disabilities as much as traditional perceptions of childhood do. It will then demonstrate how the recognition of the rights of children with disabilities can be improved by using the frameworks of sociology of childhood (Corsaro, 2015) and the work on relationship building and solidarity by Honneth (1995). Lastly, the article will give examples of how to implement and respect the rights of children with disabilities in schools, by using the example of the Index for Inclusion.