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In/exclusion and (dis)ability : (de)constructions of Education White Paper 6 : special needs education

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: White Paper 6: Special Needs Education, released in July 2001, is the response ofthe South African
government's Department of Education to the inclusion movement. In this (re)search, I
(de)construct this text to explore constitutions of (dis)ability and inlexclusion. I do so because I
frame (de)construction as 'an aggressive, political mode of critical analysis that strips conventional
and assumed truths down to their logically insubstantial bare bones' (Danforth & Rhodes, 1997:
358). I argue that it is necessary to (de)constructively read government policy that proposes a course
or policy of action, particularly if, as poststructuralists state, language constitutes reality.
In reading White Paper 6, I (de)construct the functionalist grand narrative as hegemonic: discourses
constituted by and constituting this metanarrative, including the medical or special needs discourse,
the charity discourse, the systems discourse, the business discourse and the pioneering discourse.
The radical humanist grand narrative is also read as dominant, formed by and forming the rights
discourse and social justice discourse. The social constructionist discourse, constituting and
constituted by the intepretivist grand narrative, is (dejconstructed in White Paper 6 as not reflecting
upon the social construction of disability itself, but on social constructions related to (dis)ability and
inlexclusion. The objects, agents, action and binaries constituted by each of these discourses are
also (de)constructed, as are the voices on the margins.
The purpose of my (re)search is not to construct conclusions, but rather to (de)construct the
polyphony of voices, truths and realities speaking into and out of White Paper 6. In so doing, the
'indecidability' (Silverman, 1989: 4) of the text is (de)constructed. With the indecidable
(de)constructed, '... discourses can no longer dominate, judge, decide: between the positive and
negative, the good and the bad, the true and the false' (Derrida, 1992: 86). (Dis)ability and
inlexclusion tmths are troubled and the text is opened to different readings. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Witskrif 6: Spesialebehoefteonderwys, wat in Julie 2001 beskikbaar gestel is, is die reaksie van die
Suid-Afrikaanse regering se Departement van Onderwys op die insluitingsbeweging. In hierdie
(onder)soek(e) (de)konstrueer ek genoemde teks om bepalinge van (on)vermoë en inluitsluiting te
ondersoek. Ek doen dit omdat ek (de)konstruksie sien as ". .. an aggressive, political mode of
critical analysis that strips conventional and assumed truths down to their logically insubstantial
bare bones ... " (Danforth & Rhodes, 1997: 358). Myns insiens is dit nodig om regeringsbeleid wat
'n handelswyse ten opsigte van, of beleid vir optrede voorstel, (de)konstruktief te lees, veral indien
dit is soos die poststrukturaliste voorstel, naamlik dat taal werklikheid is.
Met die lees van Witskrif 6, het ek die funksionalistiese groot narratief as hegemonies
geede)konstrueer: diskoerse wat deur hierdie metanarratief gevorm word en dit tegelyk ook vorm,
met inbegrip van mediese of spesialebehoeftediskoers, die relaas van naasteliefde, die
stelseldiskoers, die sakediskoers en die baanbrekersdiskoers. Die radikaal humanistiese groot
narratief, wat die regtediskoers en die diskoers van maatskaplike geregtigheid vorm en daardeur
gevorm word, word ook as dominant vertolk. Die diskoers van maatskaplike konstruktivisme, wat
die interpretatiewe groot narratief vorm en daardeur gevorm word, word in Witskrif 6
geede)konstrueer, as sou dit nie op die sosiale konstruksie van (on)vermoë self sinspeel nie, maar op
sosiale konstruksies wat met (on)vermoë en inluitsluiting verband hou. Die voorwerpe, agente,
optrede en binêres wat deur elk van hierdie diskoerse gevorm is, sowel as die stemme op die
kantlyn, word ook deur hierdie diskoerse ge(de)konstrueer.
Die doel van my (onder)soek(e) is nie om uitsluitings te konstrueer nie, maar eerder om die
polifonie van stemme, waarhede en realiteite wat vanuit Witskrif 6 tot ons spreek, maar ook
inspraak daarin het, te (de)konstrueer. Deur dit te doen, word die "indecidability" (Silverman,
1989: 4) van die teks ge(de)konstrueer. Met die nie-besluitnemende" ... discourses can no longer
dominate, judge, decide: between the positive and negative, the good and the bad, the true and the
false" (Derrida, 1992: 86). (On)vermoë en die inluitsluiting van Vt'aafhede is problematies en die
teks word oopgemaak vir verskillende interpretasies.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/52887
Date03 1900
CreatorsVan Rooyen, Brenda
ContributorsNewmark, Rona., Le Grange, Lesley, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.
PublisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Languageen_ZA
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Format154 p.
RightsStellenbosch University

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