This study examines discursive assessment practices in a special school for girls identified with a disability in an Arabian-Gulf country. The study is driven by a notable absence of research on girls with disability in the Arab world, and the need for analysing practices that shape their identities and future trajectories. To disclose the mechanisms, processes, and tools influencing the coconstruction of girls' identities by members of a multidisciplinary team, I developed an analytic framework that draws on three theories: systemic functional linguistics, critical genre analysis and sociocultural theory of discourse and identity production. The main data source is the audio-record of conversations that took place at case-conference meetings (CCMs). To describe the genre of a CCM and to disclose what went on, who was involved, and what outcomes were achieved, I constructed three narratives: 'The most relevant thing about us', 'Much ado about everything', and 'Not so great expectations'. These narratives revealed the object, goals, and the outcomes of talk. With respect to the object of talk, or the knowledge underpinning assessment practices, there was much focus on girls' diagnostic histories and scores in IQ tests; they were given a high priority and perceived as key to understanding the girls. Analysis also revealed a resistance to move beyond dichotomous thinking (i.e. girls are either trainable or educable). The goals of talk were to pass on information, to share assessment results, and to list objectives for intervention, each practitioner within her domain of expertise. This mode of passing on - rather than - discussing information and assessment results limited the prospect to benefit from the distributed knowledge of practitioners. The outcomes of talk were mediated by the two preceding discursive actions. A preoccupation with girls' medical diagnosis, and a focus on passing on rather than discussing assessment reinforced deficit thinking. Further, categories assigned to girls stood as self-fulfilling prophesies, and as predictors of girls' future performance. The space to create more positive identities was evident, however, where practitioners knew little about girls' genetic or developmental disabilities. The implications of these objectifying practices are serious with respect to Gulf-Arabian countries and to similar Muslim sociocultural contexts. Perceiving diagnosis as the absolute truth feeds fatalistic beliefs further and results in inactivity and invisibility. Implications are offered for policy and practice and for future research.

Le phénomène des télévisions satellitaires a fait son apparition dans le monde arabe en 1990-1991. Date de l’instauration du Nouvel Ordre Mondial. Une progression foisonnante s’est produite, par la suite, profitant d’un espace géolinguistique étendu, d’une ouverture sans précédent et d’un financement généreux. Sont-elles l’expression d’un changement ou bien celle d’une adaptation ? Et au service de qui ? L’étude des chaines d’information en continu Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya ou « flexibles », Abou Dhabi et Al Manar est particulièrement intéressante pour répondre à cette question. Comprendre le fond de ce phénomène, les intérêts qu’il représente, qu’il sert, et les limites du changement qu’il est capable de produire, exige de dresser un état des lieux panoramique, une étude de la géopolitique qui a donné lieu à la naissance de ces télévisions, et qui a dicté les évolutions qu’elles ont subit. L’analyse du contenu et du discours vient repérer les expressions d’une culture démocratique, ou anti démocratique, dont dépend la nature du changement / Since 1990-1991, the number of satellite channels and viewers has grown exponentially in the Arab world, taking advantage of a geolinguistic space that afforded unprecedented degree of openness in a field previously dominated by t ightly-controlled state-owned television stations. The date also coincides with the inception of the New World Order, the waging of the first Gulf War which established a new regional order, and the stirrings of the society of communication. This study of news channels (Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya) and “flexible” channels such as (Abu Dhabi and Al Manar), aims to examine whether they are an expression of change or adaption and whether they serve to perpetuate the status quo of the powers that fund them.