Exploring Cultures of Exclusion of Children with Disabilities in Greater Bangkok

Abstract

This paper offers the opportunity to glimpse beyond the scenes of an international research collaboration between Austria and Thailand. The underlying project (CLASDISA) aimed to depict what children with disabilities’ educational everyday lives are like in Bangkok by interviewing children, their parents and teachers. The paper offers insights into the negotiation of a common ground regarding research principles as well as the mutual and participatory development of next steps in research and analysis. By developing a culture-specific approach to answering questions related to the inclusion and exclusion of children with disabilities in education, well established principles around the (western based) perception of disability could be challenged and developed further. The paper will give accounts of our endeavor to seek out culture-specific reasons for exclusion of children with disabilities from mainstream education. Thus, the paper combines a meta-perspective on the research process and some insights into the findings of the research with regards to the question what leads to discrimination and exclusion. This being only two areas of interest that proofed to be far harder to understand than expected. Thereby the submission aims at underlining the need to consider local contexts when developing research tools for exploring cultural impacts on the (educational) environments of persons with disabilities. As well as pointing to the advantages of involving experiences from international research to rethink local conditions and broadening ones perspectives on the manifold environmental realms of persons with disabilities. One of the approaches to get an idea of where the roots of exclusion lie within the researched area, was the engagement in local practices such as the supposedly obvious process of chatting (Thai: kui) in all its facets. Thereby the submission aims at highlighting the need to consider local contexts when developing research tools for exploring cultural impacts on the (educational) environments of persons with disabilities. As well as pointing to the advantages of involving experiences from international research to rethink local conditions and broadening ones perspectives on the manifold environmental realms of persons with disabilities. The latter representing only one of the assets of international research in the field of special needs and inclusive education.