Rights discourses in relation to education of people with intellectual disability: towards an ethics of care that enables participation

Authors:
MCKENZIE Judith Anne, MACLEOD Catriona Ida
Journal article citation:
Disability and Society, 27(1), 2012, pp.15-29.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis

This article argues that human rights approaches people with learning disabilities have failed to recognise the complexity of rights claims made by and on behalf of this group. Drawing on a research project into discourses of education for intellectually disabled people in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, it discerns three rights discourses; namely, rights to full participation, rights to special services and rights to protection. These draw off a social model, a medical model and a protective model, respectively. The authors note that these discourses may be set up in contestation with each other. However, the article argues that they can be seen as complementary if viewed within an ethics of care that enables participation. Within this conceptualisation, participation is viewed within relations of care but is subject to a critique that examines the role of context and disciplinary power in constructing dependency.

Subject terms:
human rights, learning disabilities, medical model, social model, social care provision, ethics, health care;
Location(s):
South Africa
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
1360-0508
ISSN print:
0968-7599

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